haha, hobbit feet...i love it!!!!!!!!!!!!

the springtime me.....

dirt under my nails, little flower blossoms contantly in my hair (a co-worker inspects me each day to make sure i don't have twigs, flower petals or creepy crawlies in my hair when i get there!) i call my plants my "babies" and i take care of them better than i do my family! i have a farmer's tan, i don't own any clothes that could not be considered gardening clothes. all of my shoes are mud-covered and grass stained...oh i'm a mess, but i sure am happy!!!

:) jiggreen

I actually went and had a pedicure/manicure to make myself presentable for the office. The poor little Vietnamese lady could not believe how dirty my feet were!! Kept going on about it.....I think it is normal.....apparently not? 8D

I paint my toenails in the summer simply to hide the dirt!!!!!

BTW, my nails are multi-colored, one each purple, green, dark pink, yellow and garnet. Kinda like having a cottage garden on your feet.

I wear a sterling silver ankle braclet all summer. I took it off last night because it was irritating a mosquito bite on my ankle. Low and behold, there is a thin white tan line where this bracelet lays. lol

I also wear adidas slides, so I get a wide non-tanned area on the top of my feet. Looks weird in Sunday sandals, but I won't let it bother me too much.

Happy

I definitly have hobbit feet! I don't like wearing shoes and stop as soon as I can. DH can't stand how my heels get dry and cracked. There isn't much I can do about it though. It only takes two days of barefeet for it to start. Fortuneatly for him it only takes a week of shoe wearing for them to recover reasonably well.
While working at the daylily farm through college I got a sandal tan so deep it took two years to go away completely. And this is in spite of putting on sunscreen twice a day.

I try to remember to put on ankle socks and scrubby tennis shoes when I go out in the dirt because it is so hard to scrub all of the dirt out.

But more often than not I forget and end up with cruddy feet (and fingernails). DH likes my nails long and it is SOOO hard to keep them up when I am in the dirt all of the time.

Reddawn,
You are a hoot! I can identify with everyone here.

I really found freedom on the day I quit caring what the neighbors would think as I go galumphing about in the garden at dawn in my husbands rubber boots and my favorite ratty bathrobe, hair looking like "Cruella DeVille".
YES, I'm VERY HAPPY! Hobbit feet and all!

Patti

i was wondering if I was the only one out there who gets her feet so dirty that they don't come clean. I looked down the other night when we were out with friends and had to cringe when I noticed my grimy toenails peeking out of my strappy black heels! And when I ran in in the middle of the afternoon for a trim with my hairdresser and looked down to see a clean line that looked suspiciously like the strap of my flip-flops amid all of the black dirt on the tops of my feet. And my nails, forget about it until october. I've been guilty of having twigs and grass in my hair. My entire wardrobe is quickly turning into 'garden clothes', and all of my shoes have an inch thick layer of garden mud on the bottoms of them!
Do I care? Well....not right now!

i'm sorry, but i will have to admit to not having hobbit feet. I used to always have dirt under my fingernails, but I started getting manicures and pedicures a couple of years ago. Since then i wear gloves 95% of the time (sometimes i still get my hands dirty) and i almost always wear sneakers in the garden.

It's hard to be a little bit prissy and a gardener too. I kind of miss the feel of dirt on my hands. Somehow i'm trying to find the balance between my garden being pretty and me being pretty too.

errr....WHAT???!!!!!!!!!

I am pretty!! SHEESH

nothing prettier than a hard working woman with the dirt to prove it.
; - )

oooo..I gotta say, even tho I started this thread i TOTALLY love it-(except for the one pretty lady ehehehehehe). Mrmorton...(i feel funny saying that), when my husband comes home from work and my knees are dirty and I have that smudge of manure on my forehead...he says Im a dirty girl. And not in a bad way either. Reaching out and hearing about everyones dirty feet has helped me laugh thru a wicked bad couple days...Thanks all.

