August 15, 2012

Do You Garden in Your PJs? Please Say You Do.


My mornings go something like this:  roll out of bed, brush my teeth, say hello to my hubby, head outside to water the pots, get eaten alive by mosquitoes.  Repeat. 

I've taken to wearing long pajama bottoms to protect me from the mosquitoes and I wondered how I must appear to neighbors who occasionally catch a glimpse as they walk by on the trail...Camera in hand, clad in pjs and barefoot stalking a photo op.


Then I got to wondering how many of you garden (light gardening, of course) in pjs and barefoot.   The grass feels so good under foot.  Especially this year.  The grass is still green (not that you can tell from the black and white photo; sorry, please indulge me as I play).   Not that fried, crispy, dead grass of last summer. 

Then being the cautious type that I am, I started wondering about the risk of gardening in pjs and barefoot.   If you're a regular reader you might remember these two posts from last year.  The coral snake encounter and rattle snake encounter should and do have me more aware of where I put my hands and feet. 

Today I quickly scanned an article that touched on the practice of  earthing.  It said:  "Also “earthing,” which is when you touch your bare skin to the earth, which balances the electromagnetism in the body because you receive free electrons from the earth. Walking barefoot on the beach is a great way to do this, or yoga in the park without a mat."   Or barefoot through the garden.

Now I'm not so sure about the principle of balanced electromagnetism but I do know that a girl has to put her toes to the earth every now and then to feel the cool, soft comfort of green grass.  Just be mindful of where you step.


42 comments:

  1. I love this post and yes, yes, yes, I garden in PJs too. I roll out of bed and make my way down the front steps to feed the chickens. I used to be worried that neighbor would see me but I've seen some real horror stories walking down the street so I don't much care anymore. Sadly, I never walk barefoot because of all the glass and debris in the yard. I wear my flip flops (aka "poo-gliders"). Reading this made me want to feel the grass beneath my feet.

    Earthing. How silly. We just called it barefoot when I was a kid. I hardly ever wore shoes between the ages of 12 - 15.

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    1. Poo-gliders! Hilarious. Rolling on the floor laughing!!

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    2. Cat, this link's for you....
      http://mulish.typepad.com/mulish_co/2012/01/dedicated-poo-gliders.html

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  2. I haven't gardened in PJs but could be a new trend this summer. Grass beneath feet feels sooo good.

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  3. Well, if it makes you fell better: I sew in my PJs and barefoot. Cant have a shoe between my foot and the pedal.
    I would love to walk around more barefoot. Last time I did it in Berlin I ended up with glass in my foot and you always have a chance to run into what a dog left behind.
    Walking on grass... hmmm ... would love to do it more often but I am terrified of ticks and unfortunately they are not as visible as a coral snake.

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  4. hahaha yes Cat, i know that too, so i love walking barefoot as well. However our garden doesn't have grasses so i wear rubber thongs or slippers. But i know the electromagnetism thing, that is what we get too in hugging a big tree. But gardening in PJ i don't do because i don't wear them but shorts. So i bear the sting and scratches of some weeds and plants on my legs, and they are okay too. I think you are as naughty as I!

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    1. Yes, I believe you're right about the hugging of the tree. I hadn't thought of the two as one in the same but I do believe you've nailed it! You know I love hugging trees as much as you :)

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  5. Indeed I do Cat and barefoot is essential occasionally as we do need to ground ourselves by touching the earth...love the 'earthing' idea! I am usually out checking something or grabbing a quick pic and picking herbs :)

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  6. I definitely garden in my pjs, and in this garden, frequently bare foot too, it does feel wonderful. Not out the front though, I am still trying to keep up an appearance of "normal", given that we are new to the neighbourhood...

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    1. I look both ways before darting out into the front in my pjs but I have been caught. I try to make eye contact and hold my head high as if I'm respectable.

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  7. I love to go barefoot! I think walking around the garden in PJs sounds wonderful. Unfortunately in summer we have chiggers and I need to have shoes and protection on when I go out in the garden otherwise I will get eaten alive.

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  8. Ah, I guess my footie pajamas won't work then.

    ;-)

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  9. Nope, a pair of garden clogs sits at every doorway to the outside so I can slip them on and walk about the garden in the dewy morning. Even in my jammies my feet are shod. The worms like it better that way.

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  10. Hi Cat, I usually have footwear on, but on mornings like this, the grass is often wet with dew. My shoes are usually drenched by the time I return to the house. At least barefoot, you don't have to worry about wet shoes and socks. I also like the idea of connecting to the earth in a quite literal way. But as you say, be careful where you step!

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    1. Ah, dew. I have a vague recollection of what that feels like...doesn't happen here too often ;)

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  11. I confess... I love to walk barefoot on my lawn. We have the softest most therapeutic lawn ever. My morning routine is much like yours... early morning, camera in hand, pj's.
    Love my mornings!

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  12. I tend to do most of my gardening in the evening when i get home instead of in the morning (I'm just not a morning person). I'll water plants in the morning, but I'm dressed when I do it (since I have to go to work). In the evening, I'll change into my yoga pants to go out and tend to the plants - but I still wear my flip flops because most of the grass here isn't grass - it's just weeds, which do not feel good on the feetsies.

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    1. "(I'm just not a morning person)"

      Katina, I knew there was a good reason why I like you so much.

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  13. Every morning I go out in the backyard with the dog first thing. I just got a new nightgown that looks a bit like a sundress since our neighbors are my husband's students! I slip on comfortable Birkenstock gardening clogs because our grass is wet with dew. I do love a barefoot walk on the beach and indulge in that regularly. I wouldn't walk barefoot around poisonous snakes, personally. You're very brave!

