Sunday April 4, 2010

Spring keeps springing.

 

The other evening we went to a “plant farm” as their names says. They have millions of plants that they ship out to retailers, plus you can go through their greenhouses and handpick you own plants.

This is a picture I took last year we were there:

day 27a

This time we went earlier in the spring than last year. And we only had a little over an hour to shop. Not enough time for that place.

After we left we decided to take the dirt roads home. It was supposed to be a 30 minute drive home but it ended being a bit longer than that. We apparently turned the wrong way once and took the scenic route home. And no, we don’t have GPS. We are so twentieth century.

But we did pass this place which we found to be quite interesting. Way out in the country, by a big field.

scenic route 1

Seems the tables are turned on the cows of Chik-fil-A. The chickens are getting their revenge.

scenic route 2  

And I really don’t know what the sign on the left means.

scenic route 3

We did find out way home before the sun set and we lost east from west. No really, we weren’t that lost, just out a slightly different direction that we thought we were headed.

Yesterday we spent the day outside. I got the outside of the windows cleaned which was neglected last fall and even maybe last spring. It was amazing how much cleaner they were this time vs. before our grass came in and the dirt didn’t get blown around. I still had the dilemna of how to get the windows clean that are surrounded by flower beds and wouldn’t be safe for a ladder.

I checked at our local hardwares stores for a squeegee window washer but could only find a squeegee. So I bought a deck brush and safety pinned a rag to it. And I found a squeegee for the shower and taped it to a broom handle. It looked, well, like a red-necked contraption but it worked. Very well, in fact. That tip for improvisation is free.

Plus I needed the deck brush to wash our pollinated carport.

redneck window wash

For some reason the pinned rag reminded me of occasions long ago when we would babysit and ran out of disposable diapers and my mom would pin towels on the the babies. Hey, it worked and the kiddos still had a good time.

Lois got her butterfly garden started. And we planted more vegetables. Our broccoli plants are pretty much history. The cabbage is hopefully developing heads.

 

The brussel sprouts, a new are getting small “buds” on them.

 

The kale and kohlrabi are coming along well. The lettuce is at it’s prime. The garlic and onions are beginning to mature. We planted tomatoes, squash, and 3 kinds of peppers. We also started an asparagus bed, another new thing. Hopefully it will work, if not, we’ll know in a few years.

Our garden is looking better than last year, probably in thanks to adding lots of lime, a must for this area, and an all-natural bovine by-product thoroughly mixed in last fall.

 

Morning Rays – Friday February 12, 2010

What is this thing called LIFE? How can it be that the life of my 18-year-old friend comes to a screeching halt one Thursday with the words “brain tumor.” Her dreams are on hold and a long recovery is ahead of her. How can it be that at the same time we celebrate the arrival of a baby daughter to parents who first experienced a mis-carriage. And the  joyful news of a second child, a baby girl, who was born into a family whose arms remained empty for the first thirteen years of marriage.

Hearing the anguished prayer of a parent who prayed for healing for his daughter made me think – How did the father heart of God weep when His Son asked to have the “cup of suffering” removed from Him, knowing that it wasn’t something He could grant?

On Monday when my friend was in 10.5 hour surgery we received news that my oldest brother was in a bad accident, only he emerged unhurt from a totaled work vehicle and the 2 occupants who had tragically taken the risk of beating the oncoming traffic were life-flighted to a hospital.

And today we received news of the death of my cousin’s brother-in-law, who was snatched from life very suddenly, leaving behind a wife and 7 children.

My first thoughts are to long for Eden and the perfection that was there. Why do we have pain and suffering? Why was sin for Adam and Eve even an option? But that is not the real answer. Is it possible that the darker the night, the brighter the morning? We may not even see the brightness of morning until we reach the perfection of Heaven and our tears are wiped away. But in the meantime God’s presence is as real as the wind that whips our hair. His strength and grace in real in trying times. We can’t explain it but we can feel it.

The rays of morning are in sight for my 18-year-old friend who was told on Thursday that her tumor was benign. Her faithfulness to God even in her hours of continued pain is a tremendous testimony to the strength of her relationship to God.

fear not.jpg