If your feet are dirty and its sexy tell the world.

Crazed from Stress,
Dawn

Ooops! Sorry ladies. I never meant to imply that a hard working woman isn't pretty.

Since I'm in a hole I'm going to stop digging. Happy gardening to all!

Hey to all the hobbit feet girls! Yeeehaw, I know I'm in the right place when other women will admit to having hobbit feet! One night I was out with a friend who could (surprisingly) cross her toes, like you can cross your fingers. She had all girly feet, of course, and pretty sandals. I was wearing clogs, and when I said I couldn't do the toe trick, she said "Oh just try it!" It had been pretty loud, with music playing, so we were probably talking louder than usual. Well, just then the band took a break, so pretty much the whole place heard me saying "Oh, no way, I have total hobbit feet!" People around us turned to look at us, and I was so embarrassed! It was funny though, in retrospect. The way I see it, is feet are there to make us happy, and maybe my friend is happy when her feet are all pink and glossy and set off like jewels in fancy sparkly shoes, but I'm happy with my feet planted firmly in the ground pushing a shovel down to make a new border!
Lexi of Major Hobbit Feet

...They dress in bright colors (chiefly green and yellow); wear no shoes, because their feet grow natural leathery soles and thick warm brown hair like the stuff on their heads (which is curly).

...We meet together in the house of our friend and fellow conspirator, this most excellent and audacius hobbit - may the hair on his toes never fall out! All praise to his wine and ale!

The Hobbit
J.R.R. Tolkien

***Okay anybody have lots of thick curly brown HAIR on the tops of their feet? (Hot wax anyone? -- YEEEEEOOOOW!)***

Ya gotta love Tolkien.

I'm sorry, but I trim my toenails and shave the tops of my feet (and mutter precioussssssss).

Oh this is so great!
I dress my Hobbit Feet up with toe rings and wear a beautiful gold ankle bracelet, and it probably draws more attention to my Hobbit Feet! I bought some beautiful strappy
sandles last month, and have yet to wear them! My daughter keeps bugging me about it, and I keep telling her " my feet are a mess" "They are too fancy", and she said "why did you buy them?..you always tell me if I get them home and don't wear them, I'm in trouble!" I just have to garden barefoot! It puts me in tune with nature!hahaha really I just wear shoes to the store and out to dinner!

So it's so nice to know there are so many like me!!

Haziemoon

I love to garden and do some practically every day,-------but bare feet,not me!! I can't even stand to be barefoot in the house.I either wear sloppy slippers or clogs,or sneakers.When i go to the store or somewhere it's either the clogs or the sneakers.I just recently bought a new pair of sneakers so i'd have a clean pair.

Now my fingernails are another story.I do wear gloves most of the time,and a lot of the time i wear the latex ones like dr's use.I can feel things better with them on,than i can with my regular gardening gloves.But i've been known to get somewhere,look down at my hands and see dirty fingernails.

Never had a pedicure in my life and i'm 68 now,so don't plan on having any,have only ever had one manicure in my life.Can't stand to be in those places.It always seems like a waste of my time,which i don't have enough of as it is.JMO
Kathi

I love the latex gloves idea!
I hate gloves too. I have worn out a pair of pretty heavy leather ones, it took 2 years but I was moving pavers around and mixing concrete! I will be getting some latex gloves and giving them a try........I hate the grass stains
I get from pulling weeds.......It looks pretty trashy!
I remember trying to cash a check once, and they took my Id.. checked my signature....them my fingerprint! I had been
in the garden all day and must have looked like a homeless person with a stolen checkbook!!hahaha

Haziemoon

I'm ROTFL with this thread! Steven, you crack me up! I do *not* have hobbit feet, as I never garden barefoot. I would be afraid to get stung by a bee or other critter, plus the tetanus virus lives in the soil and I do not wish to get it into my body via any small cut in my feet! And since we are at that, gardeners should make sure they have their tetanus shots up to date!

