Ahh...SPRING...??

Already, the daffodils and hyacinths have blessed us with their cheerful faces. Soon, our yard will release it's wonders of roses and peonies, herbs and flowering plants whose names I've forgotten. The leaves will sprout forth with their tiny red and green buds...some unfurling into spring-green, (my most favorite color in the whole wide world), lacey leaves. The pond will need cleaning so the fish emerging from winter semi-hibernation can enjoy themselves, and the air will take on that balmy feel and smell one only finds when living near the sea in springtime. Oh...I can hardly wait!

photo: http://the5bennettgirls.com

Yesterday, Sr. Chief and I turned an entire section of our back yard into what is going to be a "Back-to-Eden" garden.  (Scroll down to see the inspiring video!) In-between jobs, I raked (and raked and raked) gumballs from our infamous Sweet Gum a.k.a."gumball" tree...Well, it's really ours AND our neighbors. We all hate it. Yes, I did use the strong word 'hate' there. But really, I've tried for ten years to figure out why God made gumballs and the answer is yet to come. I have satisfied myself with the fact that He's concerned about my health and therefore blows them off the tree into my yard so I'll get a jumpstart on my spring exercise. Yes, that's a bit over the edge in 'it's all about me' thinking, but...
If that was His plan, it worked.

But back to the Back-to-Eden garden...the whole concept is almost more exciting than than the approach of warmer weather. Almost. So, following the advice given in the video, we scouted out a place to get mulch and compost and FOUND a state facility within a half hour's ride! The mulch there is certified clean, comes in a variety of sizes and even non-toxic colors, and the operation is impressively and efficiently run...at a third of the cost of local nurseries. Yes. We were greatly impressed.

Now, you want to know about how God works sometimes? We have two vehicles, neither of which is a truck.                                 (We NEED a TRUCK!...)
...but Sr. Chief was training out of town Friday and on his way back through Richmond, he thought to ask his brother if we could borrow his trailer...our van does have a hitch for our camper. So, he came home surprising me with a trailer full of compost that he also picked up on the way home!

Who knew a lady could get so excited about dirt? (But I still carry lipgloss in my pocket, girlies!)

We drove to pick up the mulch early yesterday, came home and laid newspaper where needed, added about 2 inches of compost and 3-4 inches of fine mulch over that. We agree that in order to do as the experts say to do, we'll need to get at least an inch of regular mulch to cover that just because the mulch we got is so beautifully fine it will compost pretty fast...The weather can turn hot and humid here in an instant and the larger mulch will be needed to hold in water and keep those roots cool once the plants get started. But for now, I know we're safe.

 

Because today, here in the southeastern corner of Virginia, after raining coldly most of the day, the rain turned to sleet and then...it snowed. Oh, yes, it did.

 

I'm trying to keep my chin up and regard it as a nice, cozy blanket for the garden...Just a little something to help it out, and truth be told, I'm probably right. Still, I'm not really too happy about it.

But I did have a paper to edit.

And I was tired from gardening yesterday, three hours of music rehearsal yesterday afternoon, church yesterday evening, (our church meets on Saturdays and no we're not in a Jewish congregation, although I love God's chosen), and PORT* yesterday evening-evening.

And Senior needed to work on his school paperwork today, too. (Yes, people do think and study and even go to school after 50!)

And I still need to at least vacuum as dog hair is gathering in the carpet...I'll do that in the morning.

The point is, I'm excited, but I am a habitual over-doer so even though I know the snow's not really all about me, I think there's a chance that it could be some about me. Because if God knows the number of hairs on my head, (and He does), and if His thoughts of me are greater than the grains of sand on the beaches, (and they are), and if He is serious about coming unto Him all us who are weary, (and He is)....then there's no doubt that this nasty weather had something to do with keeping me indoors, resting by the fireplace and only taxing myself enough to drink tea while editing a paper.

I even settled back for a 'Facebook Session'.

 

Honestly, this type of garden does need to sit a bit before planting...We are creating ours along the format of the family in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania...Their climate is more similar to ours than those across the country.

 

And we haven't even decided which seeds to plant yet...although I'm getting a very good idea.

 

But I sure did like the smell of that dirt and mulch yesterday...

 

Oh, yes...It's all so close, I can taste it!

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*PORT is a local program in which churches of all denominations join together to feed and shelter the area's disabled homeless.

The Contemplating Garden

This is a piece of our Contemplating Garden. It is, in fact, an inherited pond. It came with the house. It is cement and when we first saw it, our immediate response was to plan a jackhammering event as soon as possible.  Sometimes, I still feel that way-sort of.  Maybe not the jackhammering part, but in a get-rid-of-the-work sort of way. Especially in the early spring months, when it seems there is an endless amount of debris from old leaves, grass and even flowers. All of which must be cleaned out with a rake. A shovel. A siphoning tube. 

The cleaning takes weeks because even after the debris is gone, there is the fresh algae bloom and once that's cared for, there is the brown water. We have 'good bacteria' tablets that are tossed into the water, but we must be patient for them to do their work. There is a quick route to clarity of water, but this is a temporary fix...good for parties that occur before the tablets work their 'magic', but otherwise, pretty much useless.

The water of the pond drops from a top pool into two lower pools before cascading via a homemade waterfall into the main body of the pond. We have thought to turn this system into something smaller and simpler. The contemplation was to fill in the lower pond with cement, perhaps embedding mosaic tile into the new floor, and then make the little pools recycle water through themselves so we could still have the sound and sight of water.

