The Zen of Watering

10:38am
Yesterday was a "work" day (as in "work at the greenhouses rather than at home"), and I'll have to admit that I was less than enthused when I left the house in the morning. Without going into any specific detail, let's just say there has been a little (totally senseless) workplace drama going on lately that has been upsetting my tummy. Happens everywhere. Eventually blows over. 'Nuff said.

Anyway. I was actually dreading going in. By the time I got there, I was almost in an anxious fit. Why can't people just show a little respect for one another? Why do two or three people always manage to spoil things for the rest of us? Why can't they just GO AWAY?

Well. For this one day, they did. They stayed away. Didn't see a whisker of any of them. And it was another gorgeous day - cool-ish, low humidity, sunshine. Hummingbird watching as I watered the hydrangeas. Mockingbird singing himself silly on the light post. Pumpkin the orange kitty wandering through, crying and heart breaking because no one was petting her right now. A few customers, each of them relaxed and "just looking" and enjoying the day, buying enough to pay for our being there today. Topped off with a good, productive meeting with Peggy (my boss) and co-worker Lynda. New classes scheduled for the summer.

But for most of the day, it was watering. There can be a certain "zen" experience in hand-watering, whether at the nursery or at home. Within the reach of each hose there's a pattern, a path to follow so that every plant is covered with the least amount of time and effort. Over the seasons, you get to know the needs of each type of plant: this one roots out and dries out quicker, this type only needs every-other-day water. This one needs a gentler spray so you don't "car wash" the dirt out of the pot. But as you move from plant to plant, your own little zen water-world kicks in and you're a million miles away with your thoughts. At work, we learn to speak to each other from a distance as we're walking up - I've been startled out of my skin more than once by a customer suddenly speaking at my elbow!

Lovely day. Finished it out by pulling some weeds out of "my" bed in our display herb garden (if you go, it's the first one on the left, with the lavender & chamomile). Peggy had been doing some champion work with the weedeater, and it's all starting to look really spiffy again. It's a shame that the only time we have the time to get the place looking this good is when there aren't many customers around to see it! (Did that make any grammatical sense at all?)

Anyway. Presently I'm looking out the widow at another crystal-blue, not-July sky and wondering why in the world I'm still inside! I think I'll grab the camera and take some flower pictures... I've been taking an oil painting class with Laura (my dear sweet sister!) for the past year-and-a-half, and it's about time I start painting from my own photos. (Unless you take your own photograph, your painting is considered a "copy" and not an "original"!) If I wind up with anything good, maybe I'll try posting a photo here.

And then its got to be bookkeeping time. And press-release-for-new-classes time. And mailing-list-maintenance-that-you've-been-procrastinating-over time. *sigh*.