From: jayres(a)cvctx.com
To: weeklong-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org
Date: Thu, 17 Mar 2011 17:33:02 -0700
Subject: Re: [Weeklong-l] Virginia's Roses
P.O. Box 202 Round Top, TX 78954.
Doc
On Mar 17, 2011, at 11:39 AM, McDonald G. wrote:
Dear Doc,
I'd like to send money for the roses. Could you remind me of your
mailing address? I wish I could have been there.
Love,
Gail
________________________________________
From: weeklong-l-bounces(a)lists.wikimedia.org [weeklong-l-bounces(a)lists.wikimedia.org
] On Behalf Of James Ayres [jayres(a)cvctx.com]
Sent: 16 March 2011 02:22
To: weeklong-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org
Subject: Re: [Weeklong-l] Virginia's Roses
And that's the way it was.
On Mar 15, 2011, at 5:00 PM, Clay Stromberger wrote:
> Thanks for the note, Doc, and for bringing all the moving parts
> together so perfectly.
>
> This sport, well carried, SHALL be chronicled.
>
> Though I also think that as always Doc's concrete and brief
> chronicle of the time says it very well. But perhaps there are a
> few other moments to recall and pass along.... so here's a note to
> those that we love and to them that love us. We want you all there
> for the next planting project.
>
>
> It was a gloriously cool and sunny verge-of-spring morning, very
> fitting for such a special person as Virginia Elverson. The birds
> were talking all at once, as Townes Van Zandt used to sing. I even
> saw a bright red cardinal in the Barn, perched atop a metal folding
> chair, when I went in there to change out of my longjohns (it was
> warming up by then). As Doc said at one point with a grin, "Some of
> these folks haven't been out here before when it's nice." The grass
> was so soft and lush that Willa, 10, could not resist springing into
> a few cartwheels, which inspired Emma, 8, to try the same. Mini-
> lessons from Willa ensued, but must be continued at a future date,
> as Emma still hasn't perfected that essential skill of girlhood.
>
> Backing up a bit: Aug, Em and I arrived a bit late to the lovely
> sight of a whole line of folks working hard along the fence line
> (first in view: Maggie in her broad gardening hat and shades),
> enlarging the perfectly round post-holes dug by Doc (how did he do
> it? Those digger things are heavy. The holes were all perfectly
> shaped...!). In the classic Winedale tradition, everyone pitched
> in and figured out what needed to be done and brought their
> particular gifts to bear as needed. Jeff and Stan were the old
> gardening hands when it came to such things as setting up the
> irrigation system Doc envisioned (a long plastic hose running the
> length of the fence, with little smaller lines plugged in at
> intervals to run off and drip water at the base of each particular
> rose) and finding the right mix of mulch and dirt and "root food".
> Joy was resplendent in a bright white longsleeved shirt and red
> bandana as she fussed happily over her digging project. It was
> great to see Augie and Finlay, fellow "Midsummer" Campers last
> summer, working side by side again. Susan and Maggie kicked off the
> rose songs spontaneously at some point, shovels in hand (final tune
> was "Love is a Rose," Linda Rondstadt's cover of the Neil Young
> original, which Emma was too shy to sing solo, but Susan convinced
> her to sing one line with me and then the rest of the crew repeated
> it while shoveling the leftover compost into the back of Doc's
> pickup). Finlay and mom Liz looked up the colors of the different
> roses, and, at Doc's suggestion, lined them up to ensure a variety
> of color as you drive or walk or bicycle past later this spring.
>
> Part of the fun of digging is the occasional surprise you find.
> Exhibit #1 was an old horseshoe (muleshoe?) that Will discovered --
> time for an archeological dig at Winedale? Then Jeff found some old
> iron nails in a few other holes and began to wonder if the folks
> who'd planted the original roses had put these things in there to
> add some iron to the soil...? Any of you History Detectives out
> there have a clue on that one? Not sure where the horseshoe ended
> up, but I hope it can eventually find a home in the Barn. Meanwhile
> Willa and Emma set the record for finding the most grubs -- eight, I
> believe (six of them alive!), which they named "Harry," and then
> "Harry II," "Harry III".... an little unconscious touch of
> Shakespeare in the morning.
