Spring?

Most everyone has had enough of winter this year.  Perhaps those that ski found this particular winter rather enjoyable.  Not me.  It has seemed rather endless.

In light of my crankiness, cabin-fever and a recent trip to Wal Mart.  This arose:

An Ode to Spring

March 2014

Spring has sprung,

That's what they say.

I sit enshrined in fleece today!

Crazed with cold,

Four walls I flee,

To a store nearby to me.

Within this place,

Are colors rare

When black and gray are all I wear.

Bright, warm colors beckon me,

To try on clothes,

In a size three!

Lime, lemon-bold and tangerine,

But, do they match,

My flanneled jeans?

Nearby are very tiny things--

Two pieces held,

With little strings.

But could I stand my body bare

Without my thermal

Underwear?

Back home I head with empty cart.

This is not for,

The faint of heart.

My frozen skin,

Not ready for

Bright clothing that is paper thin.

Just six more weeks,

The rodent said.

How I like to think him dead.

Sunshine--At long last

It has rained for most of the last month.  Our yard has areas that are laying with water and are unable to be mowed.  The sun has arrived today with great delight to everyone in Western PA.  People are cutting grass, working in flower gardens and generally enjoying a long awaited beautiful spring day.

My clothesline is also happy.

As Mr. Rodgers would say, "Its a beautiful day in the neighborhood!"  And it is.

"Show me your ways, O LORD,
   teach me your paths;
guide me in your truth and teach me,
   for you are God my Savior,
   and my hope is in you all day long."
Psalm 25:5

Signs of Spring

It seems spring is slow in arriving this year...or is it just me feeling a bit elderly?

On a walk around the garden lately, I did see some signs of spring...

 
Yep!  That is rhubarb making it's appearance.  Not real impressive, I know, but still ya have to take what you can get.  Can't wait for rhubarb crisp!!

Some of my bulbs are up and the croci have bloomed adding some much desired color.

 There is our little bit of color. 

It is obvious that this winter has left quite a bit of tree shrapnel in the yard.  There are pine cones, branches and bark all over the yard.  Going to be quite a bit of work this spring cleaning up.

Blessed Creator,
Thou hast promised thy beloved sleep;
Give me restoring rest needful for tomorrow's toil.
If dreams be mine, let them not be tinged with evil.
Let thy Spirit make my time of repose a blessed temple of his holy presence.

Help me when I helpless lie,
   when my conscience accuses me of sin,
   when my mind is harassed by foreboding thoughts,
   when my eyes are held awake by personal anxieties.

Show thyself to me as the God of all grace, love and power;
   thou hast a balm for every wound,
     a solace for all anguish,
     a remedy for every pain,
     a peace for all disquietude.
Permit me to commit myself to thee awake or asleep.

~ an excerpt from "Sleep" from The Valley of Vision

Who's Bright Idea Was This Anyway??

All winter I was anxious to expand our garden. We have not had room to plant things that have big vines such as cantaloupe or watermelon. We have not planted corn since we moved here either.

My dear husband has spent over a week trying to get the sod off so we could plant so new and exciting plants. Since he has a backhoe, he thought that it would make it easier to tear the sod off and try and bury it...however, it looked better on paper than it really worked. We spent several days trying to dig up the sod and break the soil off the bottom. Along with all that, there is a healthy crop of rocks and glass. We know that the previous owners had a garden on this spot in the past. It seems that it was also used as a garbage dump. We have found all sorts of broken glass and pottery. And did I say that we have rocks?? So that meant that the garden needed raked and the rocks--at least some of them--needed removed. Today, the bulk of the new garden was done. We have actually doubled the size of the garden area. One neighbor asked if I didn't have enough to do.

Friday I was able to plant the carrots, a few beets, some extra onions, red potatoes and radishes in the old part. Today, we were able to plant two rows of green beans in the new garden. We put in a dozen tomatoes and one grape tomato. It's a start. We want to plant corn, cucumbers, cantaloupe, green and red peppers and we are waiting for the arrival of our sweet potatoes from Johnny's. We'll see what ends up where.

I was very tempted a few of our warm days to get some things planted, but I am thankful that I did not. We had frost three mornings in a row last week. One morning it was below 28 degrees, which nipped our grapes badly. We may have just a few grapes this year. It seems that our blueberries got nipped a bit, too, even though we did cover them. We'll have to wait to see what the damage is later.

Our asparagus has been doing well. I've been freezing some...when we are not eating it each day. The rhubard is going crazy, as usual. I could eat rhubard crisp or rhubarb pie every day! The onions are up and the peas are thinking about blossoming. It won't be long before I'm picking peas.

