🍅 Bounty 🍆

 Oh Friends~

You have to see this!

I know we, each of us, live in different areas,

but if you look, look closely, it's there.

There is bounty all around us.

Summer can sure be long and hot.

The longer days can become wearisome

and our bodies can certainly tire.

Or is that just me?

(Cayenne)

As many of you know, I grow a garden each year.

It seems by February,

I am raring to get it going and wanting to plant seeds

despite the icy temperatures out of doors.

This year was different.

We had the summer kitchen flood in January,

then the mess to clean up when the roof was repaired in March.

I didn't get much of a break

so by spring I wasn't as ambitious as usual.

My seed starts struggled.

I was lack luster in getting things in the ground,

and I questioned if we would have much at all

by the time harvest rolled around.

The lesson~

There is always a lesson, isn't there?

We are taught, errr well, back in my day anyways - haha!

not to be pompous or proud.

Pride comes before a fall as the saying goes.

It does seem when we are struggling,

we find ourselves most humble.

(Saskatoon berry juice.)

And here is where I must digress for a moment

so you can see the whole picture.

I am aware of the circumstances of our food supply as a nation.

In the eye of world events,

I realize our nation has become dependent upon other

countries for much of our sustenance.  

The area around us is a heavy agriculture area,

and there are a lot of wheat fields in addition to

hay, peas, potatoes and fruits.

Knowing many of the plains states were experiencing

challenging weather and failing crops,

as I was pushing through trying to get my homely little starts

in the ground and wondering if they would even survive,

I looked over the fields and said a prayer not really for myself

but for our collective efforts.

I realize not everyone here is the praying sort.

Stick with me for a minute if you will please.

That was what seems like ages ago,

but in reality was only a few short months ago.

(We lost our canopy, but the bean wall is outrageous this year.)

And here's where the ends meet

with the lesson and the harvest.

They've been pulling great loads of wheat from the surrounding fields.

They harvested peas from the field in front of our house.

The farmer told me to help myself if I wanted any.

I did but didn't abuse the privilege.  

They've began harvesting onions behind our house.

We are able to glean what's left in the field which is substantial.

I am ever grateful.

And those tender little starts that looked like they were

lost of hope,

well they are producing like crazy.

We picked 23 cucumbers from my one plant in 4 days.

Our tomatoes are packed and just coming on.

I have never seen so many tomatoes grow on 

individual plants.

Nearly every plant is loaded.

The "regular" tomatoes are the size of baseballs to softballs.

The Romas are the size of tennis balls.

Hubby said they will probably all turn ripe

about the time he leaves for hunting.

He's probably right!

The grass hay in the field to the side of us looks amazing.

Critters need food too.

The point of all of this is to put a little nudge of inspiration

in your heart.

When you are feeling like you are wilting and might not make it,

remember also, you might just pull through and have 

an abundance, a great bounty.

And just one more little testimony to how bad it was,

in case you don't believe me,

and/or if you just need a laugh~

We had to leave for a couple days shortly after I got things planted.

My folks came to take care of things while we were gone.

My mom, who I joke can plant a pencil and watch it grow,

said, "Your tomatoes are dead.  I watered them because you said to,

but I don't think they'll make it."

Thanks Mom (heehee).

For some reason, I couldn't give up on them.

That little bit of faith is now paying off.

Keep you well,

and until next time,

Many Blessings.

 

Earning Feathers

There is sooo much happening in our country 

and in our world.

Not to worry,

I'm not dwelling there.

Quite the contrary actually~

I'm not sure how each of you handles discerning news,

but I have to be cautious about how much I see or hear.

I think many folks are able to tune it out

or not let it get to them,

but it "gets" to me and bothers me internally

to the point that I'm tense and don't sleep well.

I like to know what's going on so I'm not in the dark,

but I don't need every detail of something that happened

on the other side of the nation

and that I can do exactly nothing to change.

Lately, I've been a little stressed.

There are always stresses in life.

Of course there are and rightly so;

how else could we acknowledge how great our blessings are.

It's not only been societal news, but 

also some wrinkles in our life that need a hot iron.

Maybe some of you can understand that.

Sometimes, there are situations that require sideways thinking

in order to come to any sort of end.

And with that, I will set forth a pondering~ 

The other night hubby ran across a question~

I might not have it exactly as it was posed

since I was not the one who read it.

There is a colored man who likes to walk his dog.

When he does, he will have one of his daughters walk with him

because he is fearful that he will be harassed due to his color

if he walks alone even though he has never experienced it before.

There is also a white woman who sees a colored man walking alone

in her neighborhood who she's never seen so she calls the police

because she is afraid that he might cause her harm even though

she has never experienced such a thing.

Are either of these fears un-based?

When hubby presented me with that,

I said, "It's the breakdown of community."

He hadn't thought of that.

Their fears are real.

I am afraid of snakes - just am.

No matter how much I know about them,

that certain snakes are good etc.

My heart races and I get "stuck" when I see them.

I've improved though.

I no longer scream, drop what I'm carrying, and run.

Some people are afraid of heights, of water, etc.

Fear is fear, but it can be overcome.

It is unfortunate though that such situations as the above example

are real anywhere.

The good news is, we can help it.

We just need community.

We've become a society of no eye contact

let alone words or actions or communication.

If that man walking his dog commented on the woman's

flowers or color of her house or just smiled and said "Good afternoon"

or the woman commented and said how nicely the dog behaved

or "What breed is it?" or a hundred other small niceties,

soon they might know each others first names and be able

to smile and wave with no fear on either side.

