Simplicity...Continuing to Let Go

"Simplicity in your lifestyle will ensure you a happy life."

That was the fortune I found in a cookie last week.  I'm not really one to believe in fortunes stashed inside the fortune cookie, unless they're verses I place inside homemade fortune cookies, but this one did spark interest as we continue to try to simplify by shedding the extra "stuff" accumulated.

Where is Home?

Where is HOME to you?


Where are your roots?


Hmmmmm....


These are questions often asked.


Makes me think and wonder...Where is my home?


Do we have a home? or a hometown?

Our Little City Garden

I love dirt.  I'm not referring to the dust dirt that piles up on the furniture or the dirt that's on our kids' feet at the end of the day or the "dirt" also known as gossip.  I don't care for that type of dirt.  I love working the dirt/soil/earth, tending a garden, and growing plants and vegetables. 

I love examining a tiny seed knowing that in that tiny seed there are amazing things to be grown with just a little dirt, water and light.  I love watching a tiny sprout emerge from the ground.  I love seeing the "real" leaves come on.  Plant life just amazes me.

A couple months ago we started some seeds in our very small backyard.  We started three types of tomatoes, cucumbers and a couple flower varieties.

We started "Mortgage Lifters."  They're supposed to yield two pound tomatoes!  I was hoping they'd "lift" our mortgage too!

We also started "Abe Lincolns" in honor of our Civil War study

Little tomato starts- These are a variety called "German Johnson"

Cucumber starts and little tomatoes

As I was tending my new starts, I was thinking back on my other garden.  We used to have acres of land to grow, but our current home offers a limited patio space.  We're going to try container gardening, and hopefully we'll make the best of it!

Here's a glimpse of my former space:

A portion of our former garden space

The garden going strong

This makes me smile

Fresh raspberries all summer long

I think half our neighborhood here can fit on the property we moved from.  It's been an adjustment, but the daily sunshine helps and the work load is MUCH less.

Back to present day.  Some of our "Abe Lincolns" were big enough to transplant. We bought some metal containers and our oldest drilled drainage holes in them.

Now our containers were ready for the tomato plants.  When transplanting tomatoes, you can bury them a bit deeper than the base, thus burying some of the stem.  I was told they're like clematis in this respect.  Don't worry if your transplants look a little pitiful the first few days after you transplant them.  They're just in shock.  They'll snap out of it in no time.

Nice roots on our tomato starts

Transplant complete

  

The City Garden

Round one of our garden is complete.  I'll need to figure out another plan for our "Mortgage Lifters" and "German Johnson's."  This is such a fun hobby and very rewarding!

Civil War- Everywhere

It's funny how when you're pregnant suddenly everyone you see is pregnant, or when you get a new car suddenly everyone has the same type of car.  Maybe the occurrences aren't any greater, but the awareness is heightened.  The same has happened for me with our Civil War study. 

I went to our local garden store in search of lima beans for a science experiment and what did I find in the tomato seed section?  Tomato seeds called, "Abraham Lincoln!"  How cool is that?  So tomorrow on the school agenda we'll plant our Abraham Lincolns" and see what happens.

Weeds

Spring is coming. The signs are everywhere. Daffodils are blooming, buds are emerging on trees, life is springing forth out of the cold hard ground. I love this season because it brings us out of our home into the yard where I have the opportunity to kneel in the dirt at the throne of God for hours. I’ve often said my garden time is my best “God time.” Life becomes clear as I work the dirt and ask God to answer my many questions. And answer them he does. It’s amazing!
I’ve had a number of opportunities to hire young workers looking to make a couple dollars helping pull weeds. Working alongside them, one common question inevitably comes up “Why did God make so many weeds?”
The Bible tells us after the fall of Adam and Eve, God said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat of it,’ Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you and you will eat the plants of the field. Gen 3:17-18
I’ve concluded, because of the fall, we were cursed with weeds (along with other consequences). Weeds are now part of our everyday life and they come in a multitude of shapes and sizes. Strange as it may seem, I actually like weeding, not because I like weeds, but the act of weeding forces me to get on my knees before my Creator and do a self-inventory. Where are the weeds in my life? What are they? What do I need to do to pull them out?
As with weeds, we cannot haphazardly rip at our sin quickly. If we don’t get the root, it can grow again often bigger and deeper than this first weed. Our sin can oftentimes have deep roots that may be painful to work at and dig out, but the result is a clean heart. Our gentle, gracious God will often point out my weeds and then help me get to the root of them so as not to leave a portion that will grow.
The Bible gives us many verses to reflect on while we’re seeking God to weed our hearts. Psalm 139 and Psalm 51 are some of my favorites. Ask the Lord to search your heart and examine your mind. Psalm 139 tells us the Lord has searched us, knows us, He knows when we sit and when we rise, he knows our thoughts from afar. He knows everything about us. In Psalm 51, David humbly comes to God in prayer for forgiveness and cleansing. He confesses his sin and he is renewed and restored by hi s Heavenly Father.
In Christ we have a beautiful life garden that reflects the Glory of God, but we still live in a fallen world. We need Him to consistently weed our hearts of pride, selfish ambition, greed, coveting, fear, worry, etcetera so that we might draw closer to Him and grow in our likeness of Christ filled with humility, generosity, service, compassion, kindness, patience, peace and the like.
Blessings to you while you weed!