If it weren't for my love our pond fish, I think we would have done this -and the possibility remains that we yet will-sometime far into the future when our backs can not longer handle the strain of pond cleaning.

 But today, I am glad we took the 'stay with it' option. For seven years, we have planted, raked, sown seed, painted over the old aquamarine blue (ugh!) a former owner used, tended fish, de-mosquitoed, and yes, cleaned this pond. We have watched the 'wild' vines begin to grow up its blob-like form, allowing them to remain just to see if we like the final product.

We did. They first made it look like a verdant hill of life, then blessed us with small white flowers in the early fall...We call it Fall Jasmine because it is prolific and has a glorious smell like Jasmine. (If it is not Jasmine, I have decided that it should be.)

Jim's addition of a bridge allowed us, and all visitors, to dangle toes in cool summer water, giggling as we wait for fish and tadpoles to kiss our toes. It also gave a place for contemplating and praying...for weeping and thinking, deciding and finding peace.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      As the glory of the pond garden has evolved over the years, our love of things growing has expanded into the rest of our yard. More on that another time, but the point is, our not giving in to the easier way...the road more travelled...has ended by giving us an ever-growing blessing of earthly paradise.

I'm so glad we didn't give up.

    ...Can I get an "Amen" ?

                                            

THE VALUE OF BEAUTY

I want to share something sent to me via e-mail. But first, I want to share a little something else...

I was visiting friends who had recently purchased a new Century home in the country. The previous owners had created a gorgeous and elaborate English Garden in their back yard. I am still of the conviction that the garden would make an ideal spot for weddings.

The precious family now residing in the home are all hard workers and believe strongly in sustainable living. As I regarded their garden in the company of the eldest daughter, she remarked that yes, it was beautiful, but not really of any value. At this statement, I gently, but passionately stated that this thinking was mistaken thinking.

While I believe there is no plant on earth that cannot be used medicinally or nutritionally, I also believe that the the One Who Created all things did so out of His joy of creating and out of His delight in bringing His created delight.

This is why my friend's garden is a treasure. This is why my husband and I plant new, flowering plants year after year. Why we grow a garden. Why we feed the birds and take joy in watching the antics of the squirrels that raid the feeders and baby bunnies that we know will partake of part of our garden's fruit. (They prefer the clover growing so freely among our grass, which is why we'll probably never try to cultivate the totally perfect lawn.) It is the reason we spend hours cleaning and caring for a small pond that houses tadpoles and various small fish. Why we mourn when the Great Blue Heron visits there unexpectedly for breakfast. It is the reason we allow finches to build nests in our hanging ferns. Why we wait expectantly for the baby robins to hatch and eventually leave the nest they repeatedly use in the Jasmine right beside our front door. Why we open the bedroom window a crack in the spring to listen to the night sounds of singing frogs and chorusing crickets.

Beauty is the reason. The beauty of life. Of things living. Of God's Creation. We relax in His beauty, knowing that we could save money and certainly time, by not 'indulging'. But somehow, I feel in my heart, that God is happy about our happiness with His World.

Did you know that it has been proven that the color green is calming? It is. And isn't it amazing how much green God put into the world? Like He knew, (of course He did), that we would need green. But he also inserted scads of beauty into His world and without scientific research, I'm pretty sure that someone could prove, scientifically even, that mankind needs beauty. Not to merely exist, but to thrive within our existing.

Jesus said He came to give life. But He didn't stop there...He continued by saying that it was His desire to give life abundantly. With the multitude of problems every human faces every day, we forget about the ok-ness of living in abundance.

And we don't have to have yards, gardens, hanging plants and bird feeders to enjoy His abundance...but if we want them, I believe with all within me that it's ok. There are boundaries, of course...we need to be sure we aren't feeding the birds if we're not feeding our children, for instance. But to live with guilt over loving God's Creation...that sort of thinking comes from the enemy of our spirits.

Perhaps you can understand, then, how happy I was to find the following in my e-mail:

Simone Weil was absolutely right-beauty and affliction are the only two things that can pierce our hearts. Because this is so true, we must have a measure of beauty in our lives proportionate to our affliction. No, more. Much more. Is this not God's prescription for us?
Just take a look around. The sights and sounds, the aromas and sensations-the world is overflowing with beauty. God seems to be rather enamored with it. Gloriously wasteful. Apparently, he feels that there ought to be plenty of it in our lives. I am at a loss to say what I want to say regarding beauty. Somehow, that is as it ought to be.
Our experience of beauty transcends our ability to speak about it, for its magic lies beyond the power of words. I want to speak of beauty's healing power, of how it comforts and soothes, yet also how it stirs us, how it moves and inspires. All that sounds ridiculous. You know your own experiences of beauty. Let me call upon them then. Think of your favorite music, or tapestry, or landscape. "We have had a couple of inspiring sunsets this week." A dear friend sent this in an e-mail: "It was as if the seams of our atmosphere split for a bit of heaven to plunge into the sea. I stood and applauded . . . simultaneously I wanted to kneel and weep."
Yes-that's it. All I want to do is validate those irreplaceable moments, lift any obstacle you may have to filling your life with greater and greater amounts of beauty. We need not fear indulging here. The experience of beauty is unique to all the other pleasures in this: there is no possessive quality to it. Just because you love the landscape doesn't mean you have to acquire the real estate. Simply to behold the flower is enough; there is nothing in me that wants to consume it.
Beauty is the closest thing we have to fullness without possessing on this side of eternity. It heralds the Great Restoration. Perhaps that is why it is so healing-beauty is pure gift. It helps us in our letting go. (Desire , 191-92)