Posts Categorized: Patience

Is It Really July Now?

| Faithfulness, Joy, Love, Patience

 

Wasn’t it just March a couple of weeks ago? I suppose, because most days seem quite a bit the same just now, even though things are “opening up” and slowly getting to a more normal routine, it’s still not quite normal. Not just yet.

But, it is July. We’re still getting more rain than is normal, but some plants I bought back in the balmy days of March are showing their discontent with the summer heat. After all these years, I still make mistakes about what to buy, where to plant it, and how long will it really last.

I went to get Peter last Friday, and quickly did a little shopping before time to pick him up. I ate lunch with Kevin and April and Peter, and then Peter and I visited a nursery I like. He helped me make some botanical decisions, and then we headed back down to Waco. We had a few busy few days.

 

 

We went to the local library. Peter and I both got books, and, in the kids’ section, Peter saw a boy playing a video game. It was like a kid magnet. Peter went over and watched. He asked some questions, gave some advice. We’d chosen some books, and checked them out to take home. The next day, I wanted a book I’d forgotten about. We arrived right at opening time, and the computers in the kids’ section were all available. Whew! He played quite a while. The next day, I needed to return some books, so we went back. And he could play again. Then, later in the day, I saw that a book I’d put on hold was now available, so we went back to the library a second time, where Peter was able to play again.  What a great day!

Then, that evening, we all had to go to bed early. When we’d first made this plan, Kevin had forgotten about a dentist’s appointment for Peter. It was at 9:00 a.m. which meant Peter needed to be back at home by 8:30 a.m. which meant a very early morning for us. It’s an hour-and-a-half trip. And, I recalled a trip I’d made when Peter was a very young baby, because April had an early medical appointment, and I was going to stay with Baby Peter. We’d meant for me to be there at 8:00 a.m., but the incoming morning traffic jam caused me to be late. So, I asked Kevin if, this time, we needed to leave earlier. And he thought yes, which meant our leaving at 6:30 a.m. which meant getting up at about 5:30 a.m., at least for me. Clothes had been washed, the suitcase had been packed, the book bag had been packed. I made Peter a scrambled egg and we took a couple of pieces of cinnamon toast along, too. Everything worked well and we were on the road just when we needed to be.

As we approached Fort Worth, the traffic got a little more crowded. But, it was nothing as congested as as the last time I’d made this early morning trip, and we sailed into town easily and arrived at their house at 8:00 a.m. Plenty of time for visiting and recapping all the Waco adventures. They left for the dentist, and then I went for adventures of my own.

Last week, I’d not had time to visit another nursery that I like. So, that was my first stop before setting out for Waco.

Then, I went back to the nursery I’d visited last week, because I was in sort of a hurry then, and wanted to go back and take more time.

 

 

Here’s why I like to go to nurseries, even if I’m not planning on purchasing anything. I enjoy seeing the plants. I like thinking about what sorts of plants might look good (and live) in the yard, for next time, or next year. And, I like to watch the bees. See him, on the left-hand side of that orange flower. And, sometimes, there are butterflies, too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

But from everlasting to everlasting, the Lord’s mercy is on those who fear him. His righteousness belongs to their children and grandchildren,

Psalm 103:17 (God’s Word Translation)

 

This is a noisy, squawky mockingbird that spends a lot of time, way up in our pecan tree every evening. And, I think he riles up the other birds. At least, it seems like they’re squawking back at him. Earlier, I had taken a video of his noisyness and sent it to Peter. When he was here, I was able to show him the squawky bird for himself.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Over, Over, Overalls

| Faithfulness, Patience, Peace

I’ve written before about overalls.  For several years, I had a great pair. Then, I got another great pair. I pretty much wore out those overalls a few years ago. When I began to need a new pair, I discovered that overalls had become a fashion statement. A sort of teen-age statement. But, still.

I saw some overalls at Target. I got the largest size they had, and worked in them, quite happily, for some time, in my yard. Those were long overalls, and I appreciated their fall and early spring warmth. When summer came, I was thinking that I’d need to cut them off, or . . . And, yes, indeed, there were short overalls on the racks at Target. I bought some. However, I did see that there were some issues with the newer overalls on the racks. They were, in the style of the time, rather, um, pre-used, They had the “fashionable” rips in them. Every kind of overall had some sort of “used,” “well-used,” or “quite used” look. I bought them anyway. It’s not like I’m going out shopping in them. Even to a nursery, where, I guess, I could have smeared mud and grass stains on them, and rushed into the nursery and said, “I need plants! And I need them right now!” (Gardeners may do that, I suppose.)

