The Mighty Maple Tree

There is a beautiful maple tree in our back yard near the back of the fence that runs along the south side of the house. It’s up against a busy street. In fact, our town’s summer parade runs right along that street in the beginning of July. I’m excited to see what happens with traffic and neighbors with this old-fashioned community event that involves beauty queens, animals, large loud marching bands and public safety vehicles with sirens. My kids are hoping they’ll toss candy to them, but more about the parade when it happens.

The maple tree reaches to the sky, and I just marvel at the beauty of the spring green and smooth to rugged sections of bark. I know as a home owner we’d run into issues of having to rake all the leaves that are bound to fall as the temps dip lower, the sun retreats south, and the smell of autumn approaches. All the hard work will be worth it if the colors of fall are as spectacular as I imagine they might be.

But, somehow I forgot about what maple trees do in the spring time. They do indeed flow mercilessly a sweet and fragrant sap through their veins, and burst forth with a delicious sticky substance if tapped early just before the ground thaws. I forgot about the part where they sprout seeds and hurl them uncommitted to the air – letting the little twirly-whirls land where they will. My back yard is completely covered, littered, with these “helicopters” as my children so fondly call them, and as we called them as children. Raking in the seeds, and picking them out from around the veggies is quite a treat – not really. Sigh…the seasons of life are interesting – even to a tree.

Liberal or Conservative?

As a child of the 60’s and 70’s, I was raised on news from the world around me (my parents, TV, radio, school) from marches and stands for civil-rights, against the Vietnam war, to news about Watergate and the Nixon era. My formative high school years were lived during the Regan presidency, and college in the late 80’s had me spray painting “Jesse Jackson ’88!” with Kool-Aid in the snow outside the apartment building in Duluth. I live in MN, which by most accounts is a liberal state with conservative Lutheran roots. I’ve ashamedly mostly voted Republican since leaving college, and consider myself a down-right independent. I was very undecided about the last presidential vote, up until the week before election day. I did my homework, I checked out the issues, and I voted my conscience.

I’m being drawn into the internet lately, by things that interest me, intrigue me, evoke emotion from me, and heal me. I am trying to discover who I am and why I think the way I do. I guess, I am being surprised by the crazy notion that I’m toggling between what in the past I’ve considered are polar opposites in thinking.

So, I guess I’m liberal because I grow my own veggies, live in community, care about the poor, homelessness, feeding the hungry, the environment, saving the whales, social justice, loving people, gay-rights, civil-rights, tolerance, acceptance, etc. See Takepart.com, social action. I visit with my neighbors, I spend time with elderly friends, I write a blog…need I say more? Ha.

I guess I’m conservative because I have political and religious beliefs about less spending, less taxing, less government, more bottom line truth. I’m pro-life, anti-embryonic stem-cell research, pro-military. I think it’s okay to own your own gun – although neither my husband (an army sharp-shooter) or myself do at this point in our lives. I would say that sex is only sanctified within a marriage between one man and one woman. I also have difficulty with prejudices against different races or sexual orientation. I also have strong opinions about sin in its simplest and ugliest forms. I believe in loving others, as Jesus loves us. But, how are we to know what He would do, say, act in our world today.

My life is lived as simply as I can. I’m a working mom. I have a full-time job in a church. I have 2 wonderful young children. I have a husband who also works full time, who loves me, and I’m madly in love with him. We live in the suburbs of Minneapolis, and just purchased our first home 6 months ago. I can honestly say, we have it made. We are blessed beyond anything I could have ever imagined. It’s in all of this abundance of blessings and love, that I can truly say that I am becoming more keenly aware of serving, loving, and being in community with others. Scary new territory, but somehow it feels really good. Even if no-one reads my stuff – I know I’m writing this blog for me, and maybe for my kids.

 

Killing the indoor plants

So, I moved my potted palm tree from my living room to the outside deck…thinking it would benefit from some good energizing direct sunlight. After all, it’s a tropical plant. I’ve been watering it, but the outside leaves are turning brown and crispy – so maybe I’ve either sun-burned it, or frozen it with the cooler temps we’ve been having at night. I forgot to bring it in for several weeks. Bummer.