And actually quite the opposite of fear-

that is community.

If someone began to harass the man walking the dog,

the woman might step out and speak up,

"That's Jim and he walks by here with Duke almost every evening.

He's not hurting a thing."

And if "Jim" saw something fishy around "Mary's" place, he might 

bring it to her attention so no harm came to her.

It's a sort of protection for both sides.

And there would be a *unity* rather than a division.

And that makes all the difference.

Folks will pay a small fortune to insurance companies

but won't pay a compliment to an unknown neighbor.

The return of community is far greater than that

from any insurance company I've ever known.

Our year 2020 has had its challenges so far.

(to say the least)

So in the face of adversity at every turn,

I try to do something positive or find a positive focus.

I have been reading the Stillmeadow books

by Gladys Taber.

They are delightful!

They were written during and after WWII

so it's not as though they were written with no knowledge

of severe occurrences.

What is so striking is the element of home and community

and the positive attitude toward others and for our country and world.

Just this morning, there was a line that stated,

"Nobody is so obscure that they can not do their part."

It has become so accepted for folks to act with malice

that it really is scary.

If we act in good will, we might feel insignificant,

but just keep that in mind - 

"Nobody is so obscure that they can not do their part."

It is a line well worth the repeat.

And now let me make a bit of a diversion.

Over the past week, I've spent a little time in the garden.

Have you noticed how Mother Nature doesn't seem to care

what sort of issues we face?

My tomatoes are almost 2 feet tall :-)

And so far the voles haven't found my onions or cauliflower.

And the strawberry plants I planted last summer

have little green strawberries on them the size of marbles.

The humming birds and house finch are happy.

The bees are in love with the mock orange that's blooming

and sending out it's delicious fragrance.

The neighbors got their first cutting of hay off the field

so the hawks have had their bellies full.

In the mingst of it, there I am tugging at the weeds,

letting my mind wander where it might,

being at ease in the blessing of a garden.

 As I said above, when I feel "yuk" inside,

I try to do something kind physically.

The other day, I vacuum-sealed 16 quarts of beans

for my mother-in-law so they stay fresh.

That might sound silly to some of you,

but it's the little niceties like sealing beans,

or shoveling snow for someone, or passing along a favorite magazine

that make each day of life a little kinder.

They don't cost anything more than a morsel of time

and yet are meaningful.

A few days ago, I had the doors and windows open

since it was such a lovely day.

A wind gust came up while I was upstairs.

I thought little of the front door being open.

When I went down stairs, there was a dove feather right in the middle of the floor between the dining room and living room.

I picked it up and admired it and set it on a little tray I have.

Then yesterday, I opened the front door to look at hubby's pepper plants.

There near the front steps was a beautiful hawk feather

so I picked it up and set it on my tray with the dove feather.

Both are perfect, clean, whimsical feathers.

They got me to thinking~

maybe by the time my time on earth is up

I might have enough for some wings.

So what if we - each of us - 

lived in such a fashion that we were trying to earn a feather

so that when our time is up we will have earned our wings?

Isn't that a pleasant thought?

How might our communities look then?

There are some good things happening right now if we only look.

Folks are finding home.

The yards and houses are better cared for now than in many years.

More meals are being prepared at home.

Families are spending time together.

And in general, people seem appreciative of what's good.

These are the things I'm focusing on.

Would be a shame to let them go unnoticed.

Just something to ponder~

 

Circles

Tonight dear friends is the full moon.

I've read of what was referred to as "Moon Beauty."

That's the beauty one gains with age

rather than the beauty of youth or the dawning.

I like that way of thinking.

                                                                              Source

There is something so beautiful about a full moon.

The soft glow of light it radiates

creates beauty of a softened nature

with it's light and shadows.

When I was getting my teaching degree,

we were once asked 

"If you were a shape, what shape would you be?"

None of us really blinked at the question,

though the few I've presented it to since then

look at me like I have 3 eyes or something.

There were some very thoughtful answers.

Some of the responses~

"A Square: I like everything in its slot.  No gray areas.

This is this and that is that."

"A Triangle: I feel like there's me, then in one direction I have my family and friends, and the other direction I have school and career."

"A Rectangle: I like everything in its slot like a square, 

but feel stretched a little."

And my response~

"A Circle: Everything moves in circles.  Circles of friends, circle time (preschool)

circle of life, circle of seasons etc."

That big ol' circle hanging in the sky last night

(to its fullest tonight)

has served as a reminder to me 

that it's all circular.

We can't isolate ourselves,

can't shut down part of an economy,

tread on part of our rights,

take away part of our lives,

without effecting 

everyone we know and love,

without effecting

every business we patronize and the workers who run it,

without effecting

all of our rights equally,

without effecting

our life as a whole.

This is not a gloomy thought, but a beautiful one.

There is a beauty in this age we have.

We have more knowledge now than at any time in history,

or. . . . as it goes, in our youth.

I am grateful for my years,

for the love of my friends and family,

my "wealth" (be it what it is:-),

my rights, 

my life as a whole.

Yep, that globe hanging there in the Heavens

amidst those twinkling stars

is moon beauty.

She's seen so much more than I can comprehend.

And yet she shines.

What an example to all of us "youngsters by comparison."

I appreciate her light and reflection

and her continuance.

We too will continue.

We might follow her example to shine our best

and radiate the love and beauty we have.

Now, wouldn't that be beautiful?

Wishing each of you a very Happy Easter

this upcoming Sunday.

I hope you find beauty in your day,

and night ;-)