Also, I learned to check the pockets. When I’m outside working, I have my phone with me. Some of the trendy overalls have the tiniest pockets. When I’m overall shopping, I always make sure that my hands go ‘way down in the pockets. I don’t want my phone plopping down into some muddy patch of dirt.

Some of the short overalls are pretty short. I let the straps down as long as they’ll go; the crotch is then farther down, which, frankly makes sitting down to do the yard work more comfortable, and that makes the overalls a bit longer. In a good and comfortable way.

 

 

These overalls had a QUITE large area of just horizontal strings. And maybe I will get around to adding some extra length to them, also

Because the overalls I buy at Target are really for teen-agers, I have done a little adapting. Often the overalls have pre-distressed elements, like rips and areas of just strings, instead of complete areas of fabric. I solved that problem by sewing pieces of this plaid fabric underneath the string areas, and then cutting the strings away. And, on these overalls, I also added some of that plaid fabric to lengthen the legs a bit.

 

Here’s the whole complement of overalls. Three pairs of shorts and two pairs of longs. The long pair at the top left has a lot of stringy patches. When the weather cools down next fall, I’ll probably find a way (plaid?) to make them adaptable to yard work in the chillier (but sunny) days.

For now, I’ve done about all I can do in the yard, beyond keeping things watered. Here in Central Texas, and, frankly, for most of Texas, at this point we’re just trying to keep things alive.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jesus taught them this parable: “How can I describe God’s kingdom? God’s kingdom is like the smallest seed that one might plant in a garden. When it grows, it becomes a huge tree, with so many spreading branches that various birds make nests there.”

Luke 13:18-19 (The Passion Translation)

 

I’ve planted seeds. I’ve planted plants. I haven’t actually planted anything that’s grown up to be a large tree. But, I am keeping the existing trees and shrubs alive and green. And, if you come to visit, I’ll give you some thyme. Come on over!

Out With the Old . . . and the Older

| Joy, Patience, Peace

When my mother had passed away, and my dad was moving into a retirement residence, my sister and her kids came to help organize the house and gather up things that we/they wanted to keep. We  cleaned and organized and decided what to keep and found out who wanted what. We were washing items when the washing machine stopped working. I contacted Sears and explained that my parents had purchased a replacement warranty, and we needed a Sears repairperson. She came, examined the washer, and said that the broken part wasn’t available any more. “And?” I said. And she said that they would replace the washer. Wow.

When David and I moved into the house, a few weeks later, we kept the brand-new washer, but used our own dryer in place of my parents’ dryer, because ours was a newer model. Not new, but newer. And those are the laundry appliances that we’ve been using since then. Both the washer and dryer have been working well, but I’ve been thinking that, at some point, maybe soon, something’s going to give up. (We did buy that dryer when Kevin was in college, and he is 48.) They’re not really broken; they still wash and dry. But it seemed like a good idea to think about new appliances.

When Kevin and April (and Peter) came for Memorial Day weekend, I asked April to come with me to look at washers and dryers. We spent a couple of hours (I think) looking at different varieties and brands. It’s only David and I doing laundry, so we don’t need big machines with super/duper options. After looking at lots of machines, I made a choice. And then we spent another half hour or so doing all the paperwork. The employee said, “Not delivery this coming Thursday, but the next Thursday,” and I agreed. She also said that a helping agency like GoodWill or Salvation Army might take the old appliances to refurbish for resale.

The old appliances, waiting for the Salvation Army pick-up team.

When I contacted Salvation Army, the woman asked if the appliances were still working. I said, “I did laundry in them yesterday.” I was told that the first date that the old appliances could be picked up would be July 7. Really? Yes, really. There’s a backlog. We have room in the garage, so I agreed. And, then they called back quickly and said, they’d had a cancellation. New date? June 21. So, as I write this, there are still old appliances sitting in the garage. For a few more days.