There are still new shoots coming up from the inside – but they don’t seem to be as dark brown as it has been in the past, either. I wonder if it’s got some disease, or I’ve drowned it or really killed it. <sigh>

 

songbirds nest

There’s a birds’ nest under the soffit of the house in a corner in the gutter – right outside the screened in porch. I found out it’s a robin, after she barked (aka chirped loudly) at me while I was on the phone with my mom. She couldn’t get to the nest while I was watching her. She continued to dive directly at me and then make a sharp turn away from the screen. They are much larger than I remember as a child. Crazy momma bird!  

Apparently whenever she goes in there, we can hear several little ones chirping away under there – hungry no doubt. Since it’s not like the swallows who burrowed into the front cedar siding, we’re letting this songbird stay for a little while. I figure, when they’re out of there, we can go up and clean it out. I’m sure she or another robin family will be back again next spring. She can have all the worms she wants from my garden, and there are a lot of them. I just don’t want her to touch any of my veggies as they start to get a bit bigger.

6 tomato plants are in the ground…and I still need to put the vine plants – squash, watermelon, zucchini, pumpkins, etc – into the ground this week. I was so hoping to get it all done by this past Memorial weekend…but with no luck. I did get a few of my rose bushes trimmed back and weeded around them in the front. It’s not complete, by any means, but every day a little bit feels like all I can do.

Maybe I can find a few hours each evening this week to do a little something. I’ve got to stop obsessing about these plants. I’ve been watering the lawn a bit, and I think that helps, to not see so many weeds and dry ground all over. Oh well…more patience is required.

Minor muscles aches

Picking up tools, digging, squatting, grabbing, shaking off the dirt, turning it over, pulling out the roots, moving it over, considering placement, stopping to chat with neighbor, bending, putting away tools, shaking weed control and fertilizer, raking, watering …

 

That was my Saturday. 5 hours of cold breezes and maybe a little sunshine left me with sore hamstrings, knees, and lower back. I stretched them out on Sunday and today, and hope my muscles will get stronger with each new day in the yard. I’m still so grateful for the time to be in the garden, for this house and property of ours, and for the glorious weather. Today is 81 degrees, and still a bit breezy. A little more rain would be nice, but I’ll take the sunshine for now in May. Soon enough it will be too hot and I’ll be complaining about that.

 

 

Just keep weeding...

Join me won’t you? Eveybody sing to the tune of Dory’s theme (from the movie Finding Nemo) “Just keep weeding, weeding, weeding….just keep weeding.”

I decided to sit on the couch last night instead of getting outside. I laid down 7 rolls of sod on bare patches in our yard earlier in the day. Now, it’s watering time…and weeding time…and killing creepy crawlies time. Off to Home Depot tonight for a productive weekend in the yard tomorrow.

 

Preparing the soil

It’s good to take inventory, to figure out what’s going on. Then, to take it one part at a time to examine what to keep, and what to dig up and toss away. I’ve waited a month to see what was going to come up in the yard, in this space, and simply find out what was there before tackling the job. But now, it’s time. It’s time to clear the brush, loosen the soil, nourish it with fertilizer and water, and carefully choose what things to plant and what things to move. I guess I didn’t think about it this way last night as I stooped, pulled, bent over, dug in, and cleared the ground…but it feels good to put this space to something that is “rightly ordered.”

Because I work full time days, I find that this new hobby of gardening is starting to become an obsession. My neighbor came over last night and mentioned that she sees me out in the yard every night. I explained that there are some nights when I’m not out there, but that I feel the summer is so short in MN, so I have to make the most of every moment I have. Besides, it’s really good for me to have the quiet time in the garden, pulling up weeds, preparing the soil, smelling the compost, and feeling the cold wind against my arms as a strong cold front came through yesterday.

I got 1/3 of the side vegetable garden prepared last night. I turned up the soil to find tangled webs of spaghetti like strands of crabgrass roots that reach deeper than I can dig. I shook out the dandelions’ carrot-like roots and was careful not to get hurt around the prickly stuff and thistle growing rampantly in that untamed wilderness I call a garden. Thank goodness for new tools and good gloves. I was out there in the cool air from the time I got home at 5:30 until the sun went down. I portioned off a third as a goal, and actually made some good progress. I dug up the onions that were spreading like weeds around the perimeter, and moved them to a more orderly place – so they frame that section of the garden nicely. I planted eggplant and cucumbers last night. The rest of the pint-sized containers of veggies will hopefully go into another cleared spot tonight.