If the rain holds off (even though we really need some), I'll try and get corn in tomorrow and perhaps the peppers. We were both worn out and very red by the end of the day today.

Soon, the garden will be all planted then it will be in the hands of the Creator. It has been a long week working hard in the sun and getting very dirty. I'm so thankful that we have the acreage to plant more food, not only for ourselves, but our family and friends. I'm also thankful for a husband who is willing to help with his wife's crazy idea of garden expansion.

Thou hast been mindful of me and visited me,
taken charge of me from birth,
cared in all conditions for me,
fed me at thy table,
drawn the curtains of love around me,
given me new mercies every morning....
May thy goodness always lead me to repentance,
and thy longsuffering prove my salvation.
--an excerpt from Caring Love from The Valley of Vision

First Fruits

We have experienced some beautiful and rather warm lately and that has brought on the rhubarb and asparagus!

These 'first fruits' of the spring are so welcomed. Rhubarb can be wonderful, it just needs a bit of sweetener. We have had some stewed, which just means that I cooked it in a pan with some sugar and a bit of water until it was runny. So good, warm or cold. I make Rhubarb Crisp this evening for dessert. This is one of my favorites. It is easy to put together and has some nutmeg in it, which I am becoming convinced has addictive properties, especially when it's warm. Put some ice cream on top and you have a wonderful dessert, or snack.

The asparagus is just chock full of vitamins. It has been called a perfect food. We like it steamed, or baked covered with olive oil. I like mine covered in butter. I'm looking forward to filling the freezer with this yummy stuff soon. It is a delight to have this in the winter. It just screams "Spring"!!

It won't be long until I get some other goodies planted in the garden. I need to get my broccoli and spinich in soon.

The old, large apple trees that my husband pruned, are in blossom! I guess that means we didn't kill them! Apple blossoms are just beautiful! (All the blooming trees seem just spectacular this year.) I was able to find a Cortland apple tree to add to our little orchard! Our two smaller apple trees appear to be doing well. I am anxious to see if we get any apples this year from our newbies. We've decided that each of the little apple trees will be in honor of the grandkids. I hope to plant a tree, preferably a fruit tree of some kind, for each of them. We want them to grow and bear fruit for the Kingdom, just like their trees.

The grass has been cut. With the rainfall, no doubt I'll be back at it again this weekend. I'm already sporting my farmer tan.

I am so thankful for the warmer days and nights. The sunshine is so welcomed after this winter. The warmth of the sun feels good all the way to my bones.

I trust that you, too, are enjoying the wonderful spring weather and the changes that it brings.

Dirt Work

When the seeds I ordered arrived, I became anxious to plant something, anything. It was just not time yet, to cold for anything. I was hoping to get my peas planted by March 17, but didn't quite make it. But the sunny day that I was able to get out and run our little tiller enough to work up a spot in the garden for the peas was a good day. Three rows of peas are in--one more than last year. Last year, I said that I wouldn't plant peas again. They were everywhere! I tried running a string for them to climb; they broke the string and ended up a tangled mess. It was hard to get into the rows to pick without stepping on the vines. But, eating our own peas during the winter changed my mind. I'll try and deal with them for the taste of our own baby peas.

The smell of the freshly turned soil was a welcomed fragrance on a brisk, but sunny day. I also found a use for some of the CDs that I was given from my time on the pulpit seach committee--they are hanging from a string on a stake between the rows rotating and flashing sunlight to keep the birds away. We'll see how they work.

It won't be long before we are able to enjoy some fresh rhubarb. Our three plants have already shown themselves.

Hubby spent an entire day pruning our ancient apple trees. I'm anxious to see if they come back and bear better fruit. This also opens up the entire orchard area and our little apple tree should get more light, which was greatly needed. We desire to get some cherry trees and at least one more apple tree. My hope is to get a Cortland tree this spring.

We are hosting the family for Easter here, so I really need to clean!

Feed Mill Memories

I'm sure you've heard about how Spring is a time for renewal, growth and new life, and it is. This year, spring has been a time of nostalgia.

One of the delights of the spring planting season for me is a trip to the Bowser's Feed Store. It may sound like I have no life when a trip to the feed store is a big event, but it brings back fond memories.

