New Table For Christmas Bonsais

October 24, 2021

Reflections, Day 16

I am looking for someone to share in an adventure that I am arranging, and it’s very difficult to find anyone.’
I should think so — in these parts! We are plain quiet folk and have no use for adventures. Nasty disturbing uncomfortable things! Make you late for dinner!”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit

What a beautiful Saturday it was.

And there were no adventures.

In my quest for an outstanding cup of espresso, I made a method adjustment or two and then, after the steaming ceremony, I was able to sit out on the porch of a Saturday morning, sipping and pondering.

While I enjoyed the coffee, Dekie came out and carefully put together a table arrangement with cuttings from the orange begonia. I thought she was going to take it in the house but she left it there on the table, just for me.

“Me and the guys” had built a new table Friday afternoon and I admired it for a moment. My goal for the day was to get some of our “bonsai” plants isolated so that we could polish and groom them for the Christmas Art Market in December. This was a terribly difficult job. I had to slowly, carefully, walk around and examine each of over a hundred candidates.

There were a few plants that we don’t want to get rid of. They were not candidates for the new table.

There were many that were not ready to go anywhere.

And then there were the ones that I could pick up, look at the trunk and the landscape around it—and grin. These are the ones I selected.

If you know me, you know that I enjoy “elf-man gardens.” The potted and shaped trees give me a perfect palette for a small bit of landscape artistry. I’ll turn the plants on the table into sites for mountains, rivers, paths, and, of course, a rock for the elf-man to sit on and contemplate.

Working on the plantings takes time, attention to detail, and a total disregard for how long it will take. This is a major opportunity for meditation.

—john schulz

Find positive places for patient pondering.