Blessed Are They

Blessed are those who have nothing to say, and don't take all day to do it! This is one of those wise sayings that is ignored at one's own peril. So today, only a few ramblings.

We have been enjoying fresh lettuce, spinach, radishes and onions from our garden. How delicious! How much we have missed while in Texas. Makes coming back to Iowa all the more worthwhile.

Finally last evening, we finished hanging the four new fans in the condo of My Love's parents. Their children had gifted them with four new ceiling fans, one for each bedroom, one for the dining area, and another for the living room. Each fan includes a light kit, so now they have ceiling lights in all the rooms. Thanks to the help of a local guy, we have them in place and the Folks are very pleased and happy.

This weekend we will celebrate the graduation of my sister's youngest daughter, Megan. It will be another wonderful opportunity to join together with family in an event that we would have missed in Texas. The blessings of God continue to unfold.

So now it is time to finish and heed the words of the Wise Man quoted above.

Glorious Spring!

How wonderful is Spring! If I were a poet, I would certainly spin out mellifluous lines about the beauty around me for there is no end to it. But, woe is me, I'm a prose man, and so you are stuck with reading a prosaic observation rather than a poetic one

Last Saturday, I spent the afternoon in the garden with My Love. It is so exciting. We had not been out there since the previous Monday because of the many rain showers throughout the week. What a pleasant surprise! The leaf and head lettuce were standing proudly in their rows. Beans, peas and kohlrabi were stretching up to take advantage of the bright sunshine. Spinach and cilantro added a deeper green to the pattern. Even the onions and corn were far enough out of the ground to be able to distinguish the rows. The only plants not yet up are those that we just planted a week ago.

We spent the time laying down black material between the rows to prevent the weeds/grass from taking over, while still allowing the rain to soak into the ground. According to the plan, this will save us a lot of time over the coming months by eliminating some of the weeding.

At home, we are enjoying orioles, goldfinches and wrens perching on the feeders that the neighbor downstairs has out. They have to fight with the purple finches, as well as the sparrows who want their turn. Of course the robins and black birds are busy searching the lawns for some tasty morsels. Every now and then, a blue jay gets into the fracas to add a note of disharmony.

The flowering trees and shrubs are more full and colorful this year than I can remember. It seems to me that there are so many more of them around than when we lived up here before. Flowering crabs, lilac, Eastern redbuds and many other types are bursting with bright hues and delightful fragrances. It's a pleasure just to drive down the road and experience the collage of colors.

Perhaps we are appreciating this explosion of Springtime more because we have missed it for the past twelve years while living in Texas. The coming of this season in South Texas, while welcome, was definitely less of a contrast with winter than here in Iowa. We are grateful to God for this opportunity to bask in His beauty.

Planting the Future

Tuesday evening I was gifted with more than an hour with My Love helping her plant more "goodies" in her garden. Together we put in potatoes and onion sets (red, white and yellow). Yes, I know, the potatoes were supposed to be put in on Good Friday, but they only arrived this week from the seed company. Apparently, due to the economic slump, there are so many people planting their own food this year that the seed companies cannot keep up. Isn't that a wonderful thing! Think of all the quality time that people are taking to get back to the basics of life.

I couldn't help but think of my Dad, who always had a garden. When he would come home from work at the end of the day, he would go out to pull a few weeds, or water, or pick some vegetables. It was his time alone, time for peace and quiet before coming into the house to deal with us children. Somehow we knew enough not to disturb him during these precious few moments alone.

Anyway, instead of Good Friday, we celebrated Great Tuesday. It was a great feeling to get my hands into the soil and experience the hope and anticipation of the harvest as we placed each small onion and potato. In Texas, we tried one year to have a garden, but the heat was too intense. We needed to water the plants early in the morning before going to work, and then again after we came home in the evening. Then we only harvested some scrawny little vegetables. It wasn't worth it, especially when we could go 1/4 mile down the road any day of the week and buy fresh fruits and vegetables off the back of a truck.

As we were finishing our task Tuesday evening, a few drops of rain began to fall. Throughout the night and yesterday all day, we continued to receive on-again off-again light showers. It was truly God blessing our efforts! I am reminded of Paul's words in 1 Cor 3:7: "Neither he who plants nor he who waters is of any special account, only God who gives the growth."

Isn't that the way it is with everything in life? We are planting seeds, or watering what others have planted. Maybe we are even harvesting what others have labored over. But all of it is a gift from God who has given it to us.

What are you doing today? planting? or watering? or harvesting? Do it with a grateful heart.