The feed store has two areas. One is the "inside" part of the store where one can purchase some horse tack and dog collars and toys and other smaller items. The main part of the store is accessed by a large garage door entrance; about the only light to the dark, wooden interior. Here, the scent of the grains and fresh ground feeds is the first thing that takes me back in time. There is the sound of boots walking on worn, wide plank flooring; neat stacks of bags of dog food, rabbit and chicken feed stacked higher than I could reach on every side. As I walk to the back of the store is the area where the bulk seeds are kept, my eyes adjust from the brightness of the outdoors to the darkness of the old building. No big, bright, colorful display here. Just a well-worn shelf brightened only by a small light hanging above. Sitting on the shelf are plastic containers that are reminicent of canning jars full of smaller seeds with a worn seed label taped to it. Among the choices are carrots, zucchini, lettuce, turnips, radishes. peas and beets. An old, metal scale also sits on the shelf for weighing out the purchase. Underneath this shelf are two rows of bins that contain several varieties of sweet corn and green beans. Each bin has it's own small, handwritten label. There are sacks of onion sets open with the variety written on the side. I'm told the seed potatoes have just arrived.

When I was younger, I would often go with my dad to Roth's Feed Mill in Prospect to get cracked corn and other feeds. Roth's Mill had the old mill workings where you could see them, the wood floors the creaked and moaned under the weight of sacks of flour and grain. The scents were always what I noticed first. Mills seem to have a distinct, sweet aroma. We would walk up the wooden stairs onto the main floor and wait until a worker took our request and filled it. If I was alone, the gentleman always offered to carry it to the trunk of the car for me. To pay for your purchase, you sent up a small set of steep stairs to the office. There, you received a written receipt for your purchase, no matter how small. Growing up, going inside with my dad was never a problem. But going inside alone, was a bit scary. Sometimes it was so loud and the one or two workers there didn't always notice a scared, skinny girl waiting at the door to get some flour or feed. Only one other time did I see another female there. This seemed to me a hard core manly farmer place that women were not excluded, but just rarely darkened the door.

Roth's had a separate building for seeds and farm and garden items. Shovels, buckets and dog food lined the shelves of what was an old grocery store. Much of what I remember about this store building is fading in my memory. I remember the Mill best. My trips to our Feed Mill in Worthington brings back the sights and sounds of my trips to Roth's with dad. He passed away going on nine years this month. He taught me everything about gardening, pitching and stacking hay bales and the cleaning of barn stalls (oh yeah, loved doing that in January-NOT).

Going to the Bowser's Feed Store is not only a trip down memory lane, but a delightful experience when shopping for my seeds. It is hard to leave and I find myself trying to look for excuses to hang around and drink in the scents and sounds. I still need to buy my seed potatoes. Looks like another trip to Bowser's is in the future. Now, what else can I find to buy there??

"Suffer me not to forget that I look for yet greater blessings--
a hope beyond the grave,
the earnest and foretastes of immortality,
holiness, wisdom, strength, peace, joy;
all these thou hast provided for me in Christ.
I grieve to think how insensible I have been
of the claims of thy authority, and the endearments of thy love;
how little I have credited thy truth,
trusted thy promises,
feared thy threats,
obeyed thy commands,
improved my advantages,
welcomed thy warnings,
responded to thy grace;
but nothwithstanding my desert I yet live.
May thy goodness always lead me to repentance,
and thy longsuffering prove my salvation."
--excerpts from a portion of Caring Love a Puritan prayer written in The Valley of Vision

Poking Plants

March has arrived in style to Western PA this year. We have enjoyed some beautiful weather. Many times March gives a snow storms that really dump a ton of snow on us. The snow doesn't last long, but it is a dumping none the less. This year, at least so far, we have been snow-free. Of course, it's not over and it has been known to snow in April. March could go out like a lion.

Our beautiful weather has started things happening in the garden. A trip out the other day to dump compost revealed some "pink" showing from the ground in the rhubarb patch and a neat row of green tips poking through the soil where I planted my garlic last fall. The lilacs are getting buds, too. I am getting anxious to plant peas.

Taking advantage of the warm weather this morning, I hung out clothes and enjoyed my devotions in the sun. I wasn't out all that long, but I managed to acquire a pink nose and cheeks. My skin, along with the rest of me, has to get used to all this sunshine!

The retirement papers were signed today...again. Lord willing, for the last time. The final letter needs to be signed and then there is no going back. We will then see what God has planned for the next phase of our lives.

Teach me to be resigned to thy will, to delight in thy law, to have no will but thine, to believe that everything thou doest is for my good.
Help me to leave my concerns in thy hands, for thou hast power over evil, and bringest from it an infinite progression of good, until thy purposes are fulfilled.
--an excerpt from The Valley of Vision entitled Divine Promises

With all that is going on in our country these days, I need to remember those lines. God is in control. He has a plan, I may not understand it and I am only able to see my small part in the big picture, but I have to trust and hang on to His promises. He wins! He has already defeated evil.