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| Kirsten: My back should be this straight?! |
This week we had an on-site visit from Barbara Shaw, a massage and craniosacral therapist from the brand new Harmony Health Centre Cooperative. Barbara shadowed us in the gardens for a few hours before leading us through the specifics of garden ergonomics. We learned a number of techniques for protecting our bodies against strain, working efficiently, and supporting each other, and received a list of exercises to warm-up, cool-down and strengthen. If we are working in your gardens and you see us stand, look up, and spread our arms like wings, know that we are not begging a higher power to see us through a difficult patch of weeds: we are employing a partner, or counterpose, that is keeping us limber.
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| Yes, we’re edge-proud. Just look at that curve, that texture! |
Still in my first month at HNH, I am doing my best to become accustomed to the demands of landscaping. Mulching is a key sustainable landscaping practice and for 5 hours yesterday, we edged beds and spread mulch. Just to shake things up a bit, we topped off those hours with 2 more hours of wheelbarrowing mulch up a gravel hill that could only be taken at a run. I’m beginning to look forward to those second and third winds, or the adrenalin kick that Rosmarie refers to as runner’s high. Having put that kind of energy in, it is immensely satisying to take that last walk around a client’s property to see how much we have accomplished in a single day.
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| You want us to pose? |
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| Got to get this edge just right |
Yesterday, I was impressed that, after a long day of shovelling and barrowing, our team leaders were still intent on the details. While I was thinking about a hot bath (and a hot whiskey, please?), Alex was fine-tuning the gravel/mulch edge on a driveway and Chris was going over the finer points of plant care with Rita.
Of course, now that we’ve gotten our engines started, there’s only one way to keep us running. Call the HNH office if you’ve got a job for us!