As for my hands, that's another matter. I wear gloves most of the time, especially for weeding and some rose pruning, but I really don't like it and every excuse is good to remove them. My finger nails are usually a mess too, because on top of gardening I work in wood restoration and I also resort to wearing gloves only for handling hazardous materials...

Eduarda

Kathi - you have to spoil yourself. Especially with all we have talked about our hobbit feet!!! We have these great places in strip malls, etc. For a hour you get to give yourself a great treat, and we deserve that, after all of our work, right??!! You sit in the big lazy-boy like chair, that gives you a shiatzu massage (great for aching muscles from weeding), and your feet in a little whirlpool bath. Total pampered; gets the dirt out from under your toenails!!

Then you can go home, take you sandals off, and garden some more. lol. Back to the hobbit feet,

HA HA HA HA I 'm laughing so hard right now drinking my morning coffe. I come here for validation so I know I'm not crazy. My husband said to me last night I can't believe I let you in this bed with your feet looking like that.I scrub them but they are perpetually grass stained in the summer from gardening barefoot.I spend more money on plants than clothes usually to in the summer. i took a birdhouse gourd to work to auction off for the Relay for Life and they made a j*** a** out of me.I thought my gourd was quite awsome. LOL Its comforting to know that their are other people out there like me.Any good remedies for cracked heels?I saw something at CVS called Kerasil but didn't try it yer.

I'm a dirty girl too! Jiggreen described me exactly. Love this thread. You can't do the happy dance with clean feet, it is a requirement.

I love this!!! This is too cool! I generally get dirty from top to bottom, but I do not go barefoot in the garden! I always wear my gardenmucks! They're great. My hubby says I should be right at home barefoot in the yard, since I have two little webtoes like a little duck!!! But to top it off I can't swim a lick! Well, I doggy paddle! Now my hands are another story. I do wear gloves most of the time, but if I get started out in the garden doing something, sometimes I just won't take the time to stop and go get my gloves. Wasting precious time you know. Now you have to understand I may be in New Jersey now, but I spent 45+ years growing up in rural, rural Louisiana! We never wore shoes from the end of May until school started at the end of August, and even then it was optional!

Have a nice day!

Unfortunately I have to wear shoes. Too many stickery things in my yard for my feet. I wear my gardenmucks that my DH bought me as a surprise this spring but I can tell you that I'm only in the yard 30 minutes and I'm already a mess. I do put my knee pads on immediately when I go out to protect my bad knee but I usually have dirt all over me, including smeared on my face (cause you know your nose starts itching the minute your hands are covered in dirt) and dirt, sticks and leaves in my hair. My ankles and heels are black and my nails broken and filled with dirt.

But I'm having fun and I don't care what anyone else thinks. So there!!! LOL

Cindy

The latex glove thing is great! I actually had started using them about a month ago. I can't stand to garden in traditional garden gloves as I can't 'feel' what I'm doing in those bulky things, or get a good grip to pull weeds. So I got a big package of latex and they seem to hold up through several uses. If you want to be really prissy, you can wrap the tips of your fingers in cotton to protect your manicure. (I haven't had a manicure in 2 years!). Also, the latex gives you a bit more of a 'grip' on those pesky weeds and helps to pull them out completely!!

When I saw the word HOBBIT I HAD to read this post, because my husband has told my kids for several years now that their mom has "HOBBIT FEET." He says they are not as hairy, but I DEFINITELY HAVE HOBBIT FEET. They are cracked and stained green/brown...I do wear some kind of shoes, even if just flip flops in the gardens, but they get dried out and stained and I can't get them clean or rid of the cracks. My husband also tells me he isn't sure if he should let me in bed at night! LOL How funny.

