Do you garden 'unplugged'?

First one to vote and comment? Wow..that's a first! I usually garden completely unplugged from technology, but if I'm expecting a call, or I stroll outside while I'm on the phone I can multi-task like that :-)

I take my iPod when I garden. And I sing out loud even if the neighbors are around. Isn't music supposed to help plants grow, LOL?

Melanie

Have to carry my cell everywhere, since we own our own business...on call 24/7

I've always got my phone ON me, or near me. I don't think about it, because I'm in my garden/yarden, and that's what I'm thinking about. But if it rings, I have it nearby. Love my garden, but need my phone in case of emergency with my g'kids.

I don't even own a cell phone. Ages ago, I used to use my Walkman, but when I hear music I gotta dance...you can imagine what an idiot I looked like tappin' 'n' dancin' out in the garden. Stopped. *L*

Definitely unplugged here.

I like to do many things 'unplugged'. I love computers and all things tech, but I am not one of those people who have a phone permanently attached to one ear - not saying there is anything wrong with that, only that it doesn't appeal to me, at least not at this point in my life. I like the convenience of the cell phone for those times when I want to be available, but there are also many times when I like to get away from things, and that includes the phone. I carry the phone when I need or want to be found; otherwise, I turn it off and/or leave it behind. I do not work for the phone. It works for me. I am not compelled to answer it just because it rings.

Edited once to clarify and a 2nd time to further clarify by adding the 'nothing wrong with that' part. There's nothing wrong with having a phone with you all the time. For some jobs, for instance, that may even be necessary. At other times in my life, I, too, may have chosen to stay plugged-in 24/7. It's just not what I want now. Just an individual preference.

This message was edited Jun 3, 2013 2:45 PM

This message was edited Jun 3, 2013 4:57 PM

I garden unplugged for the most part unless I am expecting an important call. I just really never think about it. :)

With my cell in a pocket- in case I need to take a pic, or get my hands too full and need extras, in case I need to get myself or someone else some help. It's trainung to keep items near me that I do not want to leave behind me

I voted other , I could of went with unplugged , I like quiet stillness , of nature doing as it does .
But ,, The tree frogs and toads at night would make that silly !!! oh well ..

I am sure some of you know what I mean.....

my cell is always on me, and the stereo is always blaring out the open windows, I've be caught many a time twisting the day away in the gardens,

Cell is always on me in case of emergency with me or family but I don't use it unless I need to. I would turn my stereo on but I can't get my speakers to the windows to direct the music so the windows will rattle out of the frames eventually if I turn it on. lol

Since I am prone to seizures, I have to take my cell with me--especially since we have 25 acres. It has saved me before.

KyWoods, that is a very good reason for keeping your phone with you. I try to always remember to take mine with me any time I leave home, especially if I am driving alone. Often I don't even turn it on. I just like to know that I have it with me in case of an emergency. It hasn't saved my life (so far as I know), but it has come in handy for flat tires and break downs.

Most of the time I take my Ipod into the garden and I often have my cell phone on me too. Luckily, with the cell phone, people are not always calling me and I frequently miss calls anyway because it's on vibrate and I don't feel it in my pocket :)

I always have my cell phone with me, never know when one of the kids or grands need me. Otherwise it's just me and the dog, working away and listening to the birds chirping.

I do take my camera with me most of the time. Just in case something is blooming! :)

I have to agree with marti; I have my camera on me every time I go outside. I have to take lots of photos for the Butterfly Forum!

Melanie

I'm not that important that I have to be connected all the time, and beside I am not a continual chit-chat person.

Cell phone in a pocket if I'm expecting a call and my MP3 player with some good tunes (Santana is great for pulling weeds) Camera handy on the porch.

I enjoy the sound of birds, trees swaying in the breeze or wind, the occasional zing of a hummingbird, distant thunder and a storm rolling in, or the buzz of a bee or wasp. Think this is what being outside is all about! All I need, that's missing, is a waterfall, lol. The phone can wait, and the music of the outdoors is much more beautiful than anything men or women could create.

i'm with Solace on this one.
i do have a landline phone in the garage and i can hear it when it rings but i very seldom stop my gardening to answer.

Agreed. Unplugged here. :)

Unplugged for me - the birds and frogs are company enough, and I can hear myself think.

Unplugged unless I'm expecting an important call. No music, just the bluebirds and the finches and the Baltimore orioles and the great crested flycatchers and the mockingbirds and the house and Carolina wrens and the yellow-billed cuckoos and the osprey and the purple martins and the robins and sometimes the wood thrushes with their beautifully eerie songs....