Because our dryer (and Mother’s dryers before me) were gas, that meant that a plumber would have to come and disconnect the gas line before the dryer could be removed. And, after the appliances were delivered, the plumber would have to come back to attach the new dryer to the existing gas line. So I called our plumber. His dad was my parents’ plumber and now the son is our plumber. He came, and, not only did he disconnect the old dryer, he replaced some parts, like nozzles and handles, laughing a little at the age of the out-dated pieces. We made a plan for the reconnecting.

 

The appliances arrived on the scheduled date. I called the plumber and said the appliances were being installed and, whenever he had some time, he could come on over. The guys removed the old appliances from the laundry room and set them in the garage. They brought in the nice, shiny new washer and dryer. They plugged them in, and attached the washers hoses to the faucets. And, while they were putting the boxes and packing material in their truck, the plumber arrived.

He attached the gas line and the duct, and TA-DAH! I could do laundry, except that these new appliances are somewhat more complicated than the other ones. I spent a loooong time reading the instruction books. I didn’t do any laundry until the next day.

There are lots of cycles and options. And, while the laundry room does have an overhead light in it, I still am having a struggle reading the instruction panels. I went to Target yesterday and bought a  battery-operated lamp to keep out there to be able to see all those options. It’s working great.

I’ve now done several loads, and I love my new washroom appliances!

I keep files of instructions for everything we’ve purchased over the years. A few days ago, I looked through them and located the instruction booklets for the old washer and dryer. I was about to throw them away when I thought I should put them in those old appliances that are going to Salvation Army in a few days, in case the employees who are going to refurbish them might need them. I took them out to the garage. I lifted the washer’s lid and tossed the booklet in. Then, I opened the dryer to do the same thing, and discovered to my dismay/horror, that there were damp clothes in there. That’s how excited I was about getting the new appliances! I left WET CLOTHES in the dryer.

To my great amazement, they didn’t seem smelly. They didn’t look moldy. But, I did re-wash them (in the nice, new washer) and dried them and put them away.

 

 

Soak me in your laundry and I’ll come out clean, scrub me and I’ll have a snow-white life.

Psalm 51:7 (The Message Translation)

 

 

Looks Like the Party’s Over

| Joy, Patience

The weather has been SO nice. Rain has fallen for the past couple of weeks, so much so, that we’ve had small lakes, many days, at the back of our yard. And, with the rainfall, the crepe myrtle tree has dropped so many of its tiny white flowers that it looks like it’s been snowing.

Last Tuesday morning, it didn’t just rain. It poured. And poured and poured. David stood at the open garage door for quite some time, waiting for a break so he could easily get going to work. Then, as suddenly as it began, the rain let up, and the day was beautiful. Crisp and clear, the clouds drifted away, and I spent quite some time picking up all the small limbs that had been pounded down onto the lawn, after they’d been broken off in months past and been left suspended up in the high branches.

 

Thursday, for the first time in several days, I’ve been able to walk around in the back part of our yard, which is all dirt. For several days, it’s been much too wet to walk around back there. (There’s no grass growing there because of that big crepe myrtle tree on one side of the yard and the very old, large pecan tree on the other side, which create much too much shade for grass to thrive.)

But it’s quite clear, now, that the good times are over. Summer’s come crashing in. The first week of June, the temperatures ran from 77 to 85. Then, the 90’s happened. The 100’s can’t be all that far away, either. And it will most likely be that way until, oh, October.

 

So, Tuesday it rained, hard. Thursday, I had some indoor things to do, and didn’t go outside in the back until late in the afternoon. And, look, my plants were all droopy, and, I’m sure, wondering where the nice lady with the garden hose has gone.

EEK! Back to the normal plant care of watering all the patio plants and the front porch plants, every day, to try to keep them alive.

I’ve been trimming lots of thyme plants, to clean and dry the leaves for my sister.

 

But I tell you to love your enemies and pray for anyone who mistreats you. Then you will be acting like your Father in heaven. He makes the sun rise on both good and bad people. And he sends rain for the ones who do right and for the ones who do wrong.

Matthew 5:44-45 (Contemporary English Version)

 

I’m trying to land in the “good” and “right” categories.

