Being In Tune With Nature

This weekend, I tackled all the shrubery with the hedge clipper.  Form and figure was the theme.  I worked tirelessly - nonstop went the blade, when suddenly I stopped midmotion....there was a praying mantis standing on top of the shrub, just 2 inches away from the blade.  I became so excited...I haven't seen a praying mantis since I was a little girl and I remember that you cannot kill them; they are a special species.  My colleagues came out to see the little guy and one fellow gently placed our new friend 'Larry' in his hand.  Larry, the praying mantis took a  good, long and hard look at each one of us as we marvelled his size, form and intelligent visage.  As we discussed where we should sit him down to safety, it crossed my mind that in every fairy tale, cartoon or fable, it is the praying mantis that is the wise sage.  This little guy's gaze proved the point.  We found a safe spot for Larry, took some photos of him, and we all went about our business.

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  take time out to look around you.  Be involved and interact with the natural world.  Engage others into sharing the experience.  We all walked away with smiles on our faces and a story to share with others.  Helping Larry, the praying mantis made all of us feel good; a small community of humans joining together to make this insect more comfortable.  It was truly magical.  Maybe Larry decided to land onto that shrub to interrupt our day on purpose....he wisely engaged a few humans into a peaceful space of time....always the sage.

A Single Act Creates Many Smiles

I started a little landscaping project a few weeks ago...my mission was to regain a portion of the parking lot at a friend's business.  I began shovelling phase 1:  20ft x 6ft x 3 ft of dirt and sand.  I was throwing the shovelfuls of debris into a dumpster one shovelful at a time.  An employee stopped and surveyed the scene and told me where I could purchase a wheelbarrow.  Off I went and got the wheelbarrow.  The task became much simpler.  A customer stopped by on his way into the service shop and asked me what I was doing.  Before long, he came back with another shovel and started to help me shovel through the mess.  I got to know who he was, where he lived, what his life was like.  After a while, his motorcycle was serviced and he apologized for not being able to stay longer and help.  I was very grateful...we're now friends.  After two days, 6 parking slots had been regained, brush and vines cut down and things were really looking up in the front of the place.  Clients stopped by and were so happy that they could now park their bikes in the shade.  The next weekend, the real task began....Phase 2 - another 20ft x 8ft x 5ft area that had been held hostage for about 20 years by weeds that had grown into 14ft trees, shrubs and weeds.  So, I bought a pair of overalls, a rake, and ate a good breakfast.  Wheelbarrows of debris were carted off to the woods across the road, where the birds, bunnies and other furry things and characters with wings claimed the debris as ingredients for their summer homes.  Funny....these animals never eat anything out of my herbal garden...they're happy to have building materials given to them with no effort or risk of harm (we have a deal!).  At one point, there was a root system that I just couldn't break thru with the shovel.  A customer who was waiting for service came over and suggested that he help.  He brought over an axe that he had in his RV.  Together, with two other clients, we managed to get that sucker free and out of the ground.  Now, full steam ahead!  The next weekend was the toughest....a 30 year old lilac bush that was breaking up the asphalt needed to be taken out...but there was no axe that would get this puppy out of the ground.  Before I knew it, employees and clients alike, all of whom had been observing my progress thus far came to the rescue.  Before I knew it, there were 6 of us working on the project with a forklift.  The roots were surgically cut so that the next door neighbor's foliage would not be damaged.  When we got the bush free, everyone helped to cut it up and get it into the wheelbarrow and into the woods.  Now...everybody wanted to know what was going to happen with all this empty space full of lousy soil and sand.  I am an optimist.  I said 'we are going to have a flowerbed here'.  The next morning, I had more recruits to help me at Lowe's to pick up hostas, plastic borders and some other supplies.  By the day's end, clients had come over to help me weed, dig, plant and water the new flowerbed.  This week, I've had volunteers to go over to the lot and water the new plants.  This weekend, another volunteer is offering his pickup truck and connections to get a bucket of mulch so that we can protect our new garden from the hot sun and make it look a bit prettier.  I just heard that the little old woman next door and her relatives came over to the shop yesterday to comment how wonderful our new flowerbed looks and how they are just so happy to be neighbors.  Another couple asked if I would administer their 10th anniversary vows (now that I've become an ordained minister) and since the parking lot now has a canopy, flowerbed and garden - could they do it there with all their other biker friends?  I don't think that should be a problem.  I'll wear my rhinestone-studded helmet to perform the ceremony.  You just can't make this stuff up, folks...

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  Remember that one single act you initiate can create a waterfall of actions.  Whatever you do in life, do it with good intentions and those good intentions will spread.  Every day that I look at that flowerbed, I will remember all the smiling faces who shared in the experience.  My next project?  A 30 year old Sabrett cart that is dirty, disgusting and rusted.  It's going to become a flowercart soon...Harley Davisdon orange and black....of course!