The Spot Where I Dance

November 12, 2017:  We worked at the Healing Garden for a little while today.  We've had a little dry spell, so we, Bud and I, thought we would get some grading done on the hill.  Bud picked up a few more donated bales of hay from Nate O'Neil in Woodbury.  We've been using hay as a barrier for erosion control, it works pretty well.  Some topsoil was moved to the center of the garden and grading was done on the hill, but not in it's entirety.  It was still pretty muddy in sections, so those areas need to dry out more before grading can be completed. The garden doesn't look as good as it did in past weeks.  The leaves are falling from the oaks and making a mess everywhere.  This bothers me a little.  I know it's a construction site, but I really want it to look nice for people that come to see the progress.  I keep imagining what it's going to look like when it's done; I see green grass, the flowers blooming and the trees planted.  I see the new fence

November 4, 2017:  We had another volunteer today, his name is Paul Fortier from Woodbury.  He was a hard worker!  We needed to reseed a lot of the area that we seeded due to some washout from the rain.  This time we came with bigger guns, so to speak.  We had some straw that comes in rolls that you put down on top of the grass seed.  We held it down with staples that we put in the ground and small rocks to keep it from blowing away on a windy day.  This seems to be a good solution, so let's hope for the best. Paul raking the topsoil for the second dose of grass seed. That's Bud Neal Paul and Bud posing for today's photo Grass seed down, one more time.  I think this time, we have a solution. Special thanks to Paul for his time and work. It was a pleasure getting to know you. Until next time:  Persistence: continuing firmly or obstinately in a course of action in spite of difficulty of opposition. source   I have learned that sometimes persistence is t

Well, it's November and the garden is in continual movement.  We've had some wonderful moves forward and few tiny steps backwards, but for the most part, I'm please with the progress.  I love how Mother Nature works with you when your planning something like a garden.  Sometimes, I feel like my work can be for nothing, but I found from past experiences, that if I slow down and stop trying to control everything, mother nature will show me how to move forward.  One thing that's always in the back of my mind is that I am only a worker, like an ant or a bee, on this wonderful planet.  What I do is temporary.  Nature will always be my supervisor, there's no union or employee protection, and there is no certainty in my results.  I need to watch and listen to what the environment that I plan to alter is doing, or what I do, will be for nothing. Our first attempt at seeding - left to right, Rita Smith, Chris Donnelly, and Bud Neal To date, our failure has been puttin

I have a new project that is near and dear to my heart.  It's called The Healing Garden at the Connecticut Healthcare and Residential Center in Rocky Hill Connecticut.  It started about three years ago when a friend of mine, Bud Neal told me about wanting to plant a few trees at the Veterans Home in Rocky Hill.  He had been going there for years engaging the men and women that are either there short-term or living there.  He's a vet and commander of the American Legion in Woodbury, CT.  His credentials are a mile long with other avenues of business and life, but short term of it, he felt his connections would help in planting a number of trees instead of one or two which was the original plan.  He asked if I was willing to help, and of course I said yes. After walking the area that he had chosen for the trees, he and I brainstormed an idea of a garden with five trees.  He wanted all the trees to ultimately have the branches touch showing unity.  Each tree would represent the