Deep Thoughts and Little Happenings

While in GA with my parents, I was fortunate enough to spot two red amaryllis in a bed of red & white ones.  I say fortunate because Momma sent them home with me.  I planted them across the sidewalk from my other amaryllis.   Why?   Because when planted together, they all start producing red and white blooms. Okay, I confess!  Curiosity kicked my “why” gene into hyperdrive.  Why do those bulbs stop blooming red and start blooming red and white?   I haven't found the answer, but it definitely reinforces a lesson I learned way back in high school.   A hard lesson learned with a close friend. In today’s vernacular, we were BFF’s, and we gave each other the courage to do things we never would’ve done apart.   Sadly, they were not constructive, helpful, or profitable activities.   They were “fun” things like skipping school.   Honestly, they were only fun in the moment.   I was miserable the rest of the time.   All my other relationships were tainted by my need to

We got a letter informing us our yard service provider is no longer offering those services.  We solicited recommendations and got multiple suggestions.  After a lengthy process of elimination, we finally settled on two.  One for weekly mowing and edging.  Another for maintaining the long-term health of our lawn. Our new provider told us they always do a soil test.  I googled soil.  No surprises there; plants need good soil! The soil needs to be rich in nutrients, have the right pH balance, and drain properly.  If there is a problem with the soil, there will be a problem with the plant.   Jesus compared hearts to soil in the parable of the sower.  Good seed cannot grow in bad soil.  God gives us a fresh new heart when we choose to believe Jesus for our salvation and make Jesus LORD (boss) of our lives.  Jesus gives us the Holy Spirit to help us take care of our new heart.   The Holy Spirit helps us guard against and recognize anything harmful to healthy heart growth.

A friend and neighbor called an exterminator because of snakes in her garden!  Yes, it's true!  She had the most beautiful garden on the block and yet snakes were nesting there.   They found a place hidden away behind the beauty and multiplied.  Momma's English Dogwood

Our family has a tradition we call the Flower Walk.  It's an early morning stroll around the garden looking at all that's changed since the previous day.  There's nothing like the quiet stillness, broken only by the singing of the birds.  The dew is heavy and the air is cool. Our Flower Walk is usually done alone, but I do the Flower Walk with Momma or Daddy whenever I'm back home.  We carry a cup of hot drink and amble around the yard and talk about what we see.  We don't whisper, but there is a hush to our words; we speak with a quietness to match the morning air.  We usually settle on the porch and talk about life as we've talked about the garden.  We talk about the things past and dreams for things yet to come.  There is an intimacy in the time we spend together.   There's the lingering of many past walks; the hope of future walks. Gardening, for me, is not about the work or even the flowers that come and go with the seasons.  It's about t