George’s Vegetable and Firewood Stand

And the painted ponies go up and down…

Here in Lily Flagg, everyone knows George. He’s the vegetable guy. And the firewood guy. He stays busy all year.

In the spring, you’ll find George in his garden. It is behind the house where he and his parents live. He works the soil with a shovel, not a tiller. He says a tiller makes the soil too loose. By early May, cool weather crops like lettuce and beets are coming in. He starts splitting his time between the vegetable stand and the garden. The wood and metal structure sits next to his parent’s gas station, next to the house. George and his daddy built the vegetable stand from recycled barn wood, on top of an old John Deere trailer.

He may be in the garden when a customer wants to buy something. There is a box on the counter with a sign that says “Honor System.” Sometimes people take vegetables and don’t pay. George doesn’t mind. Some of his customers pay more than the prices he has marked. They know he charges less than the grocery store. His produce is always fresh and tastes good.

By autumn things are winding down in the garden. The vegetable stand still has tomatoes, peppers, and watermelons. No more corn or squash. The pumpkins are popular in October. For George, it is time to start cutting wood.

The new houses in Lily Flagg have electric heat pumps, or maybe a gas furnace. A lot of George’s neighbors live in old houses, like his. Electricity and gas are expensive. A proper fireplace or a wood stove can keep you warm all winter for cheap. It helps if you’ve got someone like George cutting and delivering the wood for you. If you’ve got a truck, you can pick up a stack at the stand.

The acres of forest behind the garden provide warmth for a lot of people. New trees are constantly growing up and replacing the old ones George cuts down.

Some folks, like Widow Haskins, don’t have much money. George’s daddy taught him a long time ago, if you squeeze every penny out of each dollar, you can afford to give some firewood away for free. “You and I wouldn’t sleep well at night if we knew Mrs. Haskins was cold, would we?”

George is okay with that. Widow Haskins bakes apple pies and makes hand squeezed lemonade when she feels up to it. He smiles all day when Momma says, “Hey George, you need to run over to the Haskins place, she’s got something for us.”

Winter ends. The last frost passes. It is time to plant the garden. George works the brown earth with a shovel, mixing in some mulch. He tries to avoid chopping up the earthworms. The cycle begins again.