Back to Normal, Sort of

| Faithfulness, Patience

It’s June. We’re still getting quite a bit of rain. And, when it’s not raining, the skies are mostly cloudy, so there aren’t any sweltering hot days. Yet. It’ll happen. I think all the yard work that’s going to get done, has pretty much been done. So when I put on my overalls and went outside a couple of days ago, there wasn’t much I needed to do, except basic stuff, and I turned my sights to the patio itself. There are many lovely plants there, but, the place where I work on the patio, was looking sort of . . . drab.

Several years ago, when we lived in our other house, where the boys grew up, I was out doing something in the yard, pulling weeds or planting something, and I didn’t have a nice, organized place to work. Jeremy was at home, identified the dilemma, and made a plan. He gathered some wood pieces that we had. Then, he went on a hunt down our alley, and found some more wood pieces, which he used, with the others, and created a table sort of thing where I could store my garden tools and work on potting plants. That structure eventually prompted the rest of the family to realize that I was serious about gardening and maybe I should have a sturdier structure.

They purchased, and put together, a real professionally designed space where I could work and store tools and keep potting soil. It was great. When we moved from that house to where we live now, the bench got relocated to our patio. I’ve been using it ever since, and added some small metal shelves that hold containers of plant food, more soil, some sand, trash bags, and pots.

After working so much in the yard this spring, I’ve just about planted, pruned, trimmed, and edged everything. Earlier this week, I looked around and thought, hmmmm, when was the last time I took care of the potting bench. Ever? Never? I went to the garage and, oh, yes, there was a big can of Thompson’s Water Seal, which I carried outside, along with a brush and a pan. I took everything off the bench and got to work.

 

It’s as sturdy now as it ever was, and, with it being newly water-sealed, it should be good for many, many more seasons.

I keep on purchasing thyme plants, but I think I may have reached my peak. I have done lots of trimming in the space, cutting back lots of plants and drying them out to send to Jeremy and Sarah and to my sister in Seattle.

Here’s the final result. Nicely defined spaces. I did quite a bit of pruning. When I first made the garden, all the thyme plants were small and compact.  A space for every kind, and every kind in its space. Several of the varieties had, over months and years, really outgrew their spaces. The large area at the front, that curves around, is Creeping Mother of Thyme. The large growth of thyme toward the rear of the area is Foxley Thyme. These are two of the varieties that I planted first. See what happens if you don’t keep on eye on your thyme.

If you’re a serious cook, baker, chef, do let me know if you need a sprig or two of fresh thyme. And, based on recipes I read, a sprig or two of thyme is all that’s called for

 

 

 

 

Celebrate and sing! Play your harps for the Lord our God.
He fills the sky with clouds and sends rain to the earth, so that the hills will be green with grass.

Psalm 147: 7,8 (Contemporary English Version)

 

We are grateful for the rain. Our lake is full, which means we’ll have water for our homes and water for our plants. As Peter and I were coming into Waco last weekend, and nearing our house, I said that I wanted to go the longer way to our house (a minute or so longer) because it’s a prettier drive. Peter said, “I’ll look at the lake. Yes, it’s fuller now.” I found that credible.

Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night . . .

| Patience

I got this photo from April a couple of days ago, along with a text that said, “Thanks for my birthday present!” I was surprised? Skeptical? Flummoxed? Relieved?

Here’s the story:

Kevin had known that April really wanted to make a basket, and I knew that they liked getting massages, so I made a basket-making gift certificate for April and a friend, and I wrote a check for massages. I put those things in an envelope and mailed it off. On April 1, which is April’s birthday.

I told Kevin that I’d made the birthday things and had mailed them. A couple of weeks later, he reminded me that I’d said I was going to mail them. And I said, “I did mail it. On April 1!”

Kevin said, “Are you sure? It hasn’t come.” I was absolutely sure that I’d mailed it. I’m positive, I told Kevin.  I knew because I’d gotten a manila envelope for the check and gift certificate, but when I looked at the size, I realized that a regular, small envelope could hold what I was sending, so I put the things in the smaller envelope. And, because I don’t send much mail to them, I had checked my address list, just to be sure that I was putting the right address and zip code on the envelope. I knew I’d mailed it.

But, it hadn’t arrived.

Meanwhile, I got a text that said my AT&T bill was overdue. I thought it was spam, because I always pay my bills. And, when I mail the checks for every bill I receive, I put the bill itself in a folder where I keep all the household bills after they’ve been paid. I checked, and, yes, there was the AT&T bill, which meant I had sent the check. The next day, I got another text, reminding me that I’d not paid my bill. I checked my bank’s website, looked over the checks that had been paid, and, yep, there was NO cashed check for AT&T.

