The Constant Gardener

Friday was Tillerwoman's day.

One of my commenters christened my wife as Tillerwoman a few months ago and I've taken to using that name here to refer to her myself. It only occurred to me the other day that the name is a better fit than I had ever realized.

tiller, n. One who tills.

till, v.t. Prepare and use soil for crops.

Yup. I just waggle a tiller. She is a tiller.

My thing is sailing; her thing is gardening. My idea of a perfect day is playing with my Laser in wind and waves. Her idea of a perfect day is playing in the dirt.

I've spent the last few summers teaching kids to sail. She's spent the last few summers helping to run a gardening program for kids where they grow their own vegetables and flowers.

On Wednesday nights I go racing with a local Sunfish fleet. On Wednesday afternoons, Tillerwoman runs an after-school nature program for third-graders at our local elementary program. She's been running that program for fifteen years now.

This year she received the recognition that she richly deserves. She was chosen to be the person to be honored in our town's Arbor Day ceremony. Her name was displayed on the notice board outside the town hall all week. (I would have shown you a photo but it looks just like one of my church sign spoofs so you probably wouldn't have believed it.) On Friday afternoon all the kids from the elementary school assembled in front of the school in perfect, sunny, spring weather. The school band played. Poems about trees were read by the first grade classes. Speeches were made by the principal, the school superintendent, the mayor and the chair of the shade tree commission. A certificate was presented. A flowering cherry tree was ceremonially planted in honor of Tillerwoman. (That's it in the photo above.)

And everyone applauded Tillerwoman for all her wonderful work with the kids over the years teaching them about plants and passing on to them her love of nature.

I'm so proud of her.