We talk about how important it is to live rightly ordered with our finances, power, sexuality, and moral conduct. If it’s a parallel to this garden, then boy, it’s been a huge mess. I can see how hard it is to get it back “right” when it’s been left to go to weed and wild entanglement by itself. A parallel to the way I find myself – left to allow scattered seeds of negative thoughts and disappointment with others and self get planted in my soul. It’s time to dig and remove them before they bury themselves deeper and then the roots are more difficult to remove. I can pull the weeds out, but most times I’m really just breaking off the roots below the ground. Will they pop back up again? Will they find nourishment again to grow and take over the rightly order of this garden I call my soul? Not if I can help it. Of course, it will take daily monitoring…to weed, and check on the veggies, and to water. Do I choose to daily monitor how rightly ordered my own life is? Oh man…this time in the garden is really getting into me. I don’t know it that’s a good thing or not. I don’t want to get too introspective of me – but to look up and out instead – looking out to what others need. I’m hoping that regular maintenance will help me keep it in check.

I hope to get the tomatoes and rhubarb into the ground tonight…and when I clear enough space for the zucchini, squash and watermelon – those will be next. I hope I have energy to tackle this tonight.

patience and waiting...

This weekend at church we sang a worship song called “Everlasting God.” My favorite lyrics are “Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord, wait upon the Lord, we will wait upon the Lord.” What?! I have to wait for His timing?! Seriously?! I’m not good at waiting for anything. I want it now, immediately after I put in the work, I expect things to happen, to change, so I notice there’s a change. This garden and yard are such an analogy for how I see my life and my journey with Christ. Although I’m not good at waiting, I do know that His timing has always been perfect in our lives. Our marriage, our children, our financial struggles, our new home, our jobs, etc.

So many websites to look at when I search “lawn care” on Google. I’m learning that the internet can be a handy resource for “weeding” through all the advice I’m getting from friends, neighbors, and family. My husband mowed the lawn on Mon night, bagged the back and mulched the front yard. As it was the first time, it was a bit short cut – the ground is terribly uneven in so many areas, and you’ve read about my dandelion obsession. I’m going to pick up another bottle of weed-b-gone. It’s helped a bit, but not like I had hoped. I must have missed all the ones that weren’t to the surface yet. Somehow the timing of the rain each week, the mowing on Monday, the fertilizing last week…all will have an effect on this yard. The slow progression is somehow a frustration for me. I want a beautiful weed-free yard today. Our church has free sod available this week. I’m hoping to pick up a few rolls to fill in the bare spots in the yard. I’m hoping to fill in those spots, and have instant gratification for a beautiful lawn. I know I have to water it – but it should be much faster to lay down roots of already established grass than to spread seed and wait for it to show up.

Now, new dilemma. We have ants beginning to show up in trails around the outside of the house, and more than a few spiders on the inside of the house. Next step is pest control.

I can’t wait to enjoy this yard, garden & porch. Patience is something I’m struggling with today. I pray for God’s patience with me as I learn to be patient with the yard, my life, and all things in it.

too much time

I’m spending so much time trying to upload photos of my yard to my blog, it’s driving me crazy! I’m not up on html, so I’m struggling to figure out why the embedding link to put a shockwave flash slideshow from Picasa is not working on Blogger, especially when I access both of them through Google.  AAARRRGGGGGHHHH…..

 

So…visit the photos HERE if you like.

 

Blisters & callouses

What is it about digging up dandelions that brings about blisters on one’s hands?

I wore gloves. The ground was soft in most places. I still have this sore red spot on the palm of my right hand. The sky sprinkled a little rain on me yesterday afternoon as I tugged and dug down deep to get to the heart of the roots without pulling up the viable plants around them. It amazed me that those roots were so thick and long…most of them just got broken off. Some of the weeds were the size of dinner plates, and I had to get them before they go to seed. So, I’m sure I’ll still be spraying weed-b-gone on them soon. Just waiting for a warm sunny day to let it really soak down and get to them.