Story of the Day

There are some days that just make for a good story. Today was one of them. It was a cloudy overcast day and very chilly. I made a list of "To Do's" most of them were indoor activities like vacuuming, cleaning specific rooms, etc. But one thing on our list was to take fresh vegetables from the garden to our local food bank sponsored by our church. This would be our first trip of the season since planting occurred so late.
This is our 3rd year planting the garden for our own consumption and for the food bank. The kids and I love meeting those who are in tough times and benefit from this little food bank. The gals who work there are a true gift. They give of their time organizing this little endeavor and feed about 200 people a week.
Today we greeted the gals and brought raspberries, a variety of lettuces, arugula, an assortment of dark red, pink and white beets and Thumbelina carrots. We spent a little time talking with them and then were about to go on our way.
As we exited the food bank there is a line up of people waiting for it to open. First in line were two older women. One was missing her front teeth and the next lady had an accent. They said "Thank you" and we started walking to the car.
Immediately, I noticed someone trying to get my attention. I turned around and the little lady with the accent said, "My husband has been waiting for you." I looked out into the parking lot in the opposite direction. Walking toward us was an older, slightly feeble, looking man. Although he looked quite a bit thinner I recognized him instantly. She said, "Do you remember my husband, Joseph?" I looked at him and said, "You are the one who likes the GIANT zucchini I bring." (You know those zucchini that overnight grow to about 2 1/2 feet that most people don't want).
Joseph loves them. He is a Hungarian man who makes a favorite Hungarian soup with the big zucchini. In the past two years when he sees me arrive, his face lights up. The gals at the food bank always set aside the huge cabbage and zuc for him.
Joseph approached and greeted us. His wife said he waits in the car because he's not feeling well. Joseph then shared that he has lung cancer and is going through chemotherapy. We talked a bit about what's growing in the garden and what I brought today. At the close of our short conversation I tried to be encouraging and let him know we'd be praying for him.
As I got in the car, the kids said they remembered him from last year. I let them know he has lung cancer.
Driving home I starting thinking about the little things in life that we each can do. It really doesn't take much more effort to plant the seed packet instead of a couple of seeds. The cost is the same. The time weeding is about the same, but the blessings spread from this little effort are great. We are blessed to see Joseph and his wife and their smiling faces. We are blessed by seeing the gals work so hard giving their time at the food bank. And we are blessed to see the others wave at us while we drive away. It's good to know they're getting some fresh, healthy vegetables. It's all worth it and then some.
And when we least expect it, God shows us we now have a new person to add to our prayer board and lift up...Joseph.

Growing Garden

This is a photo of my garden at the beginning of July. I need to get out and take another photo to show the new growth. The sunny weather has really been beneficial!

Last night we enjoyed a huge salad with fresh mixed lettuce greens.

The beets are now ready too, so I've got some canning to do. I love pickled beets! There is a recipe in a canning book, Small Batch Preserving, that makes the best beets. Throughout the year I pull a jar down and usually make a beet salad. The salad consists of beets, garbanzo beans, feta cheese, garlic, olive oil, and kosher salt. We love it!

I probably won't do too much canning this year with our upcoming move next spring. Although, I couldn't resist putting up some strawberry/rhubarb jam, but that will be gone quickly.

Deer Report: Garden Discovery

The garden has been great this summer! We've had lots of peas, lettuce, beets, radishes, raspberries and more. I can't seem to harvest the food quick enough. I'm sad to say some things go to seed before we can eat or give them away.

The word among the animal kingdom spread that we had a bumper crop and couldn't keep up with it. The vegetables were going to waste and the animals weren't going to have it. I think the mice told the birds, who told the rabbits, who then blabbed to the deer that there was an abundance and the getting was good.

The cherry trees were the first to go. One morning I woke up and went out to the garden and there were no longer leaves on the cherry trees. It seemed that the birds, and possibly the coyotes, ate the cherries and then called in the deer to finish the job. It was serious!

We then had company over who wanted to see the garden and much to our surprise we were greeted with beet and strawberry stems. I guess the leafy greens were a big hit! A vegetarian feast!

I've always said I'd plant enough to keep everyone happy, but I wasn't expecting this. I guess netting is our next project...

On the project side: Yesterday we had limestone delivered to finish the pathways throughout the garden and then we'll spread the excess bark. The weeding is never finished, but it's keeps me quiet so I can learn some life lessons.