>
> Elroy, the jovial groundskeeper with the musical drawl and the bushy
> grey mustache under his glasses, was a huge help, zipping around in
> the white Winedale pickup and providing us with tools and a
> wheelbarrow.
>
> This was the kind of work that allowed for catching up with your
> neighbor the next rose-bush over. I found out that high school
> senior Noah Sgovio, whom most of you will remember from his always-
> wonderful "I do much wonder..." speech this summer, is headed off to
> UT in August as a philosophy major and theater minor. Perfect for
> one of the best Hamlets ever to lecture Horatio in the Barn. Will
> and Augie riffed in fine teenage-boy form on the word "clod" while
> piling excess dirt on the little red wagon.
>
> At some point we finally looked up and saw the work was done, and it
> was good, and the water was dripping. So Doc and Maggie headed for
> Mercantile for sandwiches (Maggie's treat) and after some chatting I
> suggested a hike to MacGregor House. A group of us headed that way
> and soon came upon one of those I-wish-I-had-my-camera images: Jeff
> and Susan sitting in the two memorial benches under the stately
> pines, the bright green meadow beyond them. Jeff had his jaunty
> straw riverboat-gambler hat on, and had his right arm looped over
> the back of Henry Wilkinson's bench on the left as they talked;
> Susan sat in the beautiful new bench on the right. Ah, I realized,
> the bench for Lizz that Matt told us about. An "On Golden Pond"
> moment (yes, we are heading into those golden years...). We all
> stood around and talked about how to arrange all of our future
> memorial benches. Susan wanted a circle that extended into the
> meadow; Jeff pointed out how this might make mowing difficult.
> Susan countered with the idea of a trail extending into the meadow
> to sort of anchor the benches; Joy suggested a labyrinth in the
> center (vetoed). We then segued inevitably into a discussion about
> the Winedale Retirement Complex and then set out for MacGregor.
>
> We wondered how we'd know when Doc and Maggie were back -- well, of
> course, we heard a distant pealing as Doc rang the bell by the
> Barn. I raced Augie back (still can beat him, ha ha! -- though not
> much longer...) -- and then followed my second camera-pang moment,
> as I looked back and saw, like something out of a film (my Michael
> Barker influence kicking in), the players of the day heading my way
> across the broad green meadow, at varying distances, singly or in
> pairs, gesturing (Jeff to Joy I think) or skipping (Emma) or
> strolling and laughing.... but all set against that green in the
> sunlight, so peaceful and beautiful, no one in a hurry. I just had
> to stare at it for a moment. Not sure a photo could capture that,
> really.
>
> We wrapped the day up with lunch at the picnic tables and yes, at
> Stan's smiling insistence, a four-person (one line each) reading of
> the Stein poem sent by Mary.
>
> What did I miss, fellow early-rosers?
>
> Augie told me afterwards back at home, in his classic Augie way of
> making little pronouncements out of the blue, "Dad, you know, it
> felt good to be out at Winedale, working on planting the roses....
> I'm not sure why, it just felt good to be doing that."
>
> Yep. You said it, buddy.
>
>
>
> cheers,
>
> cs
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Mar 15, 2011, at 6:42 PM, James Ayres wrote:
>
>> We planted 14 roses for Virginia this morning. Look for Clayton's
>> chronicle of the event. Thanks to Kirsten, Joy, Maggie, Susan,
>> Clayton and son Augie and daughter Emma, Jeff and son Will, Noah
>> Sgovio and Finlay Scanlon (Camp Shakespeare kids), Willa and Liz
>> (Finlay's sister and mom), we completed the task with rose songs
>> and a
>> reading of Mary's rose poem.
>>
>> We set up a "Rose for Virginia" sponsorship to defray the costs of
>> the
>> antique roses, the compost, and the watering system we put in
>> place.
>> Should any of you wish to sponsor a rose for Virginia, please send
>> me
>> a check for $30.00. We planted 14 roses. And have already 6
>> sponsorships.
>>
>> We had great weather and great fun.
>>
>> Doc
>>
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>
> Clayton Stromberger
> Outreach Coordinator, UT Shakespeare at Winedale
> College of Liberal Arts, University of Texas at Austin
>
www.shakespeare-winedale.org
> cell: 512-363-6864
> UT Sh. at W. office: 512-471-4726
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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