Flowers are even better when they’re edible. :)
I’ve discovered that home-grown broccoli has a richer, nuttier flavor than broccoli bought from the store. Yum! :)
Picture: cherub statue sitting on a wooden bench in a garden. A spray of dark red roses cascading over the top of the statue.
I believe it was CatGirl who rescued this little statue from a trash heap somewhere around the garden. It’s a pretty forlorn looking cherub–both wings are broken off and it’s cracked and dinged in various places. But it still manages to keep watch over the climbing roses and the various flowers sprouting in the center of the garden. From my favorite seat in the garden (on the flagstones by the rosebushes), I have a good view of the angel’s perch. Looking over that way never fails to cheer me.
Today in Meeting someone’s sharing led me to contemplate Fear. For the past few years, I have let go of much of my fear-motivated behavior. I no longer worry much about what lies ahead in my future. I also don’t make choices based on fears of divine reprimand. Though I am still afraid of death, I am no longer afraid of any kind of reckoning or judgment in conjunction with my death.
Instead, I am only afraid that this day will pass I won’t have taken the time to enjoy the beauty of it.
So I will eat my lunch (some garden greens and broccoli) and head for the garden. I have weeds to pull and beans to plant. And I crave time to just be there…feeling the way the wind blows my hair across my shoulders.
Picture: Purple sweet pea flowers against a background of blue sky.
These sweet peas are growing in a neighbor’s garden. Today she let me cut a small bouquet, which I placed in a little cup on my nightstand along with a bit of blue cornflower and some mini pink and burgundy roses. My whole room smells so lovely now. :)
Today I went to the garden at noon. It was difficult to take good photos because of the harsh lighting. But I managed to get a few winners. It felt so good to be behind the camera lens again!
While I was taking photos of some lovely ‘native plants’ (aka weeds) near a fencepost, one of the grandpas who gardens nearby came over and kinda laughed a bit at me(he doesn’t speak any English, so our interactions are usually limited to smiling and pointing). You see, my garden is all tumbly and random and just slightly shabby-looking. Whereas his has nary a weed in sight. I suspect that he thinks ‘my way’ of gardening is rather unproductive. But he is always so generous with sharing his produce with me, I suspect that he might just understand that some of us need to grow flowers, too.
Picture: a rose with yellow petals, tinged with pink and red at the edges.
“My Heavenly Father Loves Me” was my all-time favorite Primary song when I was a little girl. One reason I loved it was because each time we sang it Miss Tammy would choose a handful of kids to hold pictures representing the images of the song: a bird, a rain shower, etc. and I would raise my hand high, hoping to be one of the children chosen to for the special job of holding a picture while we sang.
It seems fitting to me that even now when I contemplate the song of a bird or the breeze rustling through the trees I am overwhelmed with gratitude for the beauty of the world and I feel closer to the divine.
Whenever I hear, the song of a bird
Or look at the blue, blue sky
Whenever I feel the rain on my face
Or the wind as it rushes by
Whenever I touch a velvet rose
Or walk by a lilac tree
I’m glad that I live in this beautiful world
Heavenly Father created for me.
Picture: Pink rosebud, about halfway opened. An ant crawling on the edge of one petal.
This is a photo from last week. This morning I went to the garden but I didn’t take the camera with me. Rather than taking photos to share with you, I let myself wholly relax. I smelled, listened, and pondered.
There was hummingbird who splashed in the spray from the hose, bumblebees in the lavender, a bright yellow bird flitting around in some weeds by the back fence. It was just lovely. So were the two strawberries that I picked and enjoyed while they were still sun-warm. So, so tasty.
Picture: a closeup of a single wand of lavender against a blurry background.
Contemplating lavender tonite. For relaxation. :)
I have two huge lavender bushes in my garden. I trimmed them back to a bundle of woody stems last fall and they are now back in full bloom. They smell absolutely delightful when I’m watering or at dusk when the scents rise from the plants in the evening breeze.
Picture: a closeup of a head of broccoli growing in my garden.
This ‘flower’ turned out to be pretty tasty. I ate it for lunch on Saturday :) My goal, once the school pressure lets down a bit, is to eat one meal/day from the garden this summer. And I think I just might pull it off. :)
One of you, on your response to the pilgrimgirl survey, suggested that I should write about school more often. Hmmm….probably not going to happen. At least not anytime soon. Blogging is my escape from school. From the pressure that is building as my Qualifying Exams are looming. A respite from the many hours each day that I am reading, taking notes, writing mock responses to possible exam questions.
My other escapes from studying? The gym and the garden. Lifting weights does a lot to relieve the pressure. Sometimes I actually imagine myself pushing all the stress out through my arms as I’m bench pressing. It’s lovely to get that ‘release.’ The garden, well, that probably doesn’t need explaining. A few minutes with the sun shining on my face, getting dirt under my nails, running my hands through the lavender, well that’s a feeling so tangibly relaxing that it seems almost sinful.
How do you relax when life builds up on your shoulders?
I would really be interested in ideas you have for relaxing before bed. I find myself rehashing all I’ve studied the minute my head hits the pillow. Sleep is far distant and elusive. But at the same time I know sleep is what I most need during this stressful time…I also know that this stress is not an isolated thing, that academia is a path that will continue to be pressure-filled, as there will be deadlines, job talks, conferences, and all manner of difficulties that I need to get used to. I’m hoping that I can continue to build a storehouse of stress-relieving skills that will serve me now and on into the future….
Picture: closeup photo of a small white flower
This past year, because of no rain (whatsoever) during the winter, the blackberry vines that line the garden fences have not grown. I had pretty much given up hope of any blackberry cobbler this spring (usually this time of year we are bringing home berries by the bucketful–we even have the last cup or two of last year’s crop still in our freezer).
However, yesterday I found a small area of thriving blackberry vines flowering near the left side of my front garden fence. So we may not get berries by the pound, but I suspect we’ll still enjoy a few blackberries before the spring is over.
We’ll experience the joy of quality rather than quantity.