Our to-do list is getting longer. Company is coming this weekend, and we’d like time to entertain and enjoy their company. Actually, it’s family who’s coming over…and there’s always just a little hesitation when someone so close, but so far away comes to visit. I talk to my mom 2-3 times a day by phone, and then get to see her at least once or twice a week, sometimes more when she’s supervising the 10-yr-old on a day away from school. I’m not concerned about her. She’s the one who loves me no matter what. She has strong opinions, and I can usually never keep up with her expectations, but I don’t fret about it anymore, because of our relationship. We help each other out, and keep each other honest. We’ve talked through some difficult issues, and let each other into some tender places of hurt and joy. She’s not the family I’m concerned about.

I don’t get to see my dad that much. He and mom divorced just after I graduated from college. He lives on the road in an RV, and spends his winters in the southern states, mostly Texas. He’s coming north this week. I called him on his milestone birthday last week, and wondered when he’d stop by to see our new house. He said he was ready to start driving, and that it takes 5-7 days. He called this morning from Kansas and said he’s hoping to be to our place by Saturday sometime. It’ll be so good to see him. He doesn’t expect much, he’s pretty laid back in most ways, and understands how to love people in their mistakes. I’ve forgiven him for the pain he brought to the family, and I hope he’s forgiven me for my youth. In the past few years, I believe he’s beginning to understand how I feel about family, and how being a parent to my two kids has changed me. I’m not the little kid with the braces anymore, or the rebellious teenager of my youth. I think I know who I am. Our relationship in these few years is growing sweeter and deeper, although still not as regularly fed as my relationship with mom. It’s good to come to grips with my childhood.

I’m someone with a few more blisters now. The callouses are from hard work, and continuous work with tools that groom and shape the relationships that I have, and the person I want to be. They don’t go away as quickly as blisters, but they also aren’t as painful either. They are the hardened scars of skin that has been worked, used, and toughened up by intensely loving others. They still need care, so as not to cause discomfort or rub someone the wrong way. Salve or cream doesn’t heal a blister, but softens a callous, with tenderness and gentleness, and kindness. Only time heals blisters. And so, with more digging and working, that section of my hand where the blister currently lives may become a callous, or just find time to heal. It’ll be interesting to find out as I work some more in the yard.

A moment to enjoy the peace

“If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.”  ~Anne Bradstreet

 

My weekends are so full of busyness. As a full time working mom, I feel that I only have limited amount of daylight to attend to matters outside. I live in Minnesota, so the winters are cold and sometimes harsh, and that’s the best time to do indoor projects. It’s at a time like this, in the fresh, not-too -hot spring air that I feel energized. So much of my evenings and weekends are spent on “doing” stuff. And yet, I value so highly just “being.”

“Be still, and know that I am God.” ~ Psalm 46:10

 

Last night I finished assembling the last pieces of my new patio furniture set. I then washed down the winter dust with a hose, and waited for the rain to come. I went inside and closed up all the windows for the night. This morning, I moved out to the porch to set a plant out to catch some drops of rain and sun. I chose to sit outside on a chair and listen. The birds were chirping something furious, but somehow peaceful. The hum of the traffic, the glistening dew on the grass, the crisp but not too cold air of spring – all helped me stay central to why I’m here. I am so blessed. This house, the screened in porch, the furniture, the quiet moment, my waking children, a steaming hot cup of coffee, is all such a dream come true. I feel as though my Heavenly Father has lavished amazing gifts upon me. And I feel so overwhelmingly blessed. It truly is about the moments in time that just stop everything around us and take our breath away.

 

So where do I begin?

That’s the question that not only describes what I want to share here, but also how I feel about my yard. I feel so overwhelmed, and have a huge “to-do” list. I think I’m detail and organizationally gifted. After all, that’s part of my day job. I do it well, and I keep track of all kinds of things from planning calendars to making sure a follow up call gets made. I don’t know this new job of mine (as a homeowner and now gardener) was going to be so detailed as well. Perhaps it won’t feel that way in the growing season of summer. I’m hoping that maintenance will be easier than springtime, because I will have learned a few things about these plants and yard that I didn’t know before.

Saturday was a very full day for me. I had a baby shower for a friend, birthday party for my nephew, and we bought a lawