Our three helpers begin working on the newly bought Foxtail palms.
On one particular day, we had a long list of errands in the closest city near our town. We (my mother, brother and a friend) were in a hurry to head home (my father was anxiously waiting for us as demonstrated by his endless phone calls) when I decided to go on a side trip to the garden store.
The number of plants they were selling at the store was quite varied. Pressed for time, we didn't have the luxury to go around. I immediately went toward the rows of palm trees and said "OK, give me ten of these and one of that", pointing to the Foxtail and Triangle palms respectively. After choosing which ten and which one, I arranged for their delivery in the afternoon of that same day.
That's me inspecting one of the newly planted trees.
It's not that we are lacking palm trees in the farm, in fact we have plenty. My only complaint is that most are still small, ranging in size from less than one foot to less than six feet in height. Because palm trees are known to be slow growers, the height of our palms trees stirs my impatience. That's why these eleven I just bought are already quite tall, and tall palm trees are not cheap, they are pretty pricey.
Back in the farm, I was thinking of what to do with the ten Foxtail palms I bought on impulse. I knew beforehand what to do with the Triangle palm so it was not a problem. As for the Foxtail palms... hmmm.
A few hours later a delivery truck carrying the palm trees arrived, the trees were unloaded, the bill was settled, the truck left and I was left with ten Foxtails and a problem of where to put them.
From the camera's point of view the palms on the right seem so close to each other, in reality they're 8 feet apart.
When my father asked where do I intend to put these trees, I could only smile and say "I do not know". Then all of a sudden an idea hit me. Why not line the path leading to the sheep's pen with these trees? That path is fairly wide and winding and has a great view of the ponds below. It once had a rustic bamboo hut on one side where they used to entertain guests until an infamous storm destroyed it. This path has potentials and I do intend to develop it anyway. Bingo!
Suddenly, a very busy day for our three all-around helpers. Thanks to me.
Not wasting time, we measured the distance between trees and staked the spots where they will be planted. After measuring the whole length of the path, it became apparent that ten trees are not enough to complete this project. Ah, what mess did I get myself into?
Hurriedly, I asked Mom to call the store and have them deliver ten more Foxtails, plus two more Triangles (there's a different story to this). While waiting for the next batch of palm trees to arrive, our three helpers began to dig holes for the Foxtail palms.
That's me again, checking each palm just a few hours before my visit to the farm ends.
At the end of the day, after unintentionally ending up with twenty Foxtail palms and three Triangle palms, we were still short of six of the former and nine of the latter to finish not one but two unplanned projects.
The following day was my scheduled trip back to the capital city so I didn't get to see the completion of a project that started on an impulse.