WHAT’S HAPPENING TO MY MAIL?!?!?!?

The next day, I went to the AT&T store (with my bill), and spoke with an employee about the missing payment. I wanted to pay my bill, and, since another bill was undoubtedly on the way, I wanted to pay that upcoming bill, also, sort of a good-faith effort. We got all that settled. However, I have begun to take my outgoing mail straight to the post office, instead of putting it our on our mailbox on the front porch. I’m out running errands and shopping two or three times a week, and the post office is nearby, so it’s easy; just a new habit.

Which brings us to the very tardy envelope that arrived with April’s birthday gift certificate. All Waco mail goes to Dallas to be postmarked and then gets sent back to Waco to be delivered. I guess the processing machinery is faster, and trucking mail back and forth makes sense. Anyway, the postmark on April’s envelope says, “Dallas, Tex, 20 May 2021,” about 7 weeks after it was mailed. We do not know why or where or what is the reason for the extreme delay for that simple piece of mail. But, it did actually arrive, belatedly.

Meanwhile, I also checked the AT&T bill, and it says the “issue date” was March 27, which means that bill might have arrived at our house around April 1. And I’d have sent the payment in the next day or two. The check I wrote for the late April payment plus the upcoming May payment was processed at the bank on May 10. Yesterday, I checked my online bank statement and, TA-DAH, there’s another check that has also cleared, on May 26, the check I wrote and mailed, also on April 1.

 

Jesus told the people another story:

What will a woman do if she has ten silver coins and loses one of them? Won’t she light a lamp, sweep the floor, and look carefully until she finds it? 9 Then she will call in her friends and neighbors and say, “Let’s celebrate! I’ve found the coin I lost.”

Luke 15:8,9 (Contemporary English Version)

 

Sometimes things get lost. And, sometimes those things get found. This was really an easy thing. I could have stopped payment on the checks that went missing, and written new checks. I did get charged a late fee, even though I mailed the payment in plenty of time. And I’m thinking about giving the AT&T folks a call, asking them to look to see that there was a check that arrived late, but it was because of a problem with the post office. I suppose they hear that all the time.

Kevin and April have not charged me any extra fees due to the tardiness of the mail.

 

 

 

April Showers Have Morphed into May Deluges

| Joy, Patience

It just keeps on raining. I know better than to think that summer’s going to be all balmy and pleasant. It was 82 on Thursday and will be that warm later next week. At some point, soon, it’ll be so hot that I’ll break into a sweat just by stepping out the front door to get the mail. But, for now, it’s very nice.

 

There was that large lake-like puddle at the back of the yard. It abated, but you can  see the where the water line is. I can walk around back there, but it’s still pretty muddy. And seriously, look how much leaf growth has come out on those hedges that lost all their leaves back in March (after the awful February freeze).

 

Last year, I bought five plants that I’d hoped would grow and fill these plant supports, because, as you can see, the grass doesn’t grow up to the fence. They weren’t lush, but they were growing.  Until February. Then, they were little bare sticks. For weeks, I looked them over. Nothing. For weeks. Then, one started to put out a few leaves. Hmm, not exactly a Ta-Dah moment. But then, another one leafed out. Two out of five. Not spectacular. Then, I’m not kidding, another one put out some leaves. If you were to label them: 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, plants 1, 3, and 5 were leafing out. Two and 4? Nothing. But now, I’m thinking I should wait a while longer before pulling up those bare sticks. Maybe?

 

 

 

 

Because I’ve needed to do some thyme pruning, I looked up how and when, etc., to take care of my thyme plants. One of the first things I read was that I should harvest my thyme plants before they flowered. Hmmm. Oh Dear. I’d been really charmed by the pretty little white flowers that some of the thyme plants were putting out. Bees came to the flowers, and I enjoyed watching them flit around when I was moving some liriope plants to a different place and putting some bricks across the lower border. So now, it is way to late for those plants to be at their peak. But, seriously, it’s not like I don’t have some other choices here. And, it doesn’t seem like all the varieties do bloom.

