As a child my favorite movie was Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (I’m sure most of you know this by now, I’ve talked about Willy a lot). As he was leading Charlie and his cohorts into the factory he suddenly stopped and whipped around with his walking cane in hand. “So much time, so little to do”, Willy said. “Strike that, reverse that.” The funny thing about that part of the movie is that I have remembered it throughout my entire life. I still find myself saying it sometimes in conversation with others. I think it’s funny, everyone always just kind of stops and pauses, thinking about what I just said. When I start out a tour at High-Hand sometimes I’ll say that phrase as I begin walking through the nursery. More often than not I’ll stop and turn around and see the entire group befuddled wondering “do we follow him?”
The reality is that I have so much to tell and and so little time to do it in that I don’t know where to start. I want to talk about snails, weeds, Bloomtastic, hummingbird, a rescue horse, succulents, and Dory’s class. I just don’t know where to start so let’s just jump in and get at it.
We’ll start with the hummingbird and the horse.
The Hummingbird
I’ve always said that you’d stop traffic to save a ladybug. I’m going to add hummingbirds to that list. This mother is perched in her nest, hanging about 2 feet out into the driveway at Maple Rock. I’m shocked that with all the activity going on there that she has not been knocked from her perch. So I’ve put out orange cones to cordon off my driveway and we’ll have to drive around the cones until her baby is born. Some would say that is a lot of effort to protect a bird. But I would say to them “I’m a guy that will stop traffic to save a ladybug and I’ve just added hummingbirds to the list, so there.”
The Horse
This is Mother the rescue horse. Evidently the rescue horse was pregnant. We suspected that but simply didn’t know for sure. So I introduce to you, little Baby Horse. Mom’s a miniature horse, not a full size horse. She stands about waist high, so you can imagine how tall Baby Horse stands. Baby comes up to your kneecaps. For now Baby Horse’s name is Baby Horse. The obvious names might be Doughnut, Spot, or Target. So for now meet Baby Horse.
The Other 400 Maple Rock Mothers
Obviously we have a few new mothers at Maple Rock. I guess we can add the 400 chickens to the Mother List. Cranking an egg every day? I would qualify that as a mother. So by my math we have 402 Mothers at Maple Rock. And we would like add to that count by inviting all the Mothers and anyone they would like to bring to Maple Rock for Bloomtastic on Saturday, May 11th.
Come Meet The Mother’s of Maple Rock
All Mothers wishing to be added to the list of Maple Rock Mothers, join us for Bloomtastic, a celebration of Mother Nature.
Lunch will be available. Stroll the garden, listen to live music and enjoy your favorite glass of wine. Simply breathe and enjoy. Click here to buy tickets. Parking is free.
And Then There Are The Succulents
Join us for a great day of succulents. At this juncture in the email I usually talk about the poster above but since we have so much time and so little to do, “strike that, reverse it”. So much to do, so little time. (Read the above poster.)
Now It’s Dory Time
High-Hand Mercantile presents our Fairy Bloom Workshop! Come design a fresh floral arrangement with seasonal flowers and succulents in a rustic antique brick mold. We will also be creating a twig gazebo to house a fairy of your choice. All materials and supplies are included as well as enjoying mimosas and fresh scones.
Saturday, May 4, 2019 from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM PDT, reserve your tickets by clicking here.
I was going to talk about the weeds and the bees but something has come up that I wanted to share with you instead. This morning at 6:30 am we handed off the keys to Luke and Colton’s tiny house. Your donations have allowed us to provide ongoing support until we found a solution. Thanks to the hard work of Alyssa and the volunteers that built it, along with your donations, we did find that solution.
I want to wish Luke and Colton the very best. They have been to Hell and back. I wish them nothing but the best as they embark on new beginnings. Luke wanted me to personally thank all of you for your help. He said to me, “I’ve never met all of the people that are behind you, Scott.” With a tear in his eye he continued, “Tell them all thank you. Colton and I are blessed.” We can all learn from this tragedy and the perseverance of the survivors. I would say that we are blessed for having an opportunity to help. We are blessed to be able to be in a position to serve. Luke and Colton, I wish you nothing but the best.
We have six more houses in production and we are still taking donations. I guess I just don’t know where to stop. We started this journey way back in the Walmart parking lot amidst all the smoke. I never imagined that we would be where we are today. What am I to do, just say we’ve done enough and stop? Quit? We started this together and we will continue to serve as long as we have the energy and the funds to make a difference. When there are no more solutions to find, then we will rest.
High-Hand Magalia is going to get their own phone number soon. We’re going to try and extend the hours as we continue to bring on staff. Built from the ground up, I hope it will bring jobs, happiness, and hope to such a devastated area.
High-Hand Magalia
14098 Skyway Road, Magalia, CA
Open Wednesday through Saturday, 9am-4pm
Sorry weeds and bees, you got preempted by Luke and Colton. I truly hope to meet you at Bloomtastic on Saturday, May 11th. We will be accepting donations so we can continue to find solutions for people affected by the fires.
Be proud of your support, we are making a difference.
See you at High-Hand Nursery,
Scott
How can you help out those impacted by the Camp Fire?
You have helped out so much! Here is what’s needed – Visa Gift Cards and cash. Gift cards and cash can be delivered directly to the nursery or sent to us by mail. Our address is:
Attn: Nichole
High-Hand Nursery
P.O. Box 2280
Loomis, CA 95650
You can also call us and give us a credit card over the phone. Our number is 916-652-2065. We will turn all checks and credit card transactions into cash.