Ulog 29: Getting By With Some Help: Autumn Garden Clean-Up Begins

When It's Time Clean Up... The Clean Up Team Comes To The Rescue

Not being able to do my yearly garden clean up this year due to some problems I've encountered after a vehicle collision about a month ago, I was at wit's end trying to figure out how I was going to be able to do it. Mu husband works 70 hours per week (seven days a week) and all my family live too far away and my children have their own young families to contend to. So what's a girl to do?

I happened to be in my email spam folder when I came across a newsletter, from a few weeks ago, from a local church looking for people in the area that needed some help. Even though we are not members of the church family, I decided to contact the community coordinator to see if I would and could be eligible.

Imagine my surprise when he said ABSOLUTELY!

So yesterday, a group of eleven volunteers were at my house before 9am to start my fall clean up. All I wanted them to do was weed the flower and herb garden beds, as I am having issues with mobility and flexibility. And I was hoping they could rake up or blow away some of the fallen leaves around the yard.

Boy did they do an AWESOME job!

Not only did they weed ALL the flower, herb and garden beds but they raked every leaf away, used blower to clean off the driveway, emptied out my charcoal BBQ grill ash collector, took down BOTH my greenhouses and packed them away in the boxes, pulled the remains of the zucchini, luffa gourd and yellow squash plants and hauled away ALL the trash from the fall clean up.

Stacie and Mary, congregation members and clean up volunteers from the church weed the front flower and herb garden beds; taking a moment to enjoy the scent of my lemon balm.

Eric, helps a young volunteer, and shows him the proper way to disassemble my larger greenhouse to pack away for the season.

When all was said and done, each lady who weeded and cleaned up, took home a bagful of lemon balm, sage, oregano and some leftover cucamelons.

I spoke with all three women about my love and passion for gardening as they worked and I mentioned about when we had moved here almost three years ago that I was looking for a community garden locally- because I am VERY limited with my growing allocation here. Well, Stacie, who happens to be the Communications and Connections Director at the church was excited to hear this. She said the church has about 1/2 acre of land behind the main parking lot that could be a perfect place to do such a community project. She added that this could really help seasonally supplement their Community Cupboard.

We exchanged phone numbers and she said she will be taking this idea to the church's pastors and directors to see if a community garden could be done. I offered up some of my heirloom seeds to get them started (as I have an abundance of them) and even offered to be on the committee if this is something that gets approved. I feel so good knowing this may happen and I would be involved. Even though I am a quiet homebody, this is a project I could and would put 100% into.

Another woman who was there volunteering (I apologize as I can't remember her name) was asking me about the herbs and I went on to tell her about my dehydrating, preserving, soap making and all my little projects. She was in awe of all that I do and was wondering if I'd be interested in helping others learn these skills.

OMGosh! No way! Someone wants me to share!! How unbelievable!

After the down feeling I have been living through since my auto collision, these uplifting and encouraging words really made me smile... all the way to my heart and soul.

Also posted to whaleshares @goldendawne

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