Yes, like all of you, I'd rather be in the gardens all day than anywhere else. :0) And I HATE garden gloves, but I'm allergic to latex. I am also usually mud/dirt from head to toe-not a "neat" gardener. Yesterday my youngest (17) despaired of the fact that her mom smelled like "poop"-I had just fed roses alfalfa tea/fish emulsion I'd made. Phyl

I identify with those who wear shoes and gloves (and a big sun hat) and have a farmer tan. I don't go out without socks and running shoes. Too many hazards, like fire ants and snakes and sandspurs. I wear regular garden gloves, the kind that fasten at the wrist with velcro that keeps dirt out.

My toes are not pretty. I used to have a neighbor who had beautiful feet. She regularly bleached them in a mild bleach solution and kept her nails painted. The price of a manicure/pedicure will buy a nice shrub. Which is more satisfying? I know which will last longer!

As for attire, I have nice jean shorts, but somehow end up in something less garden-professional-looking. The other day I noticed black swallowtail butterflies kept rushing toward my thighs, then veering off. I looked down to remember those awful magenta pink shorts that were attracting them!

Nell

This is a great thread, filled with fun, laughter and comradship. Gardeners who love to garden despite the dirt, etc. I love to go barefoot but usually just on the sidewalks and inside. There are too many things I could step on. Most of the time I wear my high top hiking shoes with socks of course. Plus I wear long pants, can't stand sweat and dirt, mixed with grass clippings, weeds, etc. stuck to my skin. I do sometimes garden in my sandals and therefore I also have cracked heels. There is some kind of cream you can get at the drug store, I forget what it is called, made in Australia or somewhere like that. I've not tried it yet. My toenails are painted, because DH likes that. I don't paint my fingernails, been there, done that, and it just doesn't stay on very long once you do anything outdoors. It's like coloring my hair. I got tired of having to do it every couple of weeks as the silver roots would start showing. Now I'm just a silver haired brunette, sometimes barefooted gardener with cracks in my heels, and joy in my heart. I can't stand to wear gloves either, although I do put on some really good leather ones if I have to do transplanting or planting of roses.

FlowerLady

Yes, Hobbit feet here! I work in the office 2 days out of the week and it takes me an hour to get the dirt of my feet and nails. I have a tan line where I wear my Addidas flip flops too... real attractive!
I plan on going and getting them dirty all over again though tomorrow!

This has been a Great post,and my imagination has been going wild trying to picture all of you with your green& brown cracked feet,Tooooooo funny.About 2 weeks ago i was cleaning a section of the garden where i have a ladder with plants sitting on the rungs.I moved all the plants and set them on the ground,then when i was done i put everything back.Guess i didn't get the ladder exactly right,because as soon as i sat the rat tail cactus on the top,it toppled and fell smack dab on my arm,OUCH.But first things first.I did have on my heavier gloves so first i set the ladder upright again,then picked up the cactus and put it back in it's pot and back on the ladder.By now my arm feels like it's on fire.So i take off my gloves,go inside and get the duct tape and proceed to pull the spines out of my arm.That first piece of tape must have had a thousand spines on it.I ended up using 5 strips of tape.Then i washed my arm with 2 lathers of antibacterial soap.

The next day it was still burning so i called my dr,they checked my records and told me to stop in for a tetnus shot.Even today it's still a little red and bumpy,but it no longer hurts.

Kathi

Eeeewwwwwwwwww Just the thought of dirt under my nails gives me the willies. FOr ages I use to think that I would be no good at gardening since I did not like the feeling of dirt under my nails but it's just not true! I am good but have a rather extravagent collection of garden gloves... from some very thin stretchy ones that look like the palms have been dipped in rubber to some big leather ones for triming the roses. Same for shoes.. Sturdy tennis shoes so I have just the big shovels with ease.

Just the other day I was out with a group of moms when one mom gasped and pointed at my feet making the comment that they were so *pretty*... .. smooth heels, nicely painted toes. Honestly it's each to his or her own but I don't think there is any corilation (sp?) between good gardening and the willingness to go out with dirt shoved under one's nails or with craggy feet.