Cell phone stay with me, I can use it to take pictures of anything interesting. I have a radio in my greenhouse which I turn on if I'm going to be out there a while.
Barb

Cell phone with me at all times DW is prone to some side effects of the diabetes or either one of us could fall, we both are nearing 80 so just common sense ...I do not share my cell number outside of close friends and family...We have many birds so it is never quiet...

My cell is always with me, but it rarely rings. I like being able to take a picture, or call the kids in the house to come help me with something or bring me a specific shovel. Otherwise, it rarely comes out, and it is set on vibe.

All of the above except unplugged.

I am recovering from a whipple surgery and pancreatic cancer, so I carry my cell phone in case the hubby calls (he worries about me). But I usually use the camera the most, cell phone seldom rings! I am so happy to be out in the garden again!!!

health issues make me have my phone on and with me at all times. also handy to snap a picture of something in the garden.

I'm glad you're doing well, lisaamcm, and I'm sure the garden seems even more special to you, given what you've endured. Prayers going your way.
DJ

My phone is also my camera, so unless I'm charging it or doing wet work, it's with me.

Absolutely! Thank you for saying it so well.

If I can add, I am saved by no cell service here! :8 )

OTOH, I do use a radio in the greenhouse in the morning. It is my audio alarm clock so I know when to get ready to go to work. Don't wear a watch or keep a cell handy.

Whole-heartedly agree with DreamOfSpring & Solace. Beside, how could I retain my reclusive status by being "connected" 24/7? ^_^

I also take it for safety reasons. Heart attack, stroke, getting cut on something. 911 is just a button away...

My phone rarely rings when I'm outside, so it is unobtrusive. There are a gazillion birds, so there's constant chirping and chatter, and buzzing from the bees and wasps (I'm blessed to still have bees!!!)

Finally, there's my neighbor's dog who stands outside the patio door and barks incessantly until the man comes out to feed him. I know the exact moment that man comes in his front door -- the barking begins. Well, I have a cool little device called a "Pet Agree," and I've trained that dog (and others) to my command of "quiet".

If I'm out there and he starts barking, I just speak the simple word "quiet" and he takes off running to the side yard where he stays until his owner decides to come out and feed him.

And, I get back to my reverie!

Hugs!

What's Pet Agree? Sounds like something some friends of mine should know about!

It's a handheld, battery operated device that emits a high pitched frequency that only the dogs can hear.

When I was living with the DexH, my primary gardening spot was on the 4 ft. page fence line between our yard and the neighbors'. They had three dogs that used to charge that fence every time I tended my tomatoes (lined up in Earthboxes).

I got so sick of those dogs, I had to do something. To this day I can't remember how I ran across it, but there was this ad for the "Pet Agree" and I ordered it online.

The principle is simple and the training is even more simple. The high-pitched frequency bothers the dogs. I'd stand at the fence and they'd charge it, barking and snarling to high Heaven! When they were in full barking mode, I'd speak the word "quiet" and depress the button on the Pet Agree at the same time. They'd react to the frequency, quite puzzled, and stop barking, for a moment. When they stopped barking, I'd let up on the button. Then, they'd start up again, and, so would I, again. It only took a few hits and repetitions of the word "quiet" before they caught on and began to associate the word with the frequency.

A couple days later they'd charge the fence, and I'd look up and say "quiet" and they'd immediately stop barking. Sometimes they'd just turn and run off...and the "Pet Agree" would be inside on a shelf...waiting for the next trainee...

It really does work!

http://www.amazon.com/Pet-Agree-Ultrasonic-Training-Aid/dp/B0009YUDVI

http://www.thepetonline.com/agree-bark-breaker-p-44662.html?osCsid=32038cfe1281215fae54bcc5b6e4eeed

http://www.gooddeals.com/products/119/PET-AGREE-Ultrasonic-Pet-Training-Device.aspx

Linda

P.S. G_g,

If your problem is a neighbor's dog, they DON'T necessarily need to know you've trained their animal, LOL!!!

I trained mine incognito, and just had them scratching their heads as to why I could gently say the word "quiet" and their animals would slink off and be quiet!

Sometimes, I did it when they were standing right there at the fence with me and their snarling dogs. The "Pet Agree" fits inconspicuously into your pocket!


This message was edited Jun 6, 2013 1:03 PM

I take my cell phone with me but I don't often use it. When I do use it, it's usually to look up something like a weather forecast, preferred growing conditions for a new plan if I had forgotten, or to check the time to see if I need to go get cleaned up for dinner.

To be unplugged from the phone would be great.. but I'm a caregiver for my son and need to be in touch at any time..also in the garden. But hey..gardening itself is to be 'unplugged' for me.