gardening

BITS IN THE GARDEN OF THE LORD

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My yard has been completely neglected for the last seven years. Every year I keep meaning to “get back to it”, only to be sidelined by other projects. This year I am actually making some headway with the grounds of the Vicarage.

The garden boxes have been moved and all but one are filled with dirt and planted.

We have weeded the front gardens twice. I have to say they are filling in nicely this year. The irises are giving way to the day lilies and it is time to weed the gardens again. It just about time to bring in the first harvest of mint for tea.

It is also time to mow the lawn for the fourth time.

As you can see we have done a good job at encouraging the ferns to grow.

I have asked myself what is different this year from the last seven years.

  1. I think some of this is therapy helping me cope with the loss of my mom. It is certainly filling time I used to spend caregiving.
  2. Something has shifted in the level of importance I am giving the house. I am not sure exactly why, but this feels like part of the ministry right now. It feels almost like a prophetic work. I am going to have to ponder on that.
  3. I am not doing this alone. The kids are helping me as I work towards the finished product. Joe helped me move the garden boxes. Kristine and Joe have helped me move some dirt. Melanie and Kristine have done some weeding and Kristine has overseen the buying of the new chicken coop and chickens soon to be a part of There Vicarage farm.
  4. Perhaps the most significant change is that I have learned how to break this work down into small bits. I cannot and do not work for hours and hours on the gardens like I used to try to do. I am contenting myself at working on the yard for thirty minutes a day sometimes less. AND I celebrate the small forward movements. Each wheelbarrow of dirt moved is a win. It may not be fast, but it is significant.

WHAT ARE SOME THINGS YOU DO TO GET BIG JOBS DONE OVER TIME?

Spring Festival 2024: Finale: Ready For Summer

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We may have another month until summer officially begins. The rains may have returned the temperatures here back to the 50’s, but the gardens know the Spring is almost past and the summer is upon us.

The lupine is fully in bloom.

The Korean lilac has fully blossomed.

The tomatoes and the summer squash are in. The garden beds are ready to begin producing.

The daisies are about to open.

Even the hostas are giving attention to the coming of the warmth. Yesterday I caught the fragrance of the black locust trees mixed in with the scent of basil and mint. That is a sure sign of the passing of Spring into summer.

Photo by Nikola Tomau0161iu0107 on Pexels.com

I found two large patches of wild oregano growing where I was weed whacking another sign of what is to come. As we close out this FESTIVAL OF SPRING CHALLENGE HOSTED BY DAWN, what does it look like in your part of the world when Spring passes into summer? SHARE A PICTURE!

A Day Off At the Vicarage

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Sabbath days at the Vicarage come on Wednesdays. One of the things I’ve learned about Sabbath is that the rest that comes with it is really just a change of rhythm.

I spend a lot of time in prayer on Sabbath. That is not different than any other day, but I am not preparing for a ministry work on Wednesdays so the prayer I do on Sabbath is more of a restorative prayer.

I love to start the sabbath with a gentle walk through the gardens.

Again,that is not different than any other day, but the purpose is different. On my sabbath, I walk the garden to notice what is growing, to take time to enjoy the scent of the garden. Every other day of the week I am planning on what job I have to do in the garden.

This morning, I walked the garden with my cell phone as I was talking to Brenda. She enjoyed the garden with me.

I had Sevy with me for the sabbath morning. Again that is not different than any other day. I have been watching him while his mother works at the local community college. Usually my daughter Amanda watches him, but she is recovering from surgery so Sevy has been staying with “Oz” (that’s what the grandkids call me).

Today, Sevy and I went shopping for some new summer shirts, but only after we watched a few episodes of what he calls “Bickey Bouse”

Then we went to one of the local playgrounds.

After picking up my daughter-in-law from work, I went to have fun in the garden.

After some more prayer and a supper of pork Sinagang, white rice and watermelon, the dogs and I are enjoying a cup of coffee while the sun sets.

It was a perfect day off.

What’s your idea of a perfect day off?

Festival of Spring 2024 Week # 10

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I AM WRITING THIS POST IN RESPONSE TO DAWN’S FESTIVAL OF SPRING CHALLENGE.

Spring is about new things coming into the world. Today our new furniture arrives for the living room. My grandson, Sevy approved especially when he realized the seats went up with the push of a button.

