in the quiet
weird day at the nursery today. to set the stage..., a major storm blew through yesterday and brought with it cooler and drier air - THANK YOU! a bunch of us were standing around watching the sky darken and saw the storms coming toward us very fast. a few of us were already making a beeline for the basement when my manager made the announcement over the radio that everyone should head to the basement immediately. within seconds, hanging baskets were flying through the air, the rain came pouring down, and then the power went out. customers and employees alike were standing around in the dark feeling around for cell phones, looking for flashlights, and some candles. finally got the place illuminated and waited it out a bit. when we surfaced, it looked like destruction up there. all of the plants were blown over and relocated, some tossed out of their pots....
there was apparently a tornado-like vortex of wind that blew diagonally through the garden center. (can't say for sure it was a tornado; i didn't see it, just heard about it and saw the aftermath.) it managed to crack a 200+ year old oak tree that will likely have to come down, knocked over all the plants and trees in the nursery, took out 3 panels of fencing toward the back of the property, and then mowed down a bunch of trees on the property right behind the garden center as well. anyway..., all of the staff just went right to work picking up plants, working together to clean up the mess. it was weird - felt a bit post-apocolyptic or something.
and then there was today. still no power at the garden center. we were open for business, but it was so eerily quiet. there were no phones ringing, very few announcements over the radios (walkie talkies), no radio playing in the perennials and annuals section, no fans running in the greenhouse or the perennials and annuals section, no noise from the pump for the well.... all we heard was traffic, birds, and each other talking here and there. and there were very few customers today.
in a way, it was kind of nice. i did help 2 or 3 customers, but in general, i just got to take care of plants. i wasn't interrupted or distracted from watering or pruning by answering the "call on line 1" or meeting a "customer by the boxwoods...." i realize that all of those things are parts of my job, but it was nice for a day to just take care of the plants and not have so much noise around.
and the garden center really does feel like a family. everyone kind of looks out for everyone else. it's a very nice place to work. i'm glad i found it and am glad that they welcomed me into their family. even though it was never meant to be a final resting place for me (the concept is foreign anyway, since i have no sense of permanence, but i digress)..., i'm certainly not ready to leave yet.
there was apparently a tornado-like vortex of wind that blew diagonally through the garden center. (can't say for sure it was a tornado; i didn't see it, just heard about it and saw the aftermath.) it managed to crack a 200+ year old oak tree that will likely have to come down, knocked over all the plants and trees in the nursery, took out 3 panels of fencing toward the back of the property, and then mowed down a bunch of trees on the property right behind the garden center as well. anyway..., all of the staff just went right to work picking up plants, working together to clean up the mess. it was weird - felt a bit post-apocolyptic or something.
and then there was today. still no power at the garden center. we were open for business, but it was so eerily quiet. there were no phones ringing, very few announcements over the radios (walkie talkies), no radio playing in the perennials and annuals section, no fans running in the greenhouse or the perennials and annuals section, no noise from the pump for the well.... all we heard was traffic, birds, and each other talking here and there. and there were very few customers today.
in a way, it was kind of nice. i did help 2 or 3 customers, but in general, i just got to take care of plants. i wasn't interrupted or distracted from watering or pruning by answering the "call on line 1" or meeting a "customer by the boxwoods...." i realize that all of those things are parts of my job, but it was nice for a day to just take care of the plants and not have so much noise around.
and the garden center really does feel like a family. everyone kind of looks out for everyone else. it's a very nice place to work. i'm glad i found it and am glad that they welcomed me into their family. even though it was never meant to be a final resting place for me (the concept is foreign anyway, since i have no sense of permanence, but i digress)..., i'm certainly not ready to leave yet.