 

 

Two or three years ago, I went to the work place of a friend who works with a helping agency. Part of what he does is to help people learn how to grow a garden to provide fresh, wholesome vegetables for their family. I saw an interesting plant and he said it was Malabar spinach. Oh, I said, I don’t really like spinach. Well, he said, then grow it because it’s an attractive plant. He said it would grow and twine around a trellis. So I got some, and for the previous two or three years, I grew a whole trellis full of the plant. It would die back in the winter and come back in the spring. This year, I waited and waited and it didn’t show up. Alas. The trellis is in the bed where I also have some Hosta plants, so I was alert to weeds, etc., coming up. Three weeks, or so, ago, I was pulling weeds and all those little plants that come up, not particularly wanted, and there were a bunch more of those little seedling things, and as I pulled out the last one, I thought, Hmmm, were those some of the Malabar Spinach seeds that have just needed some time (after February) to germinate. Well, too bad for me, then. I’d pulled them all up. But, I’d been checking, just to be sure, and more of those little seedlings are coming. I can’t tell, yet, if it’s the spinach, after all. I’ll just have to wait a little longer. Hope so. The trellis is all ready!

 

 

The White-Edged Hosta has some flowers, and to the right of the blooms (hard to see) is a bud for more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I planted the seeds, Apollos watered them, but God made them sprout and grow. What matters isn’t those who planted or watered, but God who made the plants grow.

1 Corinthians 3:6-7 (Contemporary English Version)

 

Yes, I know Paul is talking about people, but I’m paying attention to the analogy. If no one plants seeds and no one waters them, then there aren’t going to be any vegetables. Or fruits. Or bread.

You’ve Heard About the Lull Before the Storm–

| Joy, Patience

Here in Central Texas, we’re having the Storm Before the Lull.

Every time it rains, I’m thrilled. It’s springtime, and so lots of rain isn’t unusual. But, usually by mid-June or so, rainfall is a distant memory. Now, the trees look great, the lawns look lovely, the flowers are blooming. And we’re needing to have the sprinkler systems checked because it’s not going to keep on raining every time we turn around. The temperature will be rising, the sun’ll be beating down pretty regularly, and all the living things, flora and fauna, will be starting to wilt in the heat.

And it will be like that until September, or maybe later.

Sure, there might be a rain shower. Every now and then. Maybe.

But for now, summer’s heat seems like a distant omen that we understand might be coming, but we’ve sort of put it out of our minds.

Here’s what happened a couple of days ago: Tuesday is the day the mowers come, and they do three yards on a row on our block. They moved the mowers off the truck, hurried into mowing mode, racing around my and my neighbors yards, trimming, blowing away the leaves and grass, and quickly and efficiently getting our yards into shape. Then, they packed up and roared away. Very efficient.

I needed to make a trip to the drug store, which I did right after the mowers were done. And, a bit later, after I was back home, I walked by the front door and saw that torrents of rain were pouring down. “Well,” I thought. “That explains their rush.”

It rained like that for the rest of the day and into the night.

The next morning, here’s what I saw in my back yard. A bit of a lake. Rain had fallen, nonstop, for several hours.

 

 

Peter’s wading pool, which has several uses besides splashing around in the water. It can be a roof. It can be a wall for a structure. It can be a sand box. And, if I don’t empty it out soon, it can be a breeding ground for mosquitoes.

 

So versatile.

 

 

All the rain has made the front yard look great. The small dead part at the base of the light is the result of that February freeze. It is a little bit slow coming back. I’m sure it’ll come around.

 

But all in all, it’s been a very nice spring around here.

 

 

 

 

My teaching, let it fall like a gentle rain, my words arrive like morning dew,
Like a sprinkling rain on new grass, like spring showers on the garden.

Deuteronomy 32:2 (The Message Translation)

 

I believe I’m going to start taking my Bible study stuff outside each morning. I could use some teaching falling like a gentle rain, arriving each morning like dew.

The Good, The Bad, The Snowy

| Faithfulness, Joy, Patience, Peace, Self-Control

“We’ll just have to wait and see.” That’s what the state’s chief horticulturist says. In his weekly newspaper column and the weekly e-mails he sends out, he answers questions about plants and landscaping and garden care. What he says in, at least one of those outlets each week, is that “we’ll just have to wait and see,” how the perennial/annual plants and trees and lawns will come back (or not) in our landscapes.

