Summer Updates and Good (and not as good) Reading

While visiting The Midland Agrarian, I saw that he had posted a link to an interesting blog, The New Agrarian.  One of the posts is The Eightfold Agrarian Way.  There appears to be a great deal of wonderful reading on his site.  I hope to indulge as time permits.

Life seems to have consumed me of late.  A new grandbaby in Minnesota, needing to do more chores by myself, which at this stage of my life requires much more energy than it should and a great deal more time, trips to doctors (ugh), and reading.  So I regret that I have not written for so long.

My reading has included recreational, The Help and The Hunger Games.  While I enjoyed The Help and can't wait for the movie, The Hunger Games I could barely read.  It saddened me--scared me-- to think it could really happen.  I can't even think about reading the other books in the trilogy.  My theological reading includes, The Wages of Spin, Critical Writings on Historic and Contemporary Evangelicalism, by Carl Trueman, and The Letters of John Newton.  I'm in a small study that is looking at Newton's letters.  I was unable to make the first meeting, but the second study, was like no other I have attended.  Newton's writings have challenged my thinking in a profound way.  One quote:  "The Lord appoints occasions and turn in life, which try our spirits.  There are particular seasons when temptations are suited to our frames, tempers, and situations; and there are times when he is pleased to withdraw, and to permit Satan's approach, that we may feel how vile we are in ourselves.  We are prone to spiritual pride, to self-dependence, to vain confidence, to creature attachments, and a train of evils.  The Lord often discovers to us one sinful dispositions by exposing us to another.  He sometimes shows us what he can do for us and in us; and at other times how little we can do, and how unable we are to stand without him."

Thanks to my husband's skill at carrying five gallon buckets of water from the spring all the way to our garden--no small distance!!--during that hot, dry spell, our garden is doing pretty well.  I do this every year--why do I let it upset me, when God has provided every year for us despite heat and drought.  In fact, some plants are doing a little better than I would rather.  The watermelon and cantaloupe have literally taken over the west end of the garden growing over the bean row and the onions.  The tomatoes are a jungle...if they would only ripen.  The deer have kindly removed the top leaves from the green beans, which makes them so much easier to pick.  They were not so kind to my edemame--no crop this year.  The beets are canned, thanks to a very helpful neighbor for laboring beside me and keeping me from turning the entire kitchen purple.  The green beans are coming in now.  There are carrots that need to be canned or frozen.  I'll need them for tomato soup.  We have so much basil, which  means we have a great deal of pesto in the freezer.
The Japanese beetles were not near as bad this year, so the grapes look great, too.  The rainfall from the spring must have helped the apple trees.  Every road side tree is covered with apples.  I only hope my apple guy will have a good crop as the applesauce is running low.

These last few days have been lovely and easy to enjoy.  Not much heat or humidity.  Nice low temps at night for great sleeping.  Although, I don't think summer is over.

"Let us as Christians fill our various situations in life,
     escape the snares to which they expose us,
     discharge the duties that arise from our circumstances,
     enjoy with moderation their advantages,
     improve with diligence their usefulness,
And may every place and company we are in be benefited by us."
--from The Valley of Vision, Sixth Day Morning, The Gospel

A Different Summer

It has been some time since I last posted. So much has happened and I'm not at all sure how yet to process all of it.

Our summer has been great--temperature-wise--for those of us who melt into grouchiness when the temps get above 86. However, the garden has suffered from the damp, cool summer. We lost all our tomato plants to the late blight, which came early. A groundhog decided to take up residence nearby and ate off our edemame, sweet potatoes and parsley and carrot tops. After he was eliminated, the carrots and parsley and a few sweet potatoes came back.

All this was going on while I was confined to the sofa (later on the porch) with a broken ankle. Yes, it is amazing what can happen in the blink of an eye. One false step on the stairs and you're in the ER deciding on when to have surgery. At least, after all these years, I am finally screwed together!

So, I've had to let go of a great many things. I have been unable to cut the grass. I miss the hours of solitude and the time of prayer. I have had to ask for help...ugh. I was unable to share from our garden, that I so enjoy doing...not much anyway. My husband dug the potatoes. Digging potatoes is like Christmas. When you dig in the ground you never know what you will get! I love the surprise. It made me sad to miss it. We did get a good crop, though, for which I am very thankful. My husband know little about the garden, so trying to explain how some vegetables should look when they are ready was quite a challenge. Also, trying to remember where I planted things was a challenge. He would come back to the house trying to describe a plant in the garden and where it was planted and then I would try and remember what I planted there. Needless to say, there has been some level of frustration. The dear guy picked all the beans! I would snap most of them and then, after a crash course in canning, he was able to can all our beans. He also canned all the beets. I think he was pretty proud. I am so thankful that he didn't just let everything go to weeds.

It was very difficult for me to be on the sidelines. A good friend reminded me that my worth is not in what I do....but it sure feels like it. Since I was unable to be on my feet, dear neighbors and friends from our church supplied us with meals so that my husband did not have to cook anything for a month! I love to bake bread, but have been unable to stand long enough to tackle that task. But, the garden was the big thing. That's my 'job'. Perhaps the garden was becoming a pride issue. I'm not real sure. Like I said, I'm still processing all this. What does God want me to learn? Or are the lessons still in progress.

What I am sure of is that good friends bring great movies and book for you when you're down. They come just to visit, because you are incredibly lonely. They say, "I love you" with food and phone calls and cards full of well wishes. My church family is just that--family. I couldn't be more thankful and grateful for each of them.

So, while I remain on the DL and still have physical therapy to go through, I am looking for the lessons that I need to learn from this particular session of God's school.

I bless thee for tempering every distress with joy;
too much of the former might weigh me down,
too much of the latter might puff me up;
Thou art wise to give me a taste of both.
But thou art all I need.
Let me continually grasp the promise,
'I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.'

--excerpt from Blessings from The Valley of Vision