Maddie, just in from mowing... Why don't they make mowers with head lights????

How funny all of this is :) I work 3rd shift night auditor/ front desk at a hotel, then work in the yard at home almost every day!
Sometimes I will forget or be in a rush to get here at midnight, and forget to clean under my nails, as we all know just taking a shower won't get it :(
So tonight I have enough time to clean my finger nails, so the people checking out in the morning won't think I haven't cleaned my hands in a year.. lol....
My heels are so dry! I am a barefoot kinda girl....The only thing I can't do in the garden barefoot is dig with the shouvel.....it hurts to push on that thing with your bare foot, I don't see how yall do it!!!
My husband laughes at me, and calls me "one toe" because all my nail polish always wears off my toes down to a little left on my big toe....Then I'll realize, Time to paint!!! After he says something!!!!
My heels are sooo der and cracked...lol...Has anyone ever been in bed with those dry feet and heels, and felt like you were snagging the sheets and comfortor?
I love the look of sandals, toe rings, and pretty feet and fingernails, but I also love to work in my garden....Why can't we have both??? I can't do gloves...I can't feel anything.....
So if anyone knows a good cure for the dry feet...the dirty nails, for a barefoot, gloveless gardner, Please SHARE WITH THE GROUP!!!!!!
Happy Gardening:)
Glenda

The best thing that I know of for dry cracked feet is "bag balm." It's actually a veternary product and it smells a little funky. A dermatogist recommended it to me a number of years ago and I have found nothing better. It has been discovered by a lot of people so it is available at many drug stores.

I took a cue from the teens I volunteer with. Black NAIL POLISH! Everyone just thinks you are trendy and they look cute in sandals.!

Maddie,

My tractor mower has headlights. Mine is an old one I bought for $300 - mows great, has four speeds, plus revearse, and has headlights. :)

I tend to get cracked heals, too, and cracked fingers and they are painful. I use a dremel to sand off the thick calluses and then I apply bag balm. At night, I put socks on afterward when are very cracked & sore. Works great, gets rid of the stains and helps them heal. Bag balm has a natural anti-biotic in it that helps heal cuts and sores, too. Great for cat scratches. When I was a Vet-tech years back, I used it on the animals feet or sores or when they bit or scratched me. I found that it helped prevent my feet from cracking, because of the emolients in it. Put the bag balm, rub in well, then don your latex gloves or other gloves. In winter, I put on latec gloves then my winter gloves to keep my hands dry and warm.

I love to "play in the dirt", go barefoot and garden till I am grubby, but I can't stand to be dirty and wet afterwards, for some reason. I am constantly rinsing off my feet and hands with the garden hose, which of course, tends to make my feet dry out and crack even more. The calluses get so thick that they crack and it really hurts. It also cripples me if I don't keep them sanded off with the dremel. I don't like that. But wearing shoes causes my ankles to swell, so it is either men's sandles, Flip-flops (we used to call them thongs), of I go barefooted. I do have a pair of men's Adidas slides, but they are size 12 - just twice my shoes size, but I wear them. I look like a Hobbit in those!

I am a dust magnet and always have things caught in my hair - twigs, bits of grit, flowers, leaves, bugs.

Believe me, I am not a "priss", but I like to look nice when I go somewhere. Once a week I work my feet over really well. I cannot go to bed with dirty, craggy feet. Grosses me out! I also paint my nails from time to time. (doesn't last too long, but I like it and it makes me feel pretty).
Gotta go put up my chickens. It is thundering and about to storm. Zooks!

Love this thread!
Keep it going!

~ SweetAnnie4u

When I was a kid, May 1st was the day we were allowed to go barefoot. We were either barefoot or in flip flops for the whole summer (except for church on Sundays). Now between the fire ants and the glass that works its way up in my yard (our house is on the old dump site for a farmhouse), shoes are a must. I have this old pair of slip-ons that are cracked, stained, and stink to high heaven, but that's what I'm most comfortable to wear when gardening. My feet don't stay clean, but they're somewhat protected.

