Dreams In The Mailbox

 

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All the decorations are down, and the house has been put back in order. Many of us are hunkered down with warm blankets, a stash of tea, and some good books to help get us through the long, dark and snowy days of winter ahead. I have to admit that I'm in that group. My great-grandson got me a lovely, warm throw for Christmas. My tea draw is full, and I have at least a dozen books on my Kindle loaded and ready. There's just one more thing I need to get through the winter and keep my sanity ... the mailman!

Ok, let me explain. To a gardener, winter is seed catalog time. It's like the Easter Bunny coming early. Seed catalogs are the bible of the gardening world. When I say, "seed catalogs," I also mean gardening catalogs and magazines. Days and days of turning those glossy pages filled with pictures of flowers, veggies, herbs, pretty garden ornaments, bird baths and bird feeders, as well as unusual pots and containers, and a host of other things. The snow may be falling like a curtain outside, but inside as I sit in my favorite armchair, I am surrounded by spring.

This year I am particularly interested in learning more about container gardening and working in raised beds. My trial run last summer in the little section of my daughter's yard that has been allotted to me gave me some successes and some failures, but all of it a learning experience. Now I know what will grow, what won't, and what I will need to make it bloom. I'm also dedicated to attracting butterflies and birds which we had few of last year. All in all, it's going to be a spring and summer of fun, exploration, and learning. You're never too old to dream a dream or go for the gold! Now if that nice mailman would only get here!

And so it is. 

And So It Is Christmas

 

The tree is up and decorated. The snow is on the ground. We've dug out our warm, cozy Christmas pajamas. The blow-up Rudolph is outside with the others and lights are strung and lit. Yep, it is officially Christmas!

I love this time of year. I love to see the excitement on the faces of the little children in the stores as they stare with wonder at all the lights and decorations. I love the smell of cookies baking, the sound of paper and scissors as presents are wrapped, and the soft carols playing in the background. For just a little while, the world is warm, and loving, and magical. I don't care how old I get; at Christmas time I'm 6 years old again and Santa is bringing me the teddy bear I fell in love with in the window of the hardware store downtown!

Right now, the world is in more turmoil than I can ever remember. Every night when I say my prayers, I ask God to not let my grandchildren inherit this mess. Still, I remember also to say thank you for those warm pj's, the pretty lights, the yummy cookies, and, most of all, the greatest gift ever given. Christmas is all about children, big and small, young and old, and one very special child above them  all. 

May we never get too old to revisit the magic of Christmas for ourselves and for others, and may we never forget the true reason for the season.

Have a blessed and beautiful Christmas. 

And so it is. 

With Thanks From A Grateful Heart

 

I walked out the front door the other day after a rather heavy rain and windstorm and this is what I saw. The beautiful Japanese Maple tree had been torn of all its beautiful red leaves. A thick carpet of red covered the front lawn. The golden leaves of the other trees mixed in and surrounded it like decorative edging. Someone else might have looked at this scene and groaned at the amount of work it was going to take to clean it all up. I thought it was beautiful. I stopped to take this picture and thought to myself: "this red carpet is more beautiful than any celebrity red carpet in Hollywood. Right now, I feel like I've been given an award."

As we move closer to Thanksgiving next week, I have been taking time out to count my blessings, both big and small. I am grateful that I just passed the one-year mark of moving into my "tiny house" apartment. I am grateful that I got to plant my first real outdoor garden in years and experienced the joy of picking a luscious, ripe grape tomato and popping it in my mouth. I am grateful for my family, my church family, my friends, the family dog who guards me like the Queen, reasonably good health, access to healthy food, warm clothes, and so much more. While these are all wonderful reasons to be grateful, I have found that making time to "just be," has reminded me of so many more blessings that are all around me: porch sitting, watching the local wildlife, the sound of the train as it rumbles by, the first buds on the trees and the last leaves to fall ... and red carpets. I have discovered this year that my wealth isn't in money or things. It is in the tiny moments that remind me of what God and Mother Nature can do when they put their heads together - they create a heaven right here on earth. As long as I can wake up in the morning, watch the sunrise, hear the birds, and witness the world come alive, I am richly and deeply blessed.