I've hired a young man to do some weeding for me. While we're out in the garden he tells me that when he gets to heaven he's going to ask God why He made weeds. I tell him that God talks to me while I'm in the garden and if he's really quiet God might just answer his question.

To be quiet... could that could possibly be one of the the reasons for weeds. Our weeds of life need to be dealt with and pulled out so the good can grow. And during the time of pulling the weeds, if we're quiet, we can learn so many other secrets of life.

Little entrepreneurs

Today the kids worked so hard manning their roadside juice and vegetable stand. We have a surplus of lettuces, cilantro, radishes, and bok choy. The kids eagerly set out their table and had their signs ready for every passing car. They sold juice and lettuces and then started selling radishes and bok choy. They worked so hard and never let rejection get them down. They are awesome sales people. I was so proud of them as they marketed their vegetables and refreshments.

At the end of the day they had over $20.00 in sales. WOW!!! Great for these little entrepreneurs. They were so happy and learned a lot about counting money. They plan to give 10% to their charity of choice. The rest they can spend or save. It's interesting seeing the different personalities of the kids as they are evaluating whether or not they will "spend" or "save."

They are eager to do this job again!

Picture Problems

Hi all,

I'm trying to figure out the photo posting on this blog. Sometimes it's works, sometimes it doesn't. I was able to post one photo today and hope to get more on soon. The garden is growing like crazy and I would love to post more pictures. Bear with me as I go through this learning process.

Schooling In The Garden

Yesterday we did school in the garden. It was such a beautiful day we couldn't stay cooped up in the house. So out the kids went with backpacks on and lunchboxes in hand. We sat in our arbor looking at the mountains and did our Bible time. We read about Paul on a ship during a terrible storm and about listening and trusting God in our tough times.

After Bible we read two books we checked out at the library. One was Pick, Pull, Snap! Where a Flower Once Bloomed, by Lola M. Schaeffer. It showed how a flower forms on a tree or a plant and it is from the flower that the fruit comes. After reading this book we went all around the garden looking at the flowering apple and cherry trees, the flower buds on the raspberries, the flowers on the strawberries, and the flowers on the blueberries. What great science and so much fun too!

After that we read, Who is in the Garden? by Vera Rosenberry. We talked about all of the great plants and trees we have in the garden/yard that are also in the book.

While the boys worked on their math I rototilled an area to plant some more beets. We love beets and I learned of a few new varieties that are supposedly sweeter than regular beets. We planted Blankoma beets which are white table beet, Chioggia which are an Italian variety with light red round roots and bright pink and white alternating interior rings, and Red Ace Hybrids. Some of these we will eat and others we will pickle. What a great treat for all!!

First Harvest of 2006

This morning I went out and worked in the garden and much to my pleasant surprise the radishes were already ready to harvest. I have quite a few so I think I'll be making a salad I recently saw that had pork, radishes, cilantro and a few other things in it. Yum!!

I also planted tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, artichokes and lavender. These plantings were in the 4th of the 4X12 foot raised beds we built. The other three were planted last weekend. I have strawberries in one, the other two are filled with lettuces, carrots, beets, herbs, melons, and more. I'll take some photos as things begin to grow.

THE WHOLE GARDEN

I worked in the garden again yesterday, busily planting some seeds. I took this photo before I had planted. The focus this year will be on more flowers and less vegetables as we are not able to eat everything that comes up. Last year I canned, froze, gave away, and donated to the food bank and still there were some things that just went to the compost pile because I couldn't keep up.

So yesterday I planted carrots, french marigolds, african marigolds, stock, cosmos (orange, pink, yellow, white mix), teddy bear sunflowers, gaillardia, bells of ireland, and larkspur. I hope to have a nice cutting garden this summer.

Tomorrow we'll level the garden out and make the paths and figure where the grass will grow.

I'm off to find some boards to make raised beds for the strawberries.

How Does My Garden Grow??

After the overwhelming task of maintaining a HUGE garden (about 40X150) last year we decided to scale down and rethink my garden. We had a landscape designer draw a new plan for us. Last fall I moved the trees, blueberries, grapes, strawberries, and rhubarb to different locations as to make room for more grass and paths and less planting areas and weeds.

The whole garden just went through the 2nd tilling and I've been able to plant a couple things. I ended up having to transplant the peas I had planted as I didn't take into account the new grass pathway that is going in.

So today, between rain showers, I transplanted my peas--All 125 of them and put them in new rows. Now I realize that doesn't seem like I'm downsizing, but really I am. I saved one of the sprouts that was a great lesson for the kids to see the pea that split open, the sprout that has grown, and the long roots.

I've also planted some lettuce mixes, beets, radishes and have about 100+ strawberry plants to replant. But first I need to build the raised beds for the strawberry plants. The rhubarb is also growing quite well.

We'll keep you posted on how the garden grows.