DIGGING DEEPER DEVOTIONAL AUGUST 22, 2024
reality blog
THE FOREST HEADING TOWARDS FALL
We have had a bit of dismal weather at The Vicarage over the last several days. The raindrops interspersed around ministry have made it a bit difficult to accomplish some of the tasks I had set for myself this week.
I still haven’t finished chopping down the brush around the chicken paddock.
It’s about half done. Maybe I’ll get it finished today so we can start building the actual paddock.
The forest creatures have not been deterred in the slightest by the weather.
If their appetites are any indication it will be an early fall.
I wrote YESTERDAY about how the sense of impending fall is giving me an urgency about the chicken projects. That, and the fact that two of the chickens have made inroads into escaping from the playpen is giving me a bit of agita. I came home from CVS this morning to find that Squash and Eggplant were sitting on top pf the netting.
The garden is still blooming though.
The cone floors are also in full bloom.
A sure sign of fall is that the Japanese Knotweed is flowering too.
Some of these stalks are ten feet tall.
And this year I have a giant patch of jewelweed growing.
I will be harvesting some of this to make an anti itch tincture for the winter.
It’s all coming along. I am enjoying the fact that I am being more consistent with the property this year. That said I am hoping I can get everything done before the weather breaks.
DO YOU HAVE A SENSE OF URGENCY CONCERNING THE WEATHER THIS YEAR?
BRENDA’S KICKSTART FROM AUGUST 12, 2024
HERE IS BRENDA’S VIDEO ABOUT DREAMCASTING
THE VICARAGE FALLS
I woke up this morning and noted that the house was chilly. For the first time in three months I can say I was cold. I was tempted to turn the heat on and then I realized….”THIS IS FALL WEATHER!”
WELL WE DON’T LOOK LIKE THAT YET! but the signs that The Vicarage is heading into an early fall are everywhere. The temperature is falling (today it is not slated to get out of the sixties around 18 for those of you who live in the metric system). Last week I noticed that the sumac in my back yard is already going orange, and the vegetables are slowing down in the garden. I have watched my YOUTUBE weather channels and they are leaning with me towards an early fall for New England.
With that knowledge, there are several mindset changes that I need to begin making:
Vicarage projects that were slated for the summer need to get done. It’s time to finish spreading the pea stone for the right hand drive. It’s time to finish the chicken paddock. It’s time to start burning that brush I collected all summer.
It’s time to get ready for the fall projects at The Vicarage. It’s almost time to put away the prayer tent and all the solar lights. It’s time to start thinking about winterizing the Vicarage again. It’s time to start thinking about what parts of the garden I will move inside. It’s time to start preparing for fall canning and freezing.
At church, fall always brings a shift in the mindset of people. Vacation is over and it’s time to get ready to get back into fall/ winter/ spring routines. Disciplines put by the wayside by many will be picked back up. As the back to school rhythm is restored some will also begin to experience a back to church rhythm. The church needs to be ready to minister to people who have been a bit out of the loop for the last twelve weeks.
We are also heading into high holiday season. Now is the time we begin making our Thanksgiving and Christmas plans. I will be on sabbatical for the month of October. This means September will be our planning month for the fall and winter holidays.
IT’S ALMOST CHRISTMAS FOLKS! WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR THE FALL?
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ALARMS AND CHICKEN ENLARGEMENTS
This week my goal has been to begin clearing the land for the chicken paddock we are going to build. I have to cut back the bushes around the trees where the chicken coop sits.
All of this has to go and so does…
most of this.
My daughter asked me tonight how my week has been. My word was “constant”. It has not been a bad week. It has been a really good week actually. It has also been a constant work of preparing for ministry or working on little unexpected projects.
Today I had a small unexpected project pop up at the church. Our building and grounds crew has begun another project for then church. They are working on refurbishing the green room (which is a large meeting room with couches and a kitchenette. When it is all said and done, it is going to be amazing. This week the volunteer crew began taking down the popcorn ceilings which were put up in the 1980’s.
All was going well until one of the smoke detectors got some of the oil being used to remove the ceiling goo on it. That set the fire alarm off which caused the alarm company to contact me (the lead contact on the fire alarm list) and then the fire department.
With the fire captain’s help we tried to reset the system to no avail. So the fire captain gave me instructions about how to clean the smoke detector. We got the alarm silenced (though we were unable to shut of the emergency strobes throughout the church) so I went home for lunch and to clean the chicken coop while Jody finished up the ceiling. Then I went back to the church and followed the instructions on cleaning up the smoke detector. It involved paper towels, Q-tips and a shop vac.
In the end, I got the detector cleaned, the fire alarm reset and I even got a wheel barrel load of brush cut from around the chicken coop. I feel really accomplished. Still, I can’t wait to get the chicken paddock built. It is a lot of work moving the chickens back and forth between their coop and their play pen.
WHAT PROJECTS ARE YOU WORKING ON AT YOUR HOME?
DIGGING DEEPER DEVOTIONAL AUGUST 16, 2024
SIPPIN’ SERENDIPITY
There are so many wonderful things about OUR TOWN, WINCHENDON MA. I want to make revealing those wonderful things a part of this blog experience. It’s a wonderful place to live. Many wonderful people live here. And there is a growing list of exciting places to visit and events you can be part of if you come here for a visit.
One of the places I am coming to love is a new coffee shop in town called SIPPIN SERENDIPITY.
This little coffee shop is becoming one of the places my staff and I take parishioners for meetings. I was at SIPPIN’ SERENDIPITY on Thursday last week for such a meeting. We met over coffee, pastry and a game of checkers. Some of the pastry options we considered were made by one of the ladies who attends Cornerstone, Alicia Croteau.
I settled on the coffee cake and my Parishioner settled on the macarons, both great choices.
Here are the hours of operation from their website.Hours:
| Thursday | 6 AM–2 PM |
| Friday | 6 AM–2 PM |
| Saturday | 7 AM–2 PM |
| Sunday | Closed |
| Monday | Closed |
| Tuesday | 6 AM–2 PM |
| Wednesday | 6 AM–2 PM |
And here is a menu for your perusal along with some shots of the pastry.
If you are in Winchendon anytime soon plan a stop at Sippin’ Serendipity.
Here is a bio piece from the TWO GRANNIES.
WHERE IS YOUR FAVORITE PLACE FOR COFFEE OR TEA IN YOUR HOMETOWN?
Notes From the Vicarage 