To each and every one of you I wish a wonderful, bountiful Thanksgiving. May it be filled with love, family, good food, and the gift of being able to look out of the window to remember what it means to be grateful to be alive. 

And so it is. 

A Time Of Bountiful Blessings

Yesterday while driving to the store with my daughter and two granddaughters I was mesmerized by the display of autumn color all around me. The trees were ablaze with gold, red, orange, and various shades of brown. Getting into the car I couldn't help crunching away on the fallen leaves outside the house and staring in amazement at the Japanese maple out front. Truly, Mother Nature has blessed us with another bountiful, colorful autumn.

While at the store I remembered to pick up a bag of birdseed. We have a variety of birds that grace our feeders, from the tiny chickadees and wrens to Mourning doves, blue jays, robins and finches of all colors. The squirrels are also plentiful around our house, and I delight in going out to make sure there are peanuts for them. I fill the feeders with seeds of different sizes and sprinkle some on the ground beneath for those that are either too big for the feeders or who get crowded out by their larger relations. For someone who loves nature and wildlife, I am never disappointed when I look out of the window or sit on the porch. 

What I've started to notice recently are the squirrels eating some of the nuts and seeds and burying the rest. From my upstairs window I have a view of the backyard and have caught them digging and stashing their goodies for another day. I've always thought that the saying, "giant oaks from little acorns grow" came about because some squirrels buried their nuts and then forgot where they buried them, thus growing a tree instead! 

I have just passed my first full year living in my tiny house-type apartment that my daughter had built for me on the rear of her house. It has been a year of adjustments, of finding out what works and what still needs tweaking. I still can't fathom how someone who lives in two small rooms with only one closet can still manage to lose things. I see a day of rearranging and better labeling in my future. Still, it has been a year of blessings in many ways as well as a time for growing and learning new things even at my age. I am confident that more growing and learning is in my future. 

Much like a well-filled bird feeder to bless the birds, and a carpet of nuts on the ground to bless the squirrels, this has been a year of bountiful blessings that came in all shapes, sizes, and colors. It won't be long before the leaves will all have fallen to the ground, and the trees will begin their winter sleep.  We may have to look a little harder for our bountiful blessings, but rest assured they will be there if we just slow down and take the time to look for them. To everything there is a season, even for blessings.

And so it is. 

 

Welcome Apple Season!

I have begun to put my little container garden to bed. This first outdoor garden in my new home has been one of blessings and lessons. The blessings came in the baskets of tiny grape and cherry tomatoes I picked, the luscious smells of the basil, spearmint, and rosemary, and the beautiful color of the deep pink petunias. With the onset of cold nights ... low 40's already ... all but the petunias and rosemary have been harvested, the empty pots of the others cleaned out and ready to be stored until next year. The lessons have been in discovering what grows well in this space, what likes garden soil and what doesn't, and what I can do better with next year. I'm not sad, though. While my little garden may be done for the year, there is another season I adore that has made its appearance ... apples. It is Apple Season here in upstate New York and I can't wait to dive in.

What I love the most about apples besides their taste is the fact that there are so many different varieties, each with their own special attributes in cooking, baking, and eating. There are: Gala, Cortland (their home is right up the road from me), Granny Smith, Delicious, Crispin, Ginger Gold, Honey Crisp, and a host of others. Some are good for baking, some are good for apple sauce, cider, apple deserts, and just plain good to bite into. Each brings their own special qualities and attributes to the table. I don't think I've ever heard anyone say they hated one kind of apple over another. Each one has something to contribute.

I think the apples have it over us humans, don't you? There may be many different kinds of people in the world, of different colors, different ethnic origins, and different sexes, each with their own special qualities. Some are gifted in the arts, some in science, some in building and engineering, some in leadership, and some called by God. None is better than the other. Everyone has a place at the table If the apples can figure it out, so can we. 

And so it is.

