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Is That Darth Vader in the Garden?

March 17th, 2010

Yesterday an old friend accompanied me into the garden while I was working.

No it wasn’t Darth Vader, although I got a great laugh when I took this photo and looked at the result. Mr Chiots is a HUGE Star Wars fan so Darth Vader was the first thing that popped into my mind. It wasn’t someone from the dark side (although he could surely deal swiftly with my mole problem), it was my trusty hat.

You may have noticed that I’m wearing it in just about every photo, unless it’s cold. I wear it to keep the sun off my face. I was treated for precancer on my face 6 years ago (when I was only 27 – YIKES). That’s mostly due to the fact that I have super light sensitive skin and I spent my childhood running around in the sun on the equator. As an adult I took to wearing this hat and I love it. I don’t like to wear sunscreen much because of the chemicals involved, so I wear a hat instead (although when I can’t wear a hat I use Colorescience Sunforgettable Mineral Sunscreen). I bought this hat a long time ago and loved it so much I bought several more.

I’m happy that the days are sunny enough to warrant a hat. I snapped this self-portrait of my reflection in the storm door, thought you’d like to see what the flowers, veggies, and insects always see around here, me in my hat with a camera in front of my face.

Do you wear and hat or sunscreen when you work in the garden?

20 Comments to “Is That Darth Vader in the Garden?”
  1. Christine on March 17, 2010 at 8:05 am

    I actually sewed myself a gardening hat a while back. I love love love it, and it’s perfect for just about any sunny day activity. I have a couple of pictures here: http://ourtineygarden.blogspot.com/2009/08/super-cute-sun-protection.html
    .-= Christine´s last blog ..Spending the day in Sanibel! =-.

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  2. Tree on March 17, 2010 at 9:00 am

    I can’t find a hat that I like. I want one with a wide brim, made out of fabric that has some sort of stay in it (too keep the brim out and not floppy), I would love something super colorful.

    I ran around my entire childhood without sunscreen, unless you burned you didn’t put on sunscreen, as an adult if I even look outdoors on a sunny day without sunscreen I burn and burn badly so lately I have taken to wearing longsleeves and sunscreen.
    .-= Tree´s last blog ..63 and Sunny! =-.

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  3. Frugal Trenches on March 17, 2010 at 9:40 am

    Ha ha! Briliant post!

    Yes, I wear sunscreen, always!
    .-= Frugal Trenches´s last blog ..Inventing My Life – Planning My Path =-.

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  4. warren on March 17, 2010 at 9:48 am

    Being follicularly challenged, I have to wear a hat in the summer or risk losing my entire scalp to sunburn! I have a number of hats depending on my mood…I am fickle that way! I have also discovered Rash-Guard clothing…I can wear a long-sleev rash-guard shirt in the summer and be protected and not overly warm…money well spent
    .-= warren´s last blog ..West Vir-Ginny! =-.

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  5. Kelly on March 17, 2010 at 9:59 am

    My whole family wears hats. I got hubby into hats last year when he started getting scalp burns – he wears old-style hats (stubby fedora, newsboy, driving caps). My boys wore hats I crocheted for them from some basic cotton – a cross between a bucket hat and a pork pie hat. I have a few hats I’ve knit in a light cotton – wide brimmed hats are my favourite. This year I’m sewing one for myself (the knit, while light-weight, is a bit hole-y) and repurposing some old pants of mine to make new hats for bigger, little boy heads.

    I have sensitive skin and all my boys have buzz-cuts – we definitely wear hats. I hate sunscreen.
    .-= Kelly´s last blog ..White Day and Other Things =-.

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  6. Morgan G on March 17, 2010 at 12:02 pm

    This post made me smile.

    Yes, I wear sunscreen. My favorite is Kiss My Face’s Face Factor. There’s no overwhelming smell and it gets the job done. : )
    .-= Morgan G´s last blog ..ReRip: Reduce, Reuse, Reride =-.

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  7. stefaneener on March 17, 2010 at 12:25 pm

    I just saw this morning that it’s time for sunblock. I don’t burn, but I do tan quickly, and I don’t want to get all dark all over. I use a lotion-based mineral kids’ sunblock.

