The garden gate creaked as a I swung it open causing the brown thrashers to vacate their perches on the fence. As I carefully trod between the herbs and ducked under the grapevine trellises, I caught sight of the cucumber and tomato plants that have come to dominate our little garden plot. The smell of a tomato plant is one of my favorites and its earthy sweetness filled my nostrils, taking me back to my days with Grandma Stoner digging carrots out of her garden with a big metal spoon. As I wove through the tomato cages, I noted the chocolate cherries, sundrops, and beefsteaks hanging heavy and plentiful on their branches, the fruits of a little labor ripening in the morning sun.
Mary Mary quite contrary…
PAKEEEW!
The sound of a gunshot was followed quickly by a frightful yell from my wife, who had been startled by the abrupt noise emanating from our neighbor’s property.
“Damn it, Greg!”, she hollered.
“Can’t a guy stroll through his garden in peace around here?!”, I added.
“Sorry!”, Greg replied from across the street. “Red squirrels trying to get in the house again,” his .22 rifle deftly held as he scouted the branches of his pine tree for the perpetrator. The squirrel let out a chattering cackle as it escaped into the privacy of the upper boughs.
Having time to plant and tend to a garden and getting to know our neighbors better have been two of the most fruitful rewards in an oddball year full of unexpected lessons. Being forced to stay at home for weeks on end made us really appreciate our little acreage in rural Michigan. As the restrictions loosened, we began to slowly venture further out, feeling our way through the new social landscape that lay beyond our driveway. Being the social creature that I am, I was quite ready for some interaction and the first people that I got to connect with were my neighbors (outside and at a safe distance, of course). And boy do we have some great folks living around us!
The Glenn, aka Pancake Town, sign sits on the edge of our large yard.
Greg and Shelley live across the street and help us trap critters while the boys fish and swim in their pond. Tim is a master carpenter and former firefighter who brings me old tools he finds in his barn for our Lamplighter sculpture. Jon and Crystal and their toddler Maury take our excess zucchini and kids toys and commiserate about keeping the rabbits out of the garden and keeping our sanity through parenthood. Rory is a welder and trucker who cut his teeth welding together 16-inch thick steel boilers from the inside, where temperatures were kept at 150+ degrees to help facilitate the welds. And those are just some of the folks within earshot!
I love the community that can be fostered in small-town life and I could go on and on about the interesting individuals that compose ours. But I’ll spare you that this time around and only tell you about one more neighbor who lives down the road: Sue Poolman. Sue is not only a beekeeper and fresh-egg huckster, she also runs the local Farmers’ Market in nearby Saugatuck. This year, she’s also heading the Saugatuck Center for the Arts Magnificent Makers Market, and guess who will be a part of it this coming weekend? This guy!
Saturday, August 15 10-6 | Sunday, August 16 10-4
As 2020 continues to throw curveballs, Ashley and I have decided to adapt and go small. From the biggest and most notorious art fairs in the country drawing visitors in the tens of thousands to small, local events limiting customers to 80 at a time and we all have masks. What a weird and wonderful trip this has been.
So if you’re in the neighborhood of Saugatuck, Michigan this weekend and would like to see my latest creations and say howdy through our masks, please stop on by the Saugatuck Center for the Arts this Saturday (10-6) and Sunday (10-4). I’ll be set up in the parking lot and eager to chat.
If you aren’t in my neighborhood, I’ll be making updates on my Instagram stories about how it’s going and keep an eye on my schedule for the possibility of a couple of other small events in Michigan including Arts, Beats, and Eats in Royal Oak.
This is a year of upended routines and new weird norms. My prayer is that you will find a way to fruitfully adapt to your new world and keep your eyes open for new opportunities to let your light shine.
Stay safe and sane out there.