 

The Dog Days of Summer

"The term dog days of summer refers to the period of hot and humid weather in the summer, traditionally from July 3rd to August 11th. This period is associated with the rising of the dog star, Sirus, in conjunction with the sun."

Wikipedia

Good old Wikipedia might want to update the definition above to extend from before July 3rd to way after August 11th, at least where this summer is concerned!

I was at the check out in Walmart one day recently (no, not the self-checkout, a real, living person trying to earn a real, living wage) and the older woman checking me out said that she had lived in this area all of her life and couldn't remember a summer that started out so hot, so early, and is still going strong. My poor little garden is taking quite a hit as well. Some things I planted never got beyond tiny shoots before the 105 degree heat indexes did them in. The herbs are hanging in there as well as the tiny cherry tomatoes, but the marigolds are all but done. Only the petunias are thriving which makes me wonder if they didn't originate down south!

We can blame it on climate change or any number of things, but it occurred to me that, depending on who you talk to, there is always something to criticize about winter as well as summer. In the winter it's too cold and we wail, "when will spring get here?" In the summer we complain about the heat and long for Autumn (I am definitely in that category). I've never heard anyone complain about spring unless it's about too much rain but I'm sure there's someone out there who does. And who could possibly complain about Autumn? Obviously someone who is color blind!

The point of all this is that maybe instead of looking for things to complain about the weather, or blaming everyone but ourselves for climate change, maybe our time would be better spent looking for the good in each season, both in the weather and in the seasons of our lives, and see where we can make things better. If it's too hot for you outside, stay inside and curl up with a good book, touch base with friends and family, or take up a hobby. If it's too cold, the same holds true. If we're in a season of our lives that seems dead and dormant, dig a little deeper and find out what would make you blossom again, then go and do that. If you can't travel the world, travel virtually. If you can't cook, turn on YouTube and play. If you're lonely, learn to Face Time and Zoom, join a book club, volunteer somewhere. As for climate change, working at reducing our carbon footprint and supporting businesses that do is the best advice. 

It doesn't matter what season we're in. There's always a way to plant new seeds, water them well, and grow something beautiful!

And so it is. 

A Flower, A Weed, Or An Opinion?

 

Welcome to July and my first outdoor garden in many years. To say I am excited would be an understatement!  At first glance it's not much to look at. I went for container gardening rather than in-ground because of expected construction in the yard this summer. To that end I just arranged some pots, put in what I most wanted to grow, and tried to make it look pretty knowing I might have to move it. So far I have cherry tomatoes, two kinds of lettuce, basil, rosemary, spearmint, marigolds, and petunias. The wooden bear is a gift from my sister that I've had since my first big garden 30 years ago ... he held up well! The rest is just window dressing. What I like most about container gardening is not having to worry so much about weeds. Then again, I've always thought that weeds get a bad rap in the gardening world, much like some people.

I once heard a very famous English gardener, Rosemary Very, say that weeds were just plants growing where you didn't want them growing. They weren't inherently good or bad, just taking up a space you wanted for something else. Dandelions probably have the worst reputation and is the reason those horrible weed killers like Round Up were invented. In reality, dandelions are perfectly healthy plants and beneficial to wild life. They are the first source of food for bees in the spring, their roots make medicinal teas, and their petals can be eaten. Yet someone decided that poisoning the soil and ground water was more beneficial so they could grow lovely but useless lawns. The poor dandelion lives or dies by the opinion of others. 

Sadly, that's the way a lot of people are treated as well, especially these days. Whether someone is useful or not, good or bad, welcome or not, is not based on who they are or what they do but on what others decide about them. The folks who pick your produce in the fields are just as entitled to live and grow as you are. The ones who run your favorite ethnic restaurants are just as talented in the kitchen and worthy of praise as a Five-Star chef

Mother Nature must have created dandelions for a reason. Maybe before we form an opinion based on the prejudices of others, we'd be better off getting to know more about them for ourselves. Just like discovering a new friend where you'd least expect to, you might just discover that what once was a weed turns out to be a valuable addition to your life.

And so it is.