Gloves I can do without unless I'm pulling up the blasted sticker vines that insist on sharing the flowerbeds. I like to feel the dirt and "pet" the plants.

I never dreamed there were other ladies out there who garden barefoot or in 'thongs'. My lil dog is my gardening buddy; at times she wants Mama to hold her, needless to say she usually doesn't have clean feet when she jumps up into my arms. My uniform is baggy shorts and T-shirts and thongs (just so I can dig with the shovel or walk even in the area at the back that still has some stickers, etc.)

Bag Balm is called 'woolsfat' at our house. We've used it for the last 40 yrs; my MIL introduced me to this great product when our DD stuck her hand in the back of an old fan when she was a baby. It does help cracked heels but does not totally take care of mine. Would love to know of any miracle cures for this!

I'm a hermit so I don't have to worry about how I look, go for months without leaving the house.

My DH can not believe how brown I am. I'm hitting 60 this year and my dishwater blonde hair is going white with a lot of help from all the hours I spend in the garden. I go out as early as possible (try to get out before 7am); come in at noon or so. Here in Texas it is just too hot to stay out any longer. My DH thinks I look sexy even when I have sweat running off my face and my nails really need a manicure!

My garden has helped me with my 'empty-nest' syndrome. DH works long hrs so my garden helps me fill many lonely hours.

West_Texas_Peg wrote:

"My garden has helped me with my 'empty-nest' syndrome. DH works long hrs so my garden helps me fill many lonely hours."
-------------------------------------------------------------

I hear ya, Peg. I hear ya.

Hugs,
~ Annie

WOW! I had no idea "Hobbit Feet" were a sign of being a Cottage Gardener! ;o) Count me in! It drives my DH CRAZY for me to garden barefoot, but I love the feel of dirt between my toes. Makes me feel more "connected", I guess. It's the clean up afterward that's a pain! LOL! I have learned to keep my shoes handy, though, for the impromtu digging I may need to do. And, I have recently started wearing gloves, on occasion. It makes it a lot easier to poke holes in the ground with your finger, or feel around for roots. The only bad thing is when fire ants get down in there! OUCH! The gloves also make it harder to tell when I've got ahold of DS's giant toad that he brought to live in the garden. He pops out at the most unexpected times! LOL!

I may have to try that bleach idea for my feet...

What a great thread! Makes me feel a little less like a freak! LOL!

HW

This is an awesome post! I have semi hobbit feet as I sometimes do or don't wear shoes. I work at a nursery and in the gardens at a resort that specializes in gardens. So I garden at work and my 1/4 acre flower beds at home! I constantly have dirt under my nails even though I have acrylics and my nail tech always groans when I come in. Says where your gloves! it's mandatory at work but when I am home no way unless I am pruning the roses. and sometimes I don't then because I can never find them. I call my 17 yr old son frodo because he has the hobbit ft big and hairy!

Topic sure caught my eye. My brothers and I have claimed for decades that we are half-hobbit, from our mother, who was 4'6" tall, solidly built, and prefered to go barefoot if at all possible. Oh, yes, curly hair. She was also a regional exec at a large national corporation. She looked completely different going to work. She taught me the secret: never wear open-toed shoes without socks or opaque stockings.

And yes, my brothers and I all have hair on our toes. Not a thatch, but lovely tendrils. We're only half, after all.

I wear muck clogs without socks in the garden, doesn't keep my feet clean but I hate stepping on slugs barefoot. The corker is that my work sometimes involves evaluating forest wetlands. Forest wetlands involve serious muck (which is an actual technical term, BTW). I always end up in muck up to my calves, and I have yet to find a pair of boots I can wear (orthopedic issue) that will keep the muck out.

Good thing I love dirt.

Dayle Ann