Hey, I wanted to include some scriptures for what I wrote yesterday. Be sure to read 2 Corinthians 11:14 to the reference to Satan as an "angel of light" and also read Matthew chapter 13 verses 3-9 for the parable of the sower in which Jesus refers to some of the "seed" being choked out by thorns.
I thought I had weeded enough yesterday, but amazingly there was more to do today! Another busy day around here. The weather was incredible--the kind of days we were longing for all winter. The sun shone brightly all day with a brisk breeze accompanying it. Rhiannon finished the deck and it surely does look nice!
I had intended to take a day of rest today. I am very poor at taking one day per week to rest as the Bible instructs. I could see almost right away that that was not going to happen. I did get to sleep in a bit but after Bible reading and prayer, I set to work cooking the berries I had gotten out of the freezer yesterday. I wanted to get jelly made out of them before the next round are ready. We have blackberries and our favorite, black raspberries in super-abundance here in our fencerows. These were frozen last summer and I never got the jelly made. We have been out of our rich, purple, family favorite--black raspberry jelly, for some time now and we've been suffering through several jars of homemade strawberry jam instead! Anyway, I got two huge cookers full of berries cooked and ready to drip all night. Tomorrow I hope to finish the process and have several more jars of new jelly on the shelves by evening.
After that, I decided to hang out a small load of wash. No resting yet. As soon as that was done it was nearly time for lunch. I did a few other small tasks and then fixed Clint's lunch. Rhiannon and I needed a tiny paint brush for touch ups on Mom's new red wall and we headed to Centreville for a few items. We did get the paint brush and purchased a few pepper plants and a squash plant and three bags of cocoa bean mulch for the English garden.
When we got home I started in the process of more weeding so that mulch could be placed. What fun I had! I really enjoyed working with the wonderful, chocolatey-smelling stuff. I got many problem areas weeded and spread with beautiful dark, organic shells. It will help plants stay coralled, keep weeds down and reserve moisture around the plants. I also discovered that a woodchuck has decided to dig huge holes in my English garden. This cannot happen. I will not tolerate such a visitor who delights in ruining my hard work and investment. He will have to be discouraged from making his home there. When I first saw his handiwork in the south bed, I thought I had dug up a plant to transplant, forgetting to re-fill the hole. Later in one of the north beds, I saw another larger hole and knew I had not done this twice. I became suspicious and called Clint out for an investigation. He confirmed my worst suspicions. This probably also accounts for the few plants I've been finding neatly lopped off at their tops. Hmmm..........
Another interesting garden development was added today. I remembered that I had a bag of 6 sheer off-white curtains and two super long matching scarf swags that Kori gave me last year. I set to work twisting and draping them around the posts of the bed frame that sits in the middle of the garden. (See profile picture--I'm standing with my hand on the corner of the bed frame!)They billowed romantically in the breeze. Very beautiful. This little touch creates a wonderful exotic ambience to the garden. It reminds me of the pictures of the gardens and courtyards of Arabian tales. I hung only the long scarves and hope to rig up a system to hang the six curtains around the canopy frames on the bed so they can be pulled back or let down for shade and privacy. Sometimes I like to sit out there and write or read and need a bit of protection from the sun. I think these curtains will help.
Right now the garden is about to burst into a glorious display. Some of the white daisies opened today and the irises are going to be out before the week's end. Also blooming are perennial bachelor's buttons, a pink honeysuckle, the pink cup and saucer flowers. Nearly everywhere in the garden the bright, vivid blue forget-me-nots are creating a low, mist. Two sizeable spirea bushes are nodding their heavily laden branches of white like yards of lace. A dark burgundy sweet william opened today and its velvety flower is stunning. Also blooming is a dark blue delphinium and several violas.
While I was out in the garden today, the atmosphere was so relaxing. The blue skies and those curtains billowing in the breeze were just breathtaking. Add in the incredible bird song of several different species and you had a tiny paradise going on in a corner of my yard. All I could think of was that Eden must have been like this only prettier and larger. I pondered how there is a drawing in the heart of man that causes us to want to create these replicas of Eden. Of course, we were created to live in perfect harmony, communing with God on a daily basis and enjoying His creation. It was all perfect until sin ruined that garden paradise. Is that what drives we gardeners to such lengths to create beautiful settings--our longing to return to an Eden? God has left us a witness of Himself in creation (Romans 1:20). To some of us, gardening is a way to draw closer to Him. The setting out there today was so serene, beckoning one to rest, relax, and enjoy God's grace. How thankful I am that one day, even though all that we now see will pass away, God has promised to take those who love and serve Him to a paradise that is beyond compare. 1 Corinthians 2:9 says, "but as it is written: 'Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.'" Even though the English garden was today one of the prettiest places I could think of being, it pales in comparison with what the Lord has planned for the saints when we meet Him face to face to live forever with Him in eternity. Are you planning to live there one day? If so, you must make your reservations now. Confess Jesus Christ as your saviour and you will be God's redeemed child that will one day live in this glorious home that the Bible speaks of. He loves you so and wants you to be there! Blessings, LORI
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