A Wildflower Morning

Now that the little plants by my window are getting serious about growing, we've been needing to get serious about getting the soil ready for them.  In the past, I've had a small garden with 10 - 3 foot by 9 foot wooden sided garden boxes.   It was enough for 3 boxes of tomato plants, and then a few plants each of all the other garden vegetables we enjoy.  But it seems like the kids keep eating more, and so it is time to expand the garden.  There is one spot unused spot on our property that has been waiting to be of use for a long time.  It would require serious work to get it ready, but it was time to do it.  It is a long narrow strip growing grass, and weeds.  So we contacted a friend who came over with his tractor and plow and did his best to roughly break it up for us. But the soil was still rough. So next we got out the rototiller, and grandpa worked it over, so we could work the soil some more. The tiller works fine, chopping clods t...

  There's a lesson that my little garden spouts teach so well.  It's all about the light. There's nothing more important.  Growth only happens in the light.  It's worth reaching for. Leaning.  Stretching. Reaching.  Soaking in all the light you can find.  The light helps little plants green, grow, warm. The light of God warms me too.  I can't get enough.  Time spent with God in the quiet of the morning goes by so quickly.  It makes all the difference.  Leaning on God.  Stretching for more.  Reaching.  Reaching.  I just love soaking in the light of God.

Snow??? Big blobs were smacking down, mixed with rain, just the other days, surprising us all.  Of course they melted quickly, but it sure was interesting to see it pour down. April flowers in the background included.

"The spotless Son of God hung upon the cross, His flesh lacerated with stripes;     those hands so often reached out in blessing, nailed to the wooden bars;     those feet so tireless on ministries of love, spiked to the tree;      that royal head pierced by the crown of thorns; those quivering lips shaped to the cry of woe,     And all that He endured--      the blood drops that flowed from His head,          His hands,              His feet,                 the agony that racked His frame                      and the unutterable anguish that filled His soul        ...

"Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift ."  2 Corinthians 9:15.   Have you thought lately about God's "unspeakable gift"?   The gift of His life for ours.  It is a gift we can barely begin to understand, and the challenges of our life cause us to quickly forget about it.  Yet it is the most amazing, important gift ever given.        "The revelation of God's love to man centers in the cross. Its full significance tongue cannot utter; pen cannot portray; the mind of man cannot comprehend. . . . Christ crucified for our sins, Christ risen from the dead, Christ ascended on high, is the science of salvation that we are to learn and to teach."  God's Amazing Grace, p. 178.2 The cross.  Cruel torture of an innocent man.  Jesus taking the punishment we deserve on Himself.  God allowing all the wrath against sin to fall on His Son.  God suffering.  Jesus crucified for the sins of humans.  Alread...

I like to see wildflowers blooming in the morning sunlight, but even more then mountains of posies, I like seeing my boy sitting in the early sun to the day enjoying a good book. Robert Fulton's biography, written by the famous Marguerite Henry (author of Misty) kept him wishing for the next chapter and the next after that. I wonder what this boy will grow up to do in his lifetime?

I enjoy flowers on my deck.  Just looking out at them can make me feel happy, and decrease the stress.  Last year I had some amazing pots of petunias going in some of my favorite colors of deep red and deep purple.  Since the freeze last fall those pots have been sitting there waiting for something new to happen.  I was sure surprised when I came home from a weekend away to find out my mom and dad had done some sneaking around and filled my pots with early spring color.  Want to see a glimpse of what is blooming out there right now?  They aren't wildflowers, but they certainly are blooming where they are planted.  My heart's glad.

 In anticipation of warmer days, we have seed trays sprouting by the window.   I pulled the couch out a ways from the window, balanced a board on some kitchen stools, creating a shelf for trays of growing baby plants. The onions sprouted first, slender blades poked right up out of the soil in just 3 days, with the little seed case left on top. Next came my beloved okra.  This year I'm trying Burmese Okra seeds, in hopes that it is as nice at the okra I bought in Thai produce markets when I lived there, and an Indian lady taught me how to make the most delicious Okra Curry.  I should probably put the recipe on my recipe blog , but she taught me how to make it with what you have, and a sprinkle and shake of this and that, so it is hard to put into standard measurement form. Tomatoes followed shortly.  The interesting thing was that the tomatoes that produce the latest, also sprouted the latest.  The Beefsteak tomatoes are still coming out of the ...

 Not only are things happening in the flower garden, there is new life in the vegetable garden too.  I'll give you a peak under the plastic. There are two beds of plastic tunnels, and inside are growing . . . . . . peas!  And they are the nicest pea plants we've ever grown.  I'm hoping we will end up with peas in the pod, before the hot June days hit.  We have a good chance with our new method of growing them. The garlic we planted last fall, just before the coldest days of November hit, did come up, without freezing.  They are looking great!  We might have garlic for the first time too, this year. As soon as it is warm enough, we will be planting more out there.

I stood outside and watched the thunderstorm come closer.  The sky to the west got darker.  Lines of rain streaked down to the horizon.  The air been to smell a little different.  The wind began to pick up.  A couple hawks came near and began to play on the edges of the current proceeding the storm.  When the rain began, a drop fell here and there, the kids took it as the signal that their shift was over and headed inside for an activity of their choice.  I stood lingering still, unafraid of rain drops.  I wanted to see what would happen to the sky. The kitties stayed too, one under the weeping cherry tree, one under the van, and one running from one side of the driveway to the other, excited about the weather change.  Then white petals from the Italian Prune tree started billowing east, like gentle snow, landing in the driveway, right before resting CeCe, the cat. She sprang from behind a fender and started play leaping at the swirling ...

We have reached my favorite time of year, when the flowers start blooming.  As the King Solomon said, "Lo, the winter is past..." Song of Solomon 2:11.  I say "Yipee!  We made it to spring once again!"  Everything seems to be coming to life.  And even I seem to come back to life when the temperatures start to warm. This week I have enjoyed several shirt sleeve afternoons with a shovel, turning soil, throwing weeds in the wheel barrow, freshing up my flower beds.  My kids and the kitties too came out to join me.  We planted a whole packet of Sweet Alyssum seeds along the garden path.  Several years ago their sweet fragrance pulled me up the path most every sunny day.  This year there will be some once again, all planted before thunder claps and heavy rain sent us flying inside. Enjoy photos of the intensely pink blossoms of my Indian Free Peach, a deliciously sweet, white peach that bears in late September, long after all other peaches ...

One of my goals as a homeschooling mom to encourage my kids to become fluent writers, able to articulate well on a topic of interest.  I'm glad to announce that my son is stretching his wings and has started a blog on his favorite topic nature.  The blog is called Fins, Feathers and Fur .  There he will be writing not only about fish, birds and mammals, but all kinds of creatures that God has made.  Click this link to go there. I know if you stopped by his blog, became a follower, and commented often, it would encourage him to write more.  Writing is not something that has come easy to him, so we are excited about this new level of accomplishment. The photos shown here give you a preview of one of his newest posts, reporting on a recent adventure at the coast.