My garden is a very small garden but a lovely little spot to sit and read, particularly in mid-afternoon after there is some shade. This is the first post of what I hope will be an interesting addition to Crux-of-the-Matter — where ideas and opinions intersect on our immediate environments, our gardens.  

We live in a townhouse so unless someone has actually visited our garden,  no one knows what it is like “back there.” And, those who do visit say “wow, this is like a secret garden.” As a result, I thought my first gardening post should be about my own garden. And, one of the topics I hear about the most is when and how to prune bushes and perennials.

Pruning bushes and perennials:

First, visit the URL link provided as they are the professionals. But, I have to admit right at the start, I garden by intuition. If something looks weathered and a bit beaten down and out of shape, I simply prune. I don’t worry about the time of year unless the bushes are the type that flower in the early spring. In those instances, I wait until any flowers are gone and/or I wait and prune in the late fall.

Whatever the case, friends and family tell me I have a green thumb. I have noticed that my neighbour — who has an end unit and much more garden than I do — is always a little nervous to cut back and will inevitably say “Sandy, will you trim this for me?” And, off I go cutting and snipping.

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When I read John Snobelen’s and Rachel Sa’s columns today, I noticed how many similarities there were between Gen “Y’s” (1983 - 2001) and what I will call Gen “V’s” — for “victory” — those born just before and during the Second World War between 1939 - 1945. 

For those who were born during that short time period, their youth and adult experiences were very different from those who were born before or after. And, apart from the need for a university education in today’s world, Gen V’s wanted and expected much the same as Gen Y’s — to have it all — a good job, friends, family and a good work/life balance. 

Although the war years had been rough and life a struggle, the post-war years were ones of hope and prosperity. I know because that was my generation.  

Although babies during the war itself, our parents knew only too well that life was too precious simply to work all the time. In fact, they came of age in the early to mid 1930’s, right in the middle of the depression. They would still recall the 1929 stock market crash and they lived through WWII. They had hope that life would get better for them and their children. And they told us we could and should strive to be all that we could be.

So, while life may have been harder for the Gen V’s in the 1950’s and early sixties as far as gender and racial inequality and barriers to attending university (such as no student loans and the necessity for completing Grade 13 and very difficult Ontario government “departmental exams),”  it is also hard today for Gen Y’s because of the need for some kind of trades diploma or post-secondary degree. Moreover, today there is also the increasing dependence on robotics, technology and the Internet.

In my opinion, the real differences in outlook came with the Baby Boomers, a group of individuals born between 1946 and 1964. It was a period that spanned several generations of young people who believed that they could get better jobs than their parents and more expensive everything — and for the most part, they did. And, with the onset of student loan programs and more open university admissions, they attended in droves.

So, apart from changes to our expectations as to what should be the minimum education required for employment today, what seems to have made a difference in our culture is the long Boomer generation — the very same people who are now the Gen Y’s bosses — many of whom like to work nonstop, rarely take vacations and don’t see the need for giving their workers constant feedback — what Sa refers to as the need to be appreciated.

So, I agree with Snobelen and Sa that Gen Y’s might just have this life/work balance thing worked out.  Many know that they will not likely make as much money as their parents did. Nor, will they be able to afford to purchase the comfortable houses they were brought up in — perhaps one of the main reasons why so many still live at home.  

Whatever. No matter which generation we identify with, when we think back to the way things were in our youth, we just have to remember that most parents want only the best for their children and, after all is said and done, most children will always want to do things THEIR way. Gen Y’s are no different.

Whenever business people depend on one industry for their livelihood, when something happens to that industry, everyone suffers for awhile. But people are creative and resilient and, once the initial shock or surprise diminishes, they begin to look for new opportunities. I can think of Elliot Lake for example that went from being a mining town to a ghost town to a thriving retirement community. 

