The Winds of Windsor

A Publication of Windsor Medical Center

Garden of Weedin’

Weeds. The bane of every carefully manicured lawn and garden. Once weeds take hold, their removal may require hours of backbreaking, frustrating, and never-ending work. Yet some gardeners actually encourage weeds to grow amongst their prize flowers and shrubs. After all, what is considered a weed and what is considered a desirable plant all depends on your point of view. During May, Gifts from the Garden Month, consider the benefits that some weeds bestow upon your garden.

Weeds have been defined as “plants growing in the wrong place.” Ralph Waldo Emerson  famously stated that a weed is a “plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered.” Others take a harsher tone,    worrying that weeds are competitive super plants that outcompete and overwhelm the flowers or shrubs we prefer because they grow so vigorously. The truth seems to lie somewhere in the middle. Yes, weeds are aggressive. But it also turns out that some savvy gardeners have uncovered their Emersonian virtues.

Dandelions are often the first weed we learn to recognize. It is one of many weeds that are edible. The plant’s leaves, flowers, and roots are not just edible; the root is also considered medicinal. Furthermore, dandelion roots loosen hard-packed soil while accumulating essential nutrients like potassium, phosphorus, and magnesium. White clover acts in a similar fashion, showing up wherever soil lacks nitrogen, a molecule necessary for plant growth. White clover transfers nitrogen from the air to the soil. The flowers of clover also attract pollinators and other insects beneficial to the garden. The broadleaf plantain weed, once called the white man’s foot by Native Americans because it seemed to grow wherever European colonists stepped, also accumulates nutrients in the soil. Of course, many of these weeds produce massive amounts of seeds, so while they do benefit the garden, they may soon overrun your more desirable flowers. Weeds have benefits, but they must be managed and cared for, just like any other garden flower.

Happy Mother’s Day

Perhaps the origin of Mother’s Day goes back to ancient Greece, where they held spring festivals in honor of Rhea, the mother of gods. This pagan celebration was linked to the beginning of the growing season and was what some call a celebration of “Mother Earth”. As Christianity spread throughout      Europe, the celebration became linked to Easter. Many churches celebrated “Mothering Sunday” on the fourth Sunday of Lent, the forty days leading up to Easter. It was a celebration of Mary, Mother of God, and it became customary to offer small gifts or cakes to mothers on this day.

In the 1600s in England, “Mothering Day” was celebrated. This was a day when wealthy families gave their servants a day off to return to their homes to visit their mothers. A special cake (called a “mothering cake”) was sent along with the servants. Today, Mother’s Day is a celebration for all mothers. This idea began with two women—Julia Ward Howe (who wrote the words to the “Battle Hymn of the   Republic”) and Anna Jarvis. Howe, a social reformer and poet, wanted a day when mothers could celebrate peace, and she organized a mothers’ meeting in Boston each year, starting in 1872. She suggested Mother’s Day be celebrated on June 2. She proposed calling it “Mother’s Day for Peace” and wrote the first Mother’s Day Proclamation. In 1907, Anna Jarvis, who lived in Philadelphia, persuaded her mother’s church in Grafton, West Virginia, to celebrate Mother’s Day on the second Sunday in May, which coincided with the anniversary of her mother’s death. By the next year, the day was also celebrated in Philadelphia. Jarvis then proceeded to write to ministers, politicians, and businessmen to establish a national Mother’s Day. Ironically, she was never a mother herself.

In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson made the official announcement, proclaiming Mother’s Day as a national holiday to be celebrated on the second Sunday in May. Today, many countries around the world celebrate Mother’s Day, although many on a different day.

We will be having a celebration for our residents here on Friday, May 7th at 2:30. Weather permitting, it will be outside in the courtyard. If the weather does not cooperate, it will be in the Activity Center. Michael Davis will be singing. If you haven’t already called to reserve a spot, please call Activities at extension 1309.