My next door neighbor has two epic Live Oak trees. The horticulturist has said, after that giant sleet, snow, and ice storm we had, we should give our Live Oaks the time they need to heal. We don’t have Live Oak trees. We have a big crepe myrtle, and a pecan that’s lost as many small limbs as those crepe myrtles. Both of those trees are probably able to regroup and live!

“We will just have to wait and see.”

 

Meanwhile, we have some other kinds of plants, and almost all of them have rebounded. Like these:

I can see the still somewhat small, but older, living plants, and then the lower plants which aren’t even trying to make it. (And, don’t be fooled by all the green, green, healthy plants. Those are daisies.)

These plants are a little hard to see well. There are three that are growing back, green and full. Then, in between those good plants, there are some broken down-to-sticks plants. The broken down ones have died off completely, even though the living plants have become found. They are Turk’s Caps. I was at a lovely nursery recently, and an employee has been explaining the growing habits of these plants. I found a pink variety of them, but, couldn’t purchase them, because I’m not sure which ones I’d planted. I know there were three red ones and three pink ones. And, apparently, one kind is much more winter tolerant than the other.

Check later, to see which ones really are winter tolerant.

 

 

 

 

 

 For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.
Psalm 30:5 (Revised Standard Version)

 

I have said to David that he should NOT buy me any birthday gifts, or Mother’s Day gifts. I have spent quite a lot on plants. And potting soil. And plant food. I should start thinking more carefully about perennials instead of annuals.

 

So . . . It’s Not EXACTLY Springtime, yet

| Patience

I’ve worked hard, for hours, the past few weeks, outside. I’ve purchased plants for the patio, plants for the beds around the house, yellow flowers and plants for the front beds and the pots that hang from the porch railing, bougainvilleas for hanging at the back, succulents for hanging by the fence. I found a couple of new-to-me thyme plants (even though I think that the gardening folks might just be making up new varieties). However, “White Creeping Thyme” and “Red Creeping Thyme” really do look different from each other. And, some thyme plants make sweet little white or lavender flowers. And all the thyme plants I have are absolutely winter hardy, which, especially after the epic February ice/snow freeze, I do so admire.

The past couple of days, I worked, raking, around the side edge of the yard, trying to rake away the remainder of the epic leaf drop from the hedges. And, truly, there are lots of leaves that have been lying ‘way back against the fence that I just haven’t gotten around to in the past few years. There’s some Asian Jasmine and Virginia Creeper that I don’t know who planted. Maybe my dad, maybe previous neighbors. Anyway, I was trying to clean things up. As I raked, I picked up piles and put them in the big, round, canvas bin that I use to transport leaves, etc. to the big, green, recycle bins we put out on trash/recycle day, and I spotted a wooden handle. I recognized it as the tool I use to reach into tight spaces to pull out leaves, etc. It has a serious metal claw which efficiently grasps and holds leaves. As I reached down to pick it up, I thought, I don’t remember bringing that down here. And as I held it, I thought, Oh, yeah.

A year or so ago, or maybe longer, I couldn’t find it. It wasn’t on the hook on the tool pegboard by my potting bench. I looked all over the patio, in all the beds around the house, all without success. Eventually, I thought that, maybe, while using it, I’d dropped it in that canvas bin, and then forgotten it was there. And then, when I dumped that bin’s contents into the green recycle bin, I must have dumped that great claw tool in, also.

We had purchased it at Homestead Heritage, which is described as “an agrarian- and craft-based intentional Christian community.” It’s a few miles outside Waco. They have a great restaurant, some wonderful stores where they sell all sorts of homemade crafts and food items, as well as a store where you can purchase handmade tools, like that great claw gardening tool. So, I went and bought another one, which I use to pull leaves and twigs out of the beds around the house, when a rake is too large.

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve planted everything, I think. So, now it’s just a matter of keeping things alive. As I write this, on Thursday afternoon, rain is falling. The temperature was chilly this morning, and I worked for a little while, pulling up weeds in the very back of the yard, where I want to try planting Asian Jasmine, again, with the hope that it will take root before squirrels pull it up, like they did last spring. (I have some squirrel deterrent spray, which, maybe, will work.)

 

Everything on earth has its own time and its own season. There is a time for birth and death, planting and reaping

Ecclesiastes 3:1,2 (Contemporary English Version)