Well, here in Niagara, where I live, CanGro, the St. David’s processing plant, is closing. Not that it is a complete surprise. There have been rumours for some years now. But the farmers who depended on the plant for the sale of their crops had hoped that one or more investors would buy it. The problem is not local. The problem is that we live in a new world — where there is free trade and a global economy – and where it is now cheaper to process peaches elsewhere.

However, that said, the sky is not falling. Contrary to what Christina Blizzard said this week, the Niagara tender fruit industry (peaches, pears, cherries and plums) is not dying. While the industry is certainly experiencing a significant set back, it is not being killed over the closure of the processing plant.  

While it is true that some farmers have cut down their trees, they are replacing them with a different crop better suited to frozen or fresh fruit markets. They are diversifying as they probably should have years ago — in much the same way as tobacco farmers have had to do.

But, let me assure readers, the tender fruit industry itself is still strong. I have several friends and family through marriage involved in both grape and tender fruit farming — which are very different types of crops by the way. Many fruit farmers are gradually changing the look of their crops to include some popular varieties of grapes along with some tender fruit.

It was the same with grape growers twenty years ago. The large wineries started shutting down and the concord grape was only wanted for juice. So, grape growers had to flatten their fields and start over with different varieties. It was also a time of great change and challenge when everyone from the grape farmers to the Ontario government began to think of a new vision. And, along the way a miracle happened. A few farmers got together and started the VQA standard and opened what they began to call “boutique wineries” or “estate wineries.” And, as the saying goes, the rest is history. Yet, if the larger wineries had not forced those farmers to think “outside the box” we would probably not have the Niagara wine industry we have today, known the world over for its quality.

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Whether someone has a disability from an intellectual handicap, autism or cerebral palsy, children and youth can be so cruel. As Michel Mandel told us in yesterday’s column in the Toronto Sun, imagine getting on a bus with high school students and being harrassed with taunts like “retard” and “mental case” day after day after day. As Mandel says so aptly, the students who do this also have a disability and it is called intolerance.

There is a saying “there go I but for the grace of god.” No one chooses to have an intellectual disability. In fact, I would venture to say that no one asks for any disability — whether from birth, a medical incident or an accident (as in the case of a traumatic brain injury).

In the case in point, individuals with a developmental or intellectual disability, were just born that way. They have family. They have feelings.  They have dreams. If there are any differences to the non-disabled, it is that they may think or speak a little bit slower. Sometimes they may also look a little bit different or walk a little bit slower. But, beyond that, they are just kids and adults like everyone else. I know this first hand, since my daughter-in-law has such a handicap. And, yes, she has told me of the names she was called and is still called, even to this day.

Parents, talk to your kids. Tell them not to make a difficult world even more difficult. Tell them it is not cool to be cruel. Talk to your kids about peer pressure as well because I suspect many good kids take part in this type of cruelty when others start it.

Let’s all do our part to stop this unnecessary abuse and cruelty.

Two events occurred today that made me realize that being retired has changed me. Like so many people, when I was younger I couldn’t seem to say no to doing anything. Even at work, I was always volunteering to be on this committee or that. It’s like you are on dual treadmills – one for family and one for work – and don’t even notice.  Remember that old expression that to get anything done, ask a busy person. Well, that was me. Whether it was my kids who were involved in things, my husband or myself, we were all on-the-go all the time.

Well, it seems that most, if not all of us in the western world, are on treadmills like that. Rachel Sa wrote an excellent column on the topic in today’s Sunday Sun. She calls it “Learning to relax in our hectic world“  and talks about the importance of “down time.” Ask yourself, what exactly is down time? 

Is down time the time you spend doing other than what you usually do during the week? Is down time when you have fun — which means different things to different people? Going out for dinner? Stopping at the pub? Popping in on friends? Or, for anyone reading this, do you consider surfing the web down time? Or, for those of us who also have blogs, is writing a blog down time?

Or, considering how much research, reading and writing is required to keep our blogs current, is blogging more a “labour” of love? Or, is it both?  For example, if we enjoy doing something and consider it a “relaxing” activity, even if it time consuming and hard work, is that down time as well?
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