We have been working on the gardens for weeks now, and they are really starting to come together. Today I pruned back this hydrangea so we could see the hostess.

I pulled up some of these daffodils so that we could plan them in a new space in the fall. Soon the lilies will be in bloom and this garden will be filled with color.

I just added this lupine to bring a bit more Spring color to the garden

This was the last year I was giving this Korean lilac before I pulled it up once and for all. It is flowering beautifully this year.

The irises will probably be out for Memorial Day

Joe and Kristine started filling the raised beds with soil for our vegetables. I put in the squash and the basil today.

WHAT DOES YOUR MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND LOOK LIKE?

Garden Labors

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We are about three weeks from planting the vegetable gardens. I was just having a discussion with one of my subscribers in Virginia about how here in Massachusetts we can’t put in our annual gardens until Memorial Day or after. That is not to say there is nothing to do. I have been moving day lilies around the yard for the last week to make room for new growth.

Today my son and daughter-in-law and I moved the garden boxes into their new locations. Three of these boxes are really old. I am kind of shocked they withstood the move.

One of the three boxes did not. But that is OK. I might be able to salvage the ends for some thing or other.

My daughter in law made our first cut flower vase of the season this morning as well.

This is one of the little niceties I am hoping to add to the Vicarage this year. I want to use what is on the property to beautify our lives. Other than that what is the point of garden labors?

This afternoon I am going to tackle the Japanese knotweed patch at the side of the house and gather the old stalks for burning. Maybe tonight we will have a fire.

Festival of Spring 2024 Week # 4

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I am joining Dawn in her FESTIVAL OF SPRING CHALLENGE.

My world has not been bright and shiny with Spring just yet. The week started out with another snowstorm. Spring is poking its way through regardless.

The nice thing about snow in April is that it doesn’t stay around long. By Thursday myself sister and I were out and about walking the local trails to catch views of Spring. It was well into the fifties and sixties by midweek and I was going about without a coat.

We had a Spring eclipse. Here it just looked like twilight for a few minutes.

Then the rain came.

And the flowers started to bloom.

That’s my que to get outside and start the Spring cleaning which I have a feeling is going to carry over well into summer.

Freezing Flower Of Promise

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Soooo cold….. It is 19 degrees with a windchill on this fine Spring day. To top it off we have 2- 4 inches of snow coming tonight.

But it its Spring and I am thinking of gardens. I really want to work outdoors this Spring and summer. To clean up. To burn brush. To plant. To water. To weed even. And to harvest!

At this time of year Spring snows are to be expected, even if they are never welcomed. The promise and the hope, of course, is that the snow will not last. It will come and it will go as do all of life’s trials. The roses will bloom again. Until then we hold onto the hope of flowers yet to grow and the memory of flowers faded and passed like the one above.

HERE IS A SONG ABOUT ALL THAT.

THIS POST WAS WRITTEN IN RESPONSE TO CEE’S FLOWER OF THE DAY CHALLENGE.

FOTD- FEBRUARY 17TH 2024

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Well it is time for me to jump into another weekly challenge in the blogging community. FOTD BY CEE is a challenge I once participated in almost daily before life changed. This week I am going to jump back in and share some photos of my 2024 garden. You can take a gander at other daily flowers by clicking the capitalized link above.

Here is where it begins….

Not pretty at all…but it is a beginning.

THE SABBATH I DID

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On Tuesday I set my goals for Sabbath rest. Does it sound wrong to have goals for resting? Anyway I wanted my rest this week to be more than vegging out. I wanted it to be RE…creational. So I thought planting my indoor garden would be good fun.

My daughter-in-law and I have discussed several times the idea of getting the gardens back here at the Vicarage. It starts now with me planting the seeds in the little starter pots I bought at Walmart.

It took me about an hour to go from nothing to planted and watered. I had forgotten how much fun it is working in the soil, I got peppers, tomatoes, some kale and herbs into the pots.

My other goal as stated was to start pencil drawing again. It has been years since I put pencil to paper in an artistic fashion. My hand is shaky. But it is a start.

WHAT KINDS OF THINGS DO YOU FIND RE…CREATIONAL FOR YOUR DOWNTIME?