I suppose that Lin wanted us to write about a process of planning to plant a garden or an orchard something like that. Otherwise, these two words though sounding similar when spoken aloud, as a team do not offer a combined opportunity for comment.
Since I have never planned a garden or an orchard in my life, let me take the two words separately and write what I can about them.
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“Plans are nothing; planning is everything.”
~ Dwight D. Eisenhower
He should know!
During my corporate life, I have had my share of plans and planning and over a period of time, became quite adept at the process. While many others struggled with them, I had worked out a “system”, based a great deal on my instincts for the market, and it never failed me. What used to disappoint me and many others who had spent days on such exercises, was that if anything came out of such plans, we did not know the logic behind them! For instance, at the lowest level the plans would indicate low volumes and at it each stage of upward consolidation, the volumes would be increased and by the time the targets came back they would usually be some things quite different. I used to quote Ike whenever I was asked by disappointed managers as to what happened to those plans!
So much for plans. Let us talk about planting.
“Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”
~ Warren Buffett
He should know!
Twenty five years ago, when we purchased our home, the road leading to it and around it was desolate. My late wife planted all the trees on both sides of the avenue that you see here now. In fact, about ten years ago, the local Residents Association decided to call it North Avenue instead of some road or the other, though the ubiquitous politician has given it some name ending in a road that no one knows about.
Yes, Urmeela planted those little plants, put fencing around them to protect them and watered them during the first few years till they took root and stabilised. She planned for them to take root and spent time and energy on them. And despite pruning by the local utilities to prevent over head cable snapping, they have flourished. She was the “someone” long ago for at least these trees.
She also planned and planted a garden in the small plot that is attached to our home and now it is being revived and redesigned by my daughter in law Manjiree. I cannot do much there as I simply do not get the necessary interest in gardening up though I enjoy sitting in the veranda and enjoying the birds and butterflies that come in there.
This topic was suggested by Lin for the weekly Friday Loose Bloggers Consortium where currently nine of us write on the same topic every Friday. I hope that you enjoyed my contribution to that effort. The seven other bloggers who write regularly are, in alphabetical order, Ashok, gaelikaa, Lin, Maxi, Padmum, Pravin, Shackman and The Old Fossil. Do drop in on their blogs and see what their take is on this week’s topic. Since some of them may post late, or not at all this week, do give some allowance for that too!
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