Days getting Longer
Gosh, the longer the days get, the happier I tend to be. Not that a week in February requiring snow boots and long johns isn’t on the horizon; at least it will be light when I go home from work.
Winter and I have a back and forth relationship. Sometimes we click like nothing else. Other years it is a struggle to smile. In the past, I have been aloof to how I deal with late winter/early spring. Thankfully, this spring has the promise of being a new opportunity. I’m growing conceptual gardens in my thoughts that will be plants on the deck as we get closer to the last frost.
A few years back I decided to grow grapes that were good for our climate zone. Bozeman is technically 4b for hardiness which is pretty tough for a lot of plants. I planted the grapes because they could survive our zone…most years. A week after the grapes were planted in May, we had a hard frost. That was the end of growing grapes in the yard. Now we have two apple trees, and one apricot tree in the same spots. They seem fine after two years so we’ll keep our fingers crossed that they’ll keep growing.
This is very similar to days at the shop. Often I try something and it doesn’t work out as planned. There’s no reason to get mired in the unwanted outcome. There’s a lesson, and the choice is to do the same thing in a different way or to do something different altogether. Since we’re getting close to 10 years in business this has happened a good amount. One thing that has remained consistent over the last decade is doing our best. Sometimes it is awesome, sometimes we could have done better. We will always try to do better. Because those interactions hopefully are positive for you, us, and the community.
Shop policy is: help people have the best time outdoors we can. Skis that glide effortlessly. Whole day mountain bike rides with smiles for miles. A townie that turns heads, a first bike without training wheels, refurbishing something dear to your heart. Those things that make you feel good, they’re pretty good. We want them for you.