Now THAT'S Better!

 Finished and reset.

And while my husband was applying the protective finish,

I asked him to add it to this puppy

which had set outside and lost its original painting.

I simply sprayed it and added two black spots to the eye sockets.

I'll find a place for him outside.

He already HAS a place in my heart!

It Found Us

A friend moving into an assisted living arrangement

called the other day asking if we'd be interested in buying her

riding lawn mower.

Would we!?!

 Today was its maiden voyage!

After my husband made the trial run,

he acquainted my 93 year old father with its intricacies...

 and then he was off!

 Our yard has never looked prettier!

 It's definitely in its element in the springtime.

 I'm very happy we have this new (used) lawnmower

to make the job faster and easier for my husband.

We knew we needed one, but kind of dreaded the search.

It found us.

Finding Beauty

Have a Seat

 Not sure about yours,

but our yard has several places to sit--

 positioned strategically

to invite relaxation;

to take in a view;

 to pause in an active day or at the end of one

and simply"smell the roses"...

 Thinking about all the possibilities for sitting in our yard,

I wonder

 

 why we so seldom actually DO.

Maybe - just maybe -

this will be the summer that we take the time

(or make the time)

to have a seat...

Then Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat down with His disciples. 

John 6:3

Three To-Dos

On what would have been travel-home day of my Gethsemani week (see previous post), 

my husband and I spent a couple of hours at Barnes and Noble. 

 I settled in with a stack of magazines, my journal and four-colored fine-tipped pen.  

I ended up taking a few photos which I've already posted on another blog

 and recorded three (yes, only three) "to-dos" in my journal.

Placing this bird on this stump was one of the three--

the only one accomplished so far.

In commenting on my prior post, Terra thanked me for my honesty about following
and not following my plan. To this I replied:

"Had I made no plans, I probably would have never lit a candle,

would have pigged out on sweets, prayed and journaled less than I did etc."

While I hope to get to the other two items I jotted down at Barnes and Noble,

I'm ahead of myself just by having accomplished ONE of the three!

At least that's the way I look at it.
Reminder to self:  Don't be discouraged by not accomplishing EVERYTHING on my lists.
***

Oh, and while I was out there placing the bird on the stump,

I pulled a bunch of weeds and called in the reinforcement (that would be my husband)

to cut off some branches that had been damaged by the storm the night before!

Commit your work to the Lord,
    and your plans will be established.

Proverbs 16:3

Lessons from a Sage

I took this photo last night and posted it on my facebook page, adding:  "While most of the flowers in our flower beds are looking kind of shabby, the Russian sage is just riotous with beauty this evening..."

I can't get its beauty out of my mind--maybe because it is an image of how I want to live the rest of my life.  Though in the autumn season of my life, I don't want to fade, droop or wither like other "flowers" around me!   I want to live joyfully and energetically; even wildly and unpredictably sometime.  

The unexpected and uncontrolled randomness of this sage reminds me that the Holy Spirit of God Himself LIVES in me!  His wisdom and power combine to produce unexpected and uncontrolled results.  I yield myself to Him with confidence again today.  I can't  predict or fathom what He will fashion out of me any more than I could predict or fathom the extent of beauty that I found in our flower bed last night.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, 

according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church 

and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!  Amen.

Ephesians 3:20-21

Disappointment in the Flower Bed

As I posted these pictures on my Garden Blog last night, a post for THIS site was forming in my mind.  "Lots of vine; little fruit," was my observation of an unexpected plant in one of our flowerbeds.  Apparently the seed was planted last year when I dumped a few rotting gourds into the flower bed.  I'd been letting the vine grow, waiting to see what "fruit" it would produce.Zucchini?  Cucumber?  Pumpkin?  Now it appears that for all the leaves that have greedily hoarded more and more space in my flower bed, I will only be harvesting two tiny gourds--and those, only decorative.  No nutritional value.

The words of an old gospel song came to my mind.   Its poetry is based on the story of Jesus cursing the fig tree, I believe.  (Mark 11:12-25).   "Nothing But Leaves"...

♪ The Master is seeking a harvest

In lives He's redeemed by His blood;

He seeks for the fruit of the Spirit,

And works that will glorify God.

