Looking at someone's hands can tell you a lot about a person. When I meet someone I look into their eyes and at their hands. The eyes may be a window into someone's soul, but their hands will tell you the type of life they lead - regardless of whether that life style is by choice or necessity.
(Obviously these are not my hands.)
For me ragged nails are the result of my hobby of choice. Connecting with the earth feeds my spirit and fills me with joy. I love to feel the texture of the soil - moist and cool - teaming with the building blocks of life. Clearly I never grew out of wanting to make a good mud pie.
Wearing gloves while gardening was always an after thought. I get so involved with tending to plants that I forget to put them on. When I do remember to wear them I find them inhibiting - I guess I need to really feel what I'm doing. I can't tell you the number of times I've done more damage to a plant than good while wearing them. Have you ever grabbed a good stem mistakenly while wearing gloves and snipped it off instead of the slimy bad one you would have felt with bare hands?
Then there's the expense. I've spent big bucks on the best gardening gloves, but no matter how much I spend they just don't seem to last. I'm better off going to a discount store buying a few cheap pairs that I don't mind throwing away.
Last Saturday Andy surprised me with spa "mani-pedi" (I can't believe I'm even saying that because it's so cliche, but that's what I got). Pedicures I get all the time, but manicures during gardening season are often a waste of money because as soon as I get my nails done I'm back digging in the dirt. So in an effort to save this manicure treat as long as possible I rushed out to stock up on some gloves.
This pair is soft, thin, and form fitting for doing precise work.
This one is made of rubber with finger grips for working in the mud.
And another made of leather for those tough jobs.
Do you wear gloves or do you prefer to go bare handed? What's your favorite type of glove? I'd love for you to share.
.JPG)
14 comments:
Great post(-: I am lol(-: I believe it or not use to always have fake nails. Until his past year! I gardened like a crazy person with them. They came in handy as tools and I spent a lot of money keeping them looking nice. I finally gave up and just took them off.
I only wear gloves when I am mowing the lawn for some reason or using a shovel to dig. I love to dig in the dirt with my bare hands!
I prefer to use bare hands; I'm clumsy with gloves on but I do have a good leather pair for when I trim the roses.
No gloves for me-ever. Like you they inhibit and I want to feel the soil. I always have dirt under my fingernails and you can tell I am a gardener. Hubby is a mechanic so he always has grease under his nails. It is kind of funny.
It sounds like you and I are the same! If you saw my nails right now, you would not know I am a nail tech!!! I do the gel style from home for a few ladies....anyways...I have all those gloves...and don't like to wear any of them...I have the same issues as you with not knowing for sure what's what when we wear them!
great post today...maybe I should do one about where to find a good nail brush! ha ha!
I am just like you when it comes to hands. I don't do a manicure because it would just get ruined. I hate wearing gloves - just too thick. I will usually wear them when doing a lot of pruning or when working in damp soil. I still haven't found any that will let me really feel anything when I garden. I have been wearing them more often when planting, but take them off to actually put a plant in the ground.
Jan
Always Growing
I always use my bare hands, I hate to where gloves and since I am a floral designer why bother with a manicure. Great post!
My hands look terrible, and I'm often embarrassed when I go to pay for something (other than at a nursery) and see how dirty they look even though I scrubbed them with soap and a brush. I think the last manicure I had was for my wedding many years ago. I do wear gloves sometimes, we have a lot of slugs in the garden and I just hate touching them :(
My feet are almost as bad since I always wear flip flops when I garden.
I LOVE to garden but you betcha I wear gloves ... there's critters in that soil!!! TTFN ~Marydon
No gloves for me. I have a few pair, leave them outside and dont take care of them. Right now my nails are polished and look decent. My heels are another story.
If I am digging or moving dirt I wear gloves. If I am weeding I am bare handed, I can pull better! I garden with my real nails. I usually paint them once a week...I have to or else they look terrible from the gardening.
Definitely bare-handed. And I'd say that I have dirt under my fingernails about 80% of the time that I am awake. The only time I wear gloves is if I have to work near poison ivy or with thorny plants.
I also used to prefer weeding bare handed. But then I got a pair of the wonderfully thin nirile gloves - my newer neighbors don't have their dog fenced or leashed. And I've stepped in more dog poop than I did when we had a dog...
So gloves vs hands that smell like dog urine - yea gloves!
I never used to wear gardening gloves but have been doing so this year now I can garden again and I have my trousers in my socks. I do not want any more tick bites again so have managed to find some fairly thin and cheap gardening gloves.
I stated LOL at the picture of the french manicured nails. NOT at his house!! I have dirt ground into the cracks of my fingers and it won't come out. Gonna need to soak in a tub tonight I think. I've tried gloves, but they still end up with dirt in the fingers. Kind of gave up... Great post. Hope you like your new gloves. I favor the soft ones with the rubber fingers if I use them..
Post a Comment