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    1. No, not brave. It's just our reality so you tread lightly and watch your step while still trying to be true to your spirit.

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  14. Actually, I deliberately bought pajamas for gardening! Men's pajama pants from Target: most comfortable, light-weight gardening clothes ever! And help fend off a few mosquitoes. The neighbors are well used to my crazy garden clothes my now! At one time, I was a big barefoot girl but flip flops it usually is now.

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    1. I like that idea Linda...then I'll quit mucking up my cute jammies.

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  15. We don't suffer from many mosquitoes around here but it gets a bit breezy and damp so PJs and wellies essential!!

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  16. I would love to go outside in my pj's but I live on a golf course - 15th tee. Everytime I walk out the door all the golfers turn & watch me. My mother-in-law always gardened in her bra & shorts. I read of a woman who loved to garden in the nude. Her husband always wanted to know why all the cars were stopped on the street. cathy

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    1. Oh my! Gardening in the nude around here would produce a horrible sunburn!

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  17. I've never heard of earthing, but I am going to remember to go barefoot more often. I do garden in my pj's, but usually throw on some type of shoes. Thankfully, I don't have neighbors that can see me, but I do have to watch for the UPS delivery truck!

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  18. Ha! I love this post! I do, indeed, garden in my PJs--at least in the summertime. But no one would know it because I wear sports shorts and an oversized T-shirt as jammies. But I don't go barefoot because I have foot issues. But I love to walk along the beach--thanks for the reminder! I need to do that before the summer is out!

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  19. Oh my gosh. Yes Cat. Yes I do. It's embarrassing for me. PJ bottome, messed up hair, glasses, a pitcher for the birdseed, not barefoot though......but I do it quickly:) So you're not alone:)

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  20. I've heard working in the soil or walking on grass I suppose releases a bacteria which can increase serotonin in the brain. Which is good!

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  21. I know of a young man that walks only on the sidewalks because the grass messes up his shoes. Sadly, barefoot excursions would be the furthest thing from his mind.
    Conversely, I was raised barefoot out in the country and as a kid, we moaned on the day we had to put on our shoes for school. Now,almost a half century later, I do enjoy going barefoot in the grass, but I avoid my gravel paths as much as possible. I've grown a bit wiser.
    Pajamas? No, I do actually garden in regular clothes. LOL
    Fun post.
    David/:0)

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  22. It makes me smile to see how many comments this post has generated. The idea of something as simple as going barefoot struck a chord, didn't it? Is it because it's one of the first things we give up as we make the transition from childhood to adulthood? Maybe it just harkens back to a simpler and uncomplicated time in our lives. And the indulgence for so many of us to spend our free and waking hours in our pjs! Enjoy your weekend, may you get to spend lots of time barefoot.

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  23. I go out to the garden every morning in my jammies. My backyard does have a 6 foot fence around it though...but I do takr the garbage to the road every week to the curb with my slippers and jammies too, lol

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  24. Nice one, I would certainly do it if I had a patch of grass. I miss the feel of grass under foot! We have lots of sandy beaches here though so as far as earthing goes, I'm sure we get lots of it :)

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  25. I usually slip on some shorts with my jammies and hit the flower beds. We do have a fence and I'm usually up before the neighbors.

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  26. Ha, I totally do this as well! Though I do usually put on a pair of flip-flops that I keep on the back porch for this purpose. My feet usually end up pretty wet and grimy somehow from the morning dew even with the flip-flops on. However, the one time I've been stung by a bee was when I accidentally stepped on one, so now I'm cautious and wear shoes.

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  27. Just found you through facebook... I would be one that would walk out to the garden with my barefeet and pajamas... that is if my husband would let me... I hate shoes and would be barefoot most of my life again if my husband would let me... I have even been out in the snow with .... you guessed it... bare feet. But since I got married, I do put on my flip flops before I cross the threshold to go outside.

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  28. I garden in my pajamas on a regular basis but always wear either flip flops or garden clogs so avoid stepping bare foot into dog poo. My neighbors are used to my madness. :o)

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  29. It's been years since I've walked barefoot anywhere, including the beach. I got warts some bad as a teenager from running around barefoot all the time and I haven't done it since. The occasional run into the yard in pj's definitely occurs though. It's particularly bad as we have no back yard, just a rectangular lot that runs parallel to the road so everyone and their dog can see me.

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  30. Late to the party - I've been absorbed in a long read but had to join the fun. I do treasure going barefoot, but like it most in soft dirt or sand. As to connecting to the earth? Oddly enough I feel that most when I am standing in water, if that makes any sense at all.

    I rarely go out barefoot here at home but garden all winter long in my slippers even though I swear each season I won't. I also garden in my robe year round - in the back yard. If I go out front there is construction across the street (has been for nearly a year) so I feel the bar for being fully dressed is raised.

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  31. I wear shoes with my PJs out in the yard. I can't really go barefoot, since I'm allergic to bees and don't want to step on any. Even when I'm technically in real clothes and not PJs they don't usually match and veer towards strange. I'm sure that many of the neighbors wonder about me.

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  32. I don't wear PJ's ever but yes, I do have a morning routine similar to yours. Wash up, brush teeth and head out. I don't have grass so I garden in slippers, plus a t-shirt and shorts. We do have mosquito repellent patches for our clothes but the kids use them and I rarely do. Same attire if I need to garden after work.

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  33. I thought PJ's were required gardening attire! And barefoot is good...except for the snake thing.

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