“No School Foster/Glocester” was broadcast far and wide many times over the radio by the late Salty Brine. They were the four words that signaled to children of all ages that the day was going to be a snow day and schools were destined to be closed in Rhode Island and nearby Massachusetts. These words signaled we were free to do whatever we wanted in the newly-fallen snow. I hear Salty’s words loud and clear in my mind every time it snows (even though he died sixteen years ago).

Memories of the Blizzard of ’78

I’m old enough to remember the Blizzard of ’78 that crippled Southern New England for a week or more. I found myself stuck at home with my mother and younger sister. My older brother and his best friend were stuck at my grandfather’s printshop with my dad. The road in front of our house was impassable with some 60 inches of snow blocking it until a huge V-Plow snowplow brought in from Buffalo, New York broke though the snow and opened the road back up.

Once we were able to venture out, necessities such as bread and milk were scarce and nearly impossible to find. The newscasts being broadcast on the radio were our main source of finding out what was going on in the world beyond the confines of our snow-covered house. That snowy February changed the region. To this day, people tend to over prepare by exhausting supplies of milk and bread with even the slightest hint of snow in the forecast.

Today’s blizzard

Today the blizzard that is a brewin’ up a storm dropped some 15″+ of snow fall at our home. Normally, I would be sure that I dug my car out out of its snowy grave and make my way to work to see what was going on there. But, with recent technological advances allowing me to answer telephone calls and emails on my cell phone, I decided instead to pass on the struggle through the snowbanks and half-plowed roads to arrive to work. I decided instead to stay at home to do a little writing for my blog under a nice warm blanket.

Science fairs and Mr. Houser

While writing, memories of the Blizzard of ’78 and using the unexpected time given to me by the blizzard come flooding back to me. Back in ’78, I used the extra time given to me wisely. I used it to complete my science project. I received a first place award in the fair that propelled me to the state science fair. There, I received a second place, and received a special award for the best project on dentistry. Ironically, genetics played a major part in that project, and I am still doing yearly experiments in genetics with my roses.

Back at our high school in the late 1970’s the head of the science department, Mr. Hauser, put great importance in to having the students doing yearly science projects. And, to a large degree, he was correct. I learned a great deal back then about science and the scientific method. My brother (along with his best friend) did very well at the fair and received first place awards. They both went to the state science fair and did extremely well. That earned them tickets to the national science fair where they did well extremely well there, too. Mr. Houser was one of those special educators who continue to influence their students long after the students are no longer in their classes.

Roger Williams Park –  A blizzard in pictures

While writing this story on this snowy day, I am reminded of another blizzard a dozen years ago where I went to the Roger Williams Park Victorian Rose Garden and took pictures of the garden with the snow still falling. There’s something about being the first person to walk in the snow right after it has fallen (or while it is still coming down). There is a sense of being alone and having the honour of being the first to walk in the virgin snow. New discoveries abound as you become aware that you are the first to explore Mother Nature’s newly-created environment.

Pictures and Reflections

Back when I went to the Roger Williams Park, I took many pictures (digital cameras are great). I took pictures of statues, frozen ponds, the Betsey Williams Cottage, rose hips, the rose garden from afar (as well as close up), and the last rose of the summer (a solitary bloom of Rhode Island Red), trying so hard to open up, but Mother Nature was having no part of allowing that to happen. The pictures I took that day are some of my favorite of the rose garden. I wish that I could share them all with you here, but am unable to do so.

The first thing that I notice when I look at these pictures is the importance of the structures and backdrops that are part of the garden that are often called the “bones” of a garden. These bones add interest that go well beyond the fabulous blooms that you see there during the growing season. Functional items such as trellises, pergolas, gazebos, etc. become interesting garden accruements when the flowers are not blooming. Adding items of interest such as these to our gardens not only adds functionality beyond the beauty of the flowers growing within, they add year-round interest. It is also a great way to have a part of our personalities peek through these items that we add.

A Dodge truck cab for our garden

As I look over at my rose garden, I see an old 1934/35 Dodge truck cab that I set up (complete with a “test bed” for my seedlings). My wife requested I include this truck in our garden at our old house. I was sure to move it with the roses to the new house. The truck is a symbol to where and how my wife and I met, as well as a reminder of family members and friends who are no longer with us.

I’ll be discussing the old truck and how my wife and I rescued it from oblivion in more detail in a future blog. Plans are also in the works for adding other garden accessories as well to our garden. I’m taking the time to see where I need these additional items. Once the weather is more conducive to building/adding these items, I will take the opportunity to include them.

Adding bones to our gardens

I would also like to encourage you to think about what types of bones/accessories that you can include in your gardens to personalize them and make your gardens that much more special than they already are. These items can be just about anything. Be creative. Think outside the box. If it hasn’t been done yet, now is the time for you to do it. And, remember, recycling items or making the items from scratch, can be much more rewarding to do, than just paying someone to build something for you.

Also, when you have family and friends with limited interest in roses and rose gardens (yes, these people do exist), have them help you build these accessories for your garden. These same people will gain a vested interest in what they have done for you and a larger sense of inclusion in your hobby. This sense of inclusion is very important as we navigate through the ups and downs of life in the 21st Century.

The end of 2020 and family

As 2020 and its ups and downs draws to a close, the importance of family becomes clearer and clearer. Having shared interests and experiences are more important than ever. While we may think of our rose gardens as simply places to grow our favorite flower, they are indeed much, much, more. One never knows who or how they will impact the people who are part of our lives. Enjoy the holiday season, and even though the chairs might not be filled as often as we would like this year, this too will soon be over.

The pharmaceutical industry recently announced exciting news. Not one, but two vaccines have been approved for emergency use by the FDA, and people are already receiving doses. This is the most important Christmas present that humanity can give itself. I look forward to, in time, enough people receiving vaccinations and life returning to some sense of “normal.”

Epilogue

Happy New Year to all. This is my last blog of 2020. May 2021 bring in a new year where all of your dreams come true. With the hope of returning to a normal way of life and being with people again, I’m excited. Not only to be with my relatives and rose-growing friends, but next month the rose seeds will be ready to be planted and there’s always a new adventure in roses that comes along with my newly-created babies.

Since the snowstorm back on the 17th, we have received exciting news in our family. We are gaining a new son-in-law. My daughter became engaged on the 19th. We are thrilled to have her fiancé‚ be a part of our family. She is thinking of having her wedding in a public rose garden. (I wonder where she ever got that idea?) I have mentioned to her that June/early July is the best time in Southern New England for roses in bloom. Maybe, I’ll even have a few roses in bloom that she can use in her bridal bouquet (and centerpieces)?

My Pens

A few days before I originally started writing this story, I was on a mission to get a couple of my old fountain pens working and writing better. I saw a procedure online that I just had to try out. The tips of fountain pens are massaged and tailored to one’s particular writing style. I have a couple of pens that didn’t work well. So, it wasn’t the end of the world if they were ruined if this procedure didn’t work.  For example, I owned an unknown black pen with only “Made in USA” on it and a gold-plated Waldorf pen that I needed put back together (again).

The tip massaging was a success. After I tweaked the tips of the pens and put them back together, these pens worked extremely well. The ink flowed at just the right rates. I used both to compose the original version of this blog. Two more successes were made in taking something discarded and deemed useless, only later to be turned back into something useful again.