Hole in the Fence

There is something very nice about a new pair of gloves and something a little sad about replacing the old ones. The old ones molded to my every little creak and bend in my hand. The fingertips were all worn out and the roses bit the exposed skin every time. I liked the feel of slipping them over my hand and having them settle into just the right spots.

Still,  I really needed some workable work gloves. I  started looking for a replacement and found out it is not as easy as I thought. My first and favorite pair were goatskin gauntlets. I got them on sale about 8 years ago when I was working in a nursery. It was love at first sight. At one point the gauntlets were all shredded and coming apart. I was not ready to part with them yet. So, rather than throw them away I just sewed them up.

There are a lot of short garden gloves in leather, fabric, even goatskin but not in gauntlet style.Gauntlets to me represented serious no nonsense gardening. Get into your work all the way up to your elbows gardening.  It also meant I probably knew something more about gardening than short-gloved wearers knew. This wasn’t necessarily true, of course, but the gloves made me feel like I was more of a pro at things than I really was. Maybe it was a status thing that only I was aware of. They gave me confidence. I did learn to prune those roses and fruit trees once I had the gloves. I had no fear. I was a crusader with my gauntlets and green handled prunners heading into battle.

Still, trying to replace them was not easy. I checked out all the regular spots, farm supply, home improvement centers, nurseries, and finally found them online. Almost exactly like my old ones. Goatskin, green nylon gauntlets but now they came with reinforced fingertips and palms. I liked this improvement. They will last longer. Also learned, because this time I read their bio, they are washable. Well, who knew? This will extend their life too.

I used them for the first time yesterday. Slipped them on nice and easy. So, soft, smooth and supple. They fit nice and snug. Like a glove. I like that. Big floppy gloves get in the way. Got right into pulling out the crab grass the reinforced fingertips felt good. Then edged the grass with the hedge clippers, the palm guides worked great here too and then used my prunners with expertise and confidence to cut back my one and only rose bush.  A bloodless coup and I was done.

It was a good day in the garden. I finished up by taking the hose and washing all the dirt off my new gloves then laid them out to dry on the hedge. Good as new. It was over. I made the switch. I can’t quite bring myself to throw the old ones away. I will just retire them. They were my first and we had been through a lot together. So I will just keep them around for ole time sake. And just to be safe, I am going to re-order another pair of these gloves today so I don’t have to go hunting for new ones in 10 years.  And now, I must take my pup for a walk.  He has been very patient while I was writing this blog but now it’s time.

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