The Way the Wind Blows

 April

They say write about what you know about

thus the title of this post.

There have been some things on my heart and mind lately.

Yes, it is spring,

and I see so many pictures of little sproutlings

wearing that tender green colour.

There is definitely something to the knowing the earth is alive

under the renegade leaves that are still scampering about 

that have been hiding who knows where.

Spring is the time of resurrection or rebirth if you will.

It's almost a relief to begin seeing colours

that the eyes have been hungry for.

I get that, and I feel it too.

Source
I always wonder at what many would call "coincidence."

I have heard or seen in print

"You reap what you sew"

at least a half dozen times just this week.

Maybe it's simply due to being springtime,

but . . . 

I can't help but wonder.

I've also heard the word discernment a lot lately.

It really does make one wonder.

I don't think I've shared, but we've had several things happen

since the new year.

A storm blew threw somewhere in the Christmas to New Year

time frame.

It blew the summer kitchen roof up so everything inside got soaked.

I cleaned everything up and set the furniture pieces

such as shelving and bakers cabinet and harvest table 

up on canning jar rims so they aren't much taller

but up off the wet concrete floor.

That took some doing but was finally done -

all during the cold of January to boot.

This room is like an extension to our house so

that was an event.

It was tarped until the roofers could get to it 

which didn't happen until March.

Our house got a new roof at the same time.

We didn't know that was going to happen until we returned

home from work and there was half a new roof on it.

The summer kitchen was next.  We thought is was just a metal roof

that would be replaced.

Evidently both the house and the summer kitchen 

had three layers of old roofing (so wrong!).

One of the layers of roofing on the summer kitchen turned out

to be probably almost 100 year old asphalt shingles that fell through

the roof boards.

When it's that old, it turns into that crumbled glass-like yuk.

Here, let me show you.

I held it together though I could have cried.

Nobody mentioned that it was there and maybe we'd want to cover things.

So this awful material covered everything.

I took nearly everything out of there and began cleaning.

I can't express how bad it was.  

I had white towels and sheets I use out there and to cover tomatoes

when a frost is predicted etc.

I did 9 loads of laundry (I think) and countless sinkfulls of dishes.

Hubby came home early to help me.

We were both trying to be cautious not to breath it

and mindful of which direction our dust went.

Needless to say it was a bit of an ordeal.

I have a few more things on the harvest table I am hoping

to clean up this weekend.

The good news is that the roof no longer leaks.

Oh, the other thing the wind did was pull up our canopy over

the back sitting area, mangled it and threw it in the front yard.

We no sooner got things cleaned up, and I brought the little green house

into the house to start the early seeds.

We've mowed the lawn twice and have been starting

to prepare the beds for the upcoming plantings.

I was telling a friend,

I'm not quite as antsy for garden season this year,

but I think it's because we didn't really get a relaxing winter

by the fire sipping a hot drink while leisurely reading something pleasant. (Haha)

And now we head into the busy season.

Through all of this, I've cleaned and continued to organize and declutter.

I've tried to remember what's important and that this has all been

a bit of a hiccup.

In truth, I didn't handle it all with grace and ease.

There were other things that tipped the scales a time or two.

I think it's called life.

We are all a work in progress and I'm no different.

Like I said above, that word discernment keeps finding its way to my ears.

Focusing on what really matters has been (yet another) 

good lesson for me.

A mess to clean up is not fun by any means,

but set that next to what many others might be facing

and I'm sure they'd trade me in a heartbeat.

I get it.

But I do have to say, I'm glad to say it's behind us.

We still haven't decided what we will do for a canopy,

but that too will get figured out.

I'm thankful nothing was "really" damaged,

we are well, have plenty to eat, a new roof over our heads,

and we have folks who care about us.

That's what's really important.

Source

May

And so. 

About the time I finished writing the above, 

we dealt with an unexpected death in the family.

We've had plenty of seat time over the past few weeks.

We attended the service which was good

but extremely sad, only 41 years old.

Then the following weekend a grand-niece's second birthday.

That was joyous - again plenty of seat time,

but at least it was a happy event.

The circle of life is such a wild ride at times.

I do apologize for the lapse in posts.

My heart's just not been in it.

We now have the garden started so are plenty busy.

I'm sorry also that this post is so scattered,

but that's about how my brain is working.

I hope you are all feeling blessed.

If you have folks who are or have been a positive influence

in your life, I'd like to encourage you to tell them so.

Tomorrow is not guarantied.

Enjoy this spring day we've been granted.

 

From Another Time

We went down and visited my brother

and his family.

They are living on the ranch that

my sister-in-law's great grandparents homesteaded.

There are other such places, 

but I am always in awe of the fact that

these buildings have lasted over a hundred years so far.

Of course the buildings are easy to notice,

but there are so many other things.

What caught my attention upon heading 

back out to a ranch was that

I didn't realize that we have mostly

mechanical latches today.

On the ranch, it's usually some form of wood or wire.

That got me to noticing other signs of a lost era.

And of course~

the necessary house. 

It's fully functional, stocked, and used at times.

There are signs of progress though.

I am still amazed how we can create an oasis 

in the middle of the high desert.

It was a nice visit, beautiful weather, & lots of laughs.

It does make me kinda homesick for the ranch though.

Until next time,

Nimble Fingers and Even Stitches

*~*~* Grandmother Apple*~*~*

It might seem strange to some folks

to have respect for a tree.

It's not that it was planned.

It just happened over the years.

This is the tree under which my children played.

They gathered worms & bouquets of violets.

They entertained friends and

learned to climb.

She watched as my son fell from her branches.

At 4 years old, I heard the cry/holler then nothing.

Talk about a heart attack.

My motto was always, "If they're crying, at least you know they're breathing."

I raced over to find him, breath knocked out, but fine.

Children don't climb trees any more.

Go ahead and ask how many have next time you see a group of youngins.

Yes, learned to climb.

There used to be a second trunk/limb.

You can see at the base where it was.

Last winter, the wind broke her.

We considered cutting the whole thing down,

but I couldn't bring myself to part with her completely.

We cut the broken side off and waited to see what happened

not knowing if it was just a matter of time, and

we would have been wiser to take care of it all at once.

She limped along through last summer.

She bore no fruit.

She survived through our odd winter.

And this spring she showed us her beauty once more.

She has more to give.

It just took us believing in her.

This seems like such a good parallel for our lives.

Sometimes, we are broken by "things" life deals us.

We still have life in us...still have value.

There is someone I know who will be 94 this Saturday.

He and his wife have possibly been the most valuable friends

I have ever been blessed with.

Many of their friends have already passed.

They are likely looked over by many among the current generations.

They still have something to give.

I seek and value their knowledge and insight with every life decision I make.

I might have a different perspective,

but I consider and respect their input.

Like Grandmother Apple,

they have something left to give.

I can hardly wait to see what autumn brings.

Until next time,

Nimble Fingers and Even Stitches