The Hart of the West

Billy the Kid. Jesse James. Wyatt Earp.      America’s Wild West has plenty of memorable names, but few of those names belong to women. History has largely forgotten the name, Pearl Hart, even though she staged the last stagecoach robbery of the Wild West on May 30, 1899.

Pearl Taylor was born in Ontario, Canada, to a respectable family that provided her with a good education, but not good enough to keep her from falling in love with a gambler named Frederick Hart. She ran away to marry Hart at age 17 and endured years of abuse. The couple’s drinking, gambling, and joblessness drew them to the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893 in search of work. Instead, Hart found Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show and was enamored of the cowboy lifestyle.

What we know of Hart’s life is spotty, but sometime after her experience in Chicago, she ended up in the mining town of Globe, Arizona, where she met another drifter, named Joe Boot. Hart and Boot were both broke, so they decided to rob the Globe-to-Florence stagecoach. Armed with a .38 revolver and dressed like a man, she made off with $431, after returning one dollar to each traveler so they could buy something to eat once they reached Florence.

After her capture, Hart regaled reporters with a dramatic retelling of her exploits. Her fans begged for autographs, and she obliged them, signing as the “Bandit Queen.” Hart was sent to Yuma, but it took just a few days for her to sweet-talk some accomplices into helping her escape. Hart was later found in New Mexico and returned to the Yuma prison. When she became pregnant a year later, Hart was released with a pardon from the Arizona governor, who hoped to avoid a scandal. The rest of Hart’s life is a mystery. Some say she may have joined the vaudeville circuit. Others say she settled down with a rancher and lived out her days as a law-abiding citizen. Either way, Hart’s wildlife story has earned her a place in the fabled history of America’s West.

LAUGHING MATTERS

“My wife asked me to buy ORGANIC vegetables from the market garden,” Pete said to his friend Harry. “So, were you able to find some?” Harry asked. “Well, when I got to the market, I told the gardener I was there to buy vegetables for my wife and needed to know if they’d been sprayed with any poisonous chemicals. The gardener  answered, ‘No, you’ll have to do that yourself.’”

The manager of the garden center overhears one of his nurserymen talking to a customer. “No, we haven’t had any of that in ages,” says the nurseryman. “And I don’t know when we’ll be getting any more.” The customer leaves, and the manager walks over to reprimand his staff member. “Never tell a customer we can’t get them something!” he yells. “Whatever they want we can always get it on order and deliver it. Do you understand?” The nurseryman nods. “So, what did he want, anyway?” asks the manager. “Rain,” replies the nurseryman.

George was going up to bed when his wife told him that he’d left the light on in the garden shed, which she could see from the bedroom window. George opened the back door to go turn off the light, but he saw that there were people in the shed stealing things. He phoned the police who asked, “Is someone in your house?” When George answered “no,” the police dispatcher said that all patrols were busy and that he should simply lock his door and an officer would be along when available. George said, “Okay,” hung up, counted to 30, and phoned the police again. “Hello, I just called you a few seconds ago because there were people in my shed. Well, you don’t have to worry about them now because I’ve just shot them all.” Then he hung up. Within five minutes three police cars, an armed response unit, and an ambulance showed up at George’s residence. The police caught the burglars red-handed. One of the policemen said to George, “I thought you said that you’d shot them!” George said, “I thought you said there was nobody available!”

A woman was applying for a job in a Florida lemon grove. “Miss, have you any experience in picking lemons?” the foreman asked. “Well, as a matter of fact, yes!” she replied. “I’ve been divorced three times.”

Garden Signs

• Be Nice or Leaf
• Shh! Garden Sleeping
• I fought the lawn and the lawn won.
• Trespassers will be composted.
• I’m so excited for spring I wet my plants.
• Ring the bell. If no one answers, pull the weeds.

Can You Contribute? 

Contributions to our newsletter are encouraged and appreciated!

Articles, photos, staff or resident news, trivia, poems, and amusing stories related to the staff and/or residents are most welcome.

Please hand in your submission to Molly at the front desk or email activities at:

activities@windsormedicalcenter.net

Thank You!