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  8. Katie on March 17, 2010 at 12:34 pm

    I have a fabulous visor with an extra wide brim that is as attached to me as my gardening gloves. I also wear sunscreen now, but never as a kid. I’m fair and my mom is a redhead that has had numerous sections of skin removed from her face. I joke about her annual “face lift”. She’s 75 and has very few wrinkles.

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  9. MAYBELLINE on March 17, 2010 at 2:35 pm

    You need a sombrero, sister. I understand your love for the hat; but you need something that really casts a shadow. I use a very wide rimmed hat out in the garden and try to wear long sleeves (thin material) too.
    .-= MAYBELLINE´s last blog ..Nasturtiums, Wisteria, Strawberries, Grapes =-.

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    • Susy on March 17, 2010 at 5:45 pm

      Yes, I should get a wider brimmed one. I usually wear this one really low on my head so it shades my entire face. A little bit of my neck gets some sun. I usually leave my arms expose to the sun and try to stay inside between 10-4 to avoid the heavy sun. I figure I’m getting vitamin D that way at least.

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  10. Jaspenelle on March 17, 2010 at 3:09 pm

    I also try to avoid the whole sunscreen thing, better to cover up a little more and moderate direct sun time (more excuses to drink sweet tea in the shade perhaps?) the slather chemicals on my skin. Even my grandmothers agree and both have had skin cancer. That said, I am very rarely out and about anywhere without my very wide brimmed crushable sunhat (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paganites/3935058751/in/set-72157622325148003/) I adore hats and if not a hat, then my orange bandana.
    .-= Jaspenelle´s last blog ..Paganites Peas: week 5 =-.

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  11. Pampered Mom on March 17, 2010 at 3:28 pm

    My husband has to remember to wear a hat…then again the hair on the top of his head is running away from him. I try as much as I can to get my kids to wear hats. They have very different ideas on the issue than I do, however and the hats mostly end up on the ground. We also don’t wear sunscreen. With as little sunshine as we get ’round these parts we need all the Vitamin D we can get!
    .-= Pampered Mom´s last blog ..A Little Thing Called Perspective =-.

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  12. debbie on March 17, 2010 at 4:12 pm

    I can’t seem to find a hat I am happy with and I don’t like sunscreen (chemicals) on my skin

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    • Susy on March 17, 2010 at 5:43 pm

      It is tough to find one you like. That’s why I bought a few of these when I decided I loved them. As I get older and am more used to wearing hats I’m more comfortable in different kinds of hats. I think next I’m getting a nice wide brimmed straw hat.

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  13. the inadvertent farmer on March 17, 2010 at 7:54 pm

    I have had two pre-cancerous growths removed from my legs (years of sitting in a lifeguard chair) so I am quite religious about covering up not…like you I don’t like sunscreen so my hat is my great garden friend!
    .-= the inadvertent farmer´s last blog ..Cherry Blossoms in the Spring Fog =-.

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  14. the inadvertent farmer on March 17, 2010 at 7:54 pm

    Oh and yes a huge Star Wars fans inhabit my house too! Kim
    .-= the inadvertent farmer´s last blog ..Cherry Blossoms in the Spring Fog =-.

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  15. Mary on March 17, 2010 at 11:09 pm

    Your post really made me smile. I look like a bee keep when I head to the garden. Not out of vanity believe me. I burn very easy and am looking for a product that will remove freckles, or, if that can be done, fill them in so I look like I have a perpetual tan. Have a wonderful day. Blessings…Maryl
    .-= Mary´s last blog ..Four Farls – A Curiosity from Northern Ireland =-.

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  16. Sadge on March 17, 2010 at 11:12 pm

    Gardening, I wear a wide-brimmed straw hat with the top front section broken apart from grabbing it there too often, taking it on and off. It hangs right by the kitchen door, so it’s easy to grab as I head out the door. It has a chin loop with a slide that I usually wear under my hair at the back of my head – the wind is usually blowing here. I use a sunscreen moisturizer on my face and the backs of my hands every day, and sunscreen lip balm. A little tip: make sure you put sunscreen above your top lip, under your nose – sun damage there will look like a mustache when you get older :-0
    .-= Sadge´s last blog ..Our Beautiful Woodbox =-.

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    • Susy on March 18, 2010 at 11:37 pm

      Mine had specific dirt smudges where I’m always grabbing to take it off. It’s so worn in it’s floppier and so soft. I love it, kind of like a pair of broken in jeans – perfect.

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This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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