Nothing but leaves for the Master,

Oh, how His loving heart grieves,

When instead of the fruit He is seeking,

We offer Him nothing but leaves. ♪

(Mrs. H.S. Lehman)

I'm instructed by my disappointment in the flower bed!  

My disappointment is insignificant compared to HIS when HE sees lots of vine; little fruit.

In My "Mature Years"...

 I really DO enjoy spending time taking in the

beauty of our simple yard and flower beds.

  I forget names,

 I forget to water,

 I never fertilize....

 so easy-to-care-for perennials are what are called for

here at Gatescroft.

 I spent the early (cooler) morning hours this morning

deadheading our white rose bushes and picking a few mulberries

to add to some other mixed, fresh berries for a healthy, fruit snack.

 But mostly, I just like to stroll around with my cell phone camera

and capture the latest blooms.

 Frequently, while editing the photos, I see SOMEthing to tweak, rearrange,

pull or trim back--

like the foliage of these two plants below

that I've already forgotten the name of!

This appreciation and desire for tending yard and flower beds came late to me. 

What interest, skill or activity have you acquired or developed 

in YOUR mature years?

Isaiah 58:11 
The LORD will always lead you, satisfy you in a parched land, and strengthen your bones. 
You will be like a watered garden and like a spring whose waters never run dry.

Reading MacDonald

 This morning I asked my husband for help digging out this huge hosta plant

before he went to work.

 My plan was to move this comfortable chair into its space.

After dividing the large plant into five small ones, 

I spent some time transplanting them and pulling some weeds.

Then, refreshed by a shower, I took The Peasant Girl's Dream outside with me,

sat down to try out my new reading spot,

and finished it!  It's the first George MacDonald book I've read,

and I'm ready for the second one - The Lady's Confession.

Lines such as these stood out to me:

• "The land was not pretty unless you knew where to look for its beauty.  Neither was it friendly unless you lived upon it long enough to make it a friend."
• "The poverty of the room was the respectable poverty of age."
• "Her soul was bathed in its own content..."
• "Had her bliss changed suddenly to sadness, Kirsty would have been quiet still.  Whatever came to Kirsty seemed right, for there it was."

I'm really thankful my friend Joan recommended the books 

and lent me these two, suggesting they would be a good place to start.  

What are YOU reading currently?

Have you tried any George MacDonald books?

All God's Birds

 Hearing the joyful songs of the birds this fresh and cool Friday morning,

I strolled outside and took a few photos of the faux birds around our yard.

(I'll post the rest of them on my Yard and Garden blog.)

 As I strolled, I remembered that just a few short days ago

I was sitting on the peaceful patio at the Abbey of Gethsemani

enjoying the birds' songs and the birds themselves--

so MUCH so that I composed a simple poem and gave it a place in my journal.

 "birds", I titled it...

 birds
little birds

big birds

black birds

brown birds

screeching birds

singing birds

single birds

double birds

sitting birds

flying birds

birds on the ground

birds in the trees

birds flapping

birds gliding
social birds
solitary birds

excited birds

calm birds

timid birds 

bold birds

bossy birds

docile birds

busy birds

idle birds
birds

In the margin of my journal (beside the poem)

I wrote "All God's Birds".

Yes, we are...
Profound, huh?

Before 6:30 A.M.

 Before 6:30 this morning, hubby and I had enjoyed our coffee together and read our 

 "devotionals"  in the pleasant confines of our small back patio.
In addition to reading from a book, we observe/pray the Morning Office found here.
Thus the computer.

 Before 6:30, I'd found an appropriate-sized cup holder

 which I screwed into this tree to hang a 25-cent ceramic owl.

 A few years ago, a family of owls sat like statues on a branch of the same tree

 and fascinated us for most of the day
before they disappeared as mysteriously as they had come!

(A view at the foot of the same tree....)

On the way to the tree, I passed this rusty tray holding a

small collection of heart-shaped rocks.

I found the small whitest one yesterday on my walk to the post office ♥

I love mornings.

 Before 6:30 this morning, I'd enjoyed hearing the birds sing, 

watched the energetic activity of a brown squirrel,

and admired the yellow assembly of irises in a distant flower bed.

I rise before dawn and cry for help;
    I have put my hope in your word.  
(Psalm 119:147)

 In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice;
    in the morning I lay my requests before you  and wait expectantly.
 (Psalm 5:3)