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dwlcrl

if you have a weak heart please DO NOT read!

dwlcrl
15 years ago

here is a letter i got from trudi...

i share my seeds with her every year.. now i am going to have to locate her card from last year...

because this one really hit home...

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=394968909&albumID=647993&imageID=20405629

and she attached this letter to go with it....

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=394968909&albumID=647993&imageID=20405632

i had to ask if this was an actual letter or a card...

and she responded...

Thats a real letter sent to me a couple of years ago. I took a photo of it and used it as the graphic for the note cardÂI use PrintMaster for all my graphics, I do my labels and stationary, brochures, etc with the programÂit Âs super easy to use (I need easy). I print the cards up a dozen at a time, I have a few other cards I use but I send this card only to people that I know will understand it. I got a few handwritten requests at that time from the same group of children, I think it was a rural homeschool in MOÂthis letter was just charming. I remember writing him back that I thought lima beans tasted like a blend of peas and potatoesÂI didnÂt have any lima beans at the time so I went to the store and bought a pack to add in with the other seeds I was sending him.

IÂve attached a pdf of a letter I received this year from a girl who I sent tomato seeds to last year, she sold her extra plants and sent the money combined with her allowance as a donation to a wolf rescue center. She got a lot more seeds from me this season. I sent a copy of her letter to USDA/AgNIC because they do want to know some of the feedback and correspondence on our websitesÂthey just went totally gaga. If you canÂt open the pdf let me know and IÂll try to save it in a different form to send to you. ItÂs very special and now h angs on my wall. Yesterday I got a stick figure drawing of a gardener from a young girl who drew the picture for me on the back of her dadÂs list of requested tomatoes--itÂs also on the wall now too ;-)

Whenever I get a request or a drawing from a child I make it a point to write them back on the company stationary or send a handwritten thank you. Children are very sensitive to appreciation and it doesnÂt take much to guide them along the way to being good citizens. The lima bean boy is very youngÂitÂs hard to say what direction he will go, but the wolf girl (it seems) is headed towards a life of working in wildlife rescue. Amazing.


T

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=394968909&albumID=647993&imageID=20408643

Comments (12)

  • noinwi
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Lump in throat.

  • ragtimegal
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I don't have any seeds to donate to this girl, but I am happy to send her a small donation for her cause.

    ~RTG

  • MLcom
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thank you so much for sharing that! I made a donation this year and feel that more should be sent. Need to go make ups some seed packs for Trudi to share this week.

    I feel very strong that children should be supported in knowing how to grow veggies.

    Also thanks to the folks that share there seeds to others.

    ML

  • jaliranchr
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    That good seed fairy from Lawn Guyland just keeps on going and going and going. :)

    Good job, Trudi!

  • loagiehoagie
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I'm also sending Rosie some seeds and a check. What a sweetheart!

    Duane

  • gardener_sandy
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    How wonderful! We just never know how far a few small seeds can reach.

  • trudi_d
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hmmm....where to begin.

    When I shared the letter with Dave I didn't know that it would be shared publicly. I don't have any problem with folks knowing the good deeds of Rosie--I think she's a fabulous young lady and we all should be thrilled by her selfless, inspiring accomplishments, but I am concerned that her name and address were innocently and openly published. I sent Dave a new copy that has the name edited out and when possible Dave will change the letter over to the one that doesn't show her address. (I personally believe that gardeners are good souls at heart but for the sake of Rosie it's important to remove her address from public view.) After the change is made anyone who wants to help Rosie can contact me for a mailing address to send her a donation c/o WinterSown and I will forward your personal letters of encouragement and seeds to her as they come in.

    Many people aware of the internet presence of Trudi_d at GW (friend or foe that I am to some of you) and/or know that I freely offer seeds and info about the Winter Sowing Method, and that I also maintain a small, donor based, free and open-to-the-public tomato seedbank at WinterSown.Org. Sharing seeds to individuals through SASEs accounts for less than half of the seeds which are dispersed through WinterSown. The majority go to organizations that have requested them--foodbanks are working with extensions to create community gardens for their clients because there is a need for fresh produce to prevent mild to moderate malnutrition, budgets have been slashed and/or dues for youth clubs can no longer be raised, seniors on SS can't make ends meet so they need to grow a salad garden to help put food on their table, people are fired from closing factories and they can't find work--they need to supplement their food stamp allocations with homegrown food. These are the most dire examples, but there are also community beautification projects, senior clubs and other worthy organizations whose good work must continue despite collapsing budgets. Recently I've shared seeds with some VA Hospitals--one along the Canadian Border that is doing horticultural therapy to provide psychological benefits for Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans that are suffering from acute PTSD; another VA Hospital in the midwest is currently celebrating Women's History Month with a "Going Green" theme--they received tomatoes with women's names (Isis Candy, Juliet, Liz Burt, Aunt Ruby, etc).

    Many people across all the tomato and gardening forums have donated vegetable, flower, ornamental and tomato seeds and/or their funds to WinterSown which is a registered 501c3. Seeds never stay here long, it's sometimes like the revolving door at a downtown hotel--I am just spinning. Prepacked seeds start going out in SASEs immediately, the others, as soon as I've packed and labeled them, go out right after that. Funds are pooled and go for supplies like ink and toner, labels, cases of 20 and 24lb weight papers, the little 2x3 mini zips which I used to order in 10K amounts but I just bought 15k because before when 10K would last three months it's now gone in five weeks. The economy stinks and people who never before gardened are now faced with having to grow some of their own food. Across the whole country it is an economic horror story. SASE requests have increased in a near mirror image of the stock market.

    I am grateful to everyone who is helpful and supportive. Together we get the seeds and the info on sowing and growing them to beginners, people who are facing hard times, or to organizations who use the seeds for education and rehabilitation, or to little girls who have a big heart for helping wounded animals. Sometimes the seeds are only for growing food to put on plates--this is very important; some people only want tomato seeds based upon their climate and location because heritage or heirloom is not foremost on their minds (many don't know what that is and they don't care), reliable croppers are what they need and what they ask for.

    Tomatoes are many things to many people, to those who can afford it they are a recreational hobby, to some others they are a source of education, to some they are there to keep hands busy and create a means to uplift the soul through the success of growing them, and to some they simply are a food that can be grown cheaply.

    God bless little boys who aren't sure they like lima beans, God bless little girls who want to help rescued animals, and God bless everyone who makes it possible for good things to happen through seeds and horticulture.

    T

  • dwlcrl
    Original Author
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    i loved the letter alot and wanted to share it with others...
    here is a new edited version..
    thx david dwlcrl

    http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=394968909&albumID=647993&imageID=20445491

  • trudi_d
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Bless you Dave, you a wonderful soul who brings to our great tomato tapestry the most fascinating and beautiful threads--the varied and unusual vartieties you share throughout our community strengthen this historical weave and hold us together.

    Such is the profound joy and wisdom you bring to all who grow your seeds.

    T

  • loagiehoagie
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Trudi, thanks for your reply. I had second thoughts that perhaps it would not be good for a middle aged guy to send seeds and money to a little girl directly, even with the best of intentions. So I will not do that after all. I tried to add another post to that effect and good ole' GW wouldn't let me.

    Bless you for your works (though for the life of me I still don't GET Winter sowing LOL) and bless those kids for just being themselves.

    Duane

  • trudi_d
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Duane, there is a huge contingency of WSers up by you--maybe someday you'll take that leap of faith and then you'll know what it's all about ;-)

  • ChefLisbeth
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Proof once again, that not just gardenING is good for the soul, but gardenERS are too!

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