glean 1. To go over a harvested field and gather by hand any usable parts of the crop that remain 2. To collect information in small amounts over a period of time
gleanings 1. Usable parts of a crop that are left behind in a harvested field and can be gathered in by hand 2. Objects or ideas that have been gathered or amassed over a period of time, especially when they form a collection or comprehensive whole
Ever throw out a tattered dress or shirt with the buttons still on? Or a pair of pants with a “perfectly good” zipper? (Brief audio flashback to my grandmother’s voice.)
Gleanings. There was a time, not so long ago in our history, when those buttons would have been cut off that dress or shirt and any fabric that could be restored to favor got salvaged into great grandma’s next quilt. And lets not forget the rest of the scraps that found favor as rags for household chores.
Leave it to an ephemera junkie to think about gleaning as she sorts through bags of 100 year old buttons and snaps and hooks and eyes oh my! on a Sunday afternoon.
Gleanings. Clipped off tattered clothing and passed from Ray’s grandmother’s hands to his mother’s to mine.
“What’s the difference between gleaning and hoarding?” I wonder out loud, as I (more…)

















