A Conversation About Lists

“List” is a versatile word. Sailors know it as a verb describing a tilt to one side, often a problem. Gamers assemble their player pieces for combat into “lists”.

Lists as we know them, however, are a promise to ourselves to finish something, or a catalog of items that belong together in some kind of order. Bucket lists are popular, especially among those of us preparing to “kick the bucket” in the next few decades. I prefer to call mine a “decade list”. It’s more orderly, and if I don’t finish one, the Grim Reaper has to wait. (That’s a rule I invented.)

My current decade list is still catching up from the disruption of the pandemic, so the usual assortment   of goals is a little abbreviated. A list, as most of us understand it, is a short term goal. Grocery lists are meant to be polished off, usually, within a week. Preparation lists, whether for clothes or supplies, have a deadline. The change of seasons often inspires a flurry of list making among the orderly types.  We’re still postponing things on the winter lists, and starting to dread the lists to come for the spring. Errand running lists are designed to make as many stops in a single circuit as possible. Grocer, library, feed store, beauty shop/barber, dentist, bank. You get the drift.  The satisfaction can be exhilarating.

Project lists have a specific goal, like the annual seed starting adventure. These vary according to a lot of different criteria… is this a kid-oriented thing? Are specific ornamental or vegetable crops the goal? Are you maybe taking cuttings instead of starting from seed?   Is your list an outdoor thing? Pruning and cleanup are worthy of their own lists, among others.

There is another type familiar to school children, namely the “catalog” list. You don’t have to do anything but keep track of items in a given category. I found a list the other day that had been hanging on my refrigerator for several years. It includes recovered species and newly introduced species. I had observed, from my home, the recovered populations of American Eagle, bluebirds, fishers and ravens. Insects included deer keds (I had never heard of them until they showed up in my back yard). The list includes a lot of invasives that aren’t really new, but recent to my property. I guess it’s an attendance sheet for wild flora and fauna over the years.  This type of list has no chores. 

I like to think there are rules for a good list. In fact, I call it my list of lists. Here it is.                                            *1 .Have a minimum of three items; *2. Written preferably in order of finishing; *3. Entries are best written in pencil; *4. Check-offs made in pen, or, even better, in Sharpie; *5. Leftover items should be immediately used to seed the next list. 

There are hints for overachievers, too. Here’s my all time favorite for the days when I need a jump start. Write in a couple of things that are already done. Check them off right away and you feel like you’re already being productive. It’s all uphill from there. Or is it downhill? If you’re in the market for a new list, check out the native bare root plant sale at your county’s Soil and Water Conservation District. Each county has its own list and the prices are wonderful. Deadline is March 28th, and pickup is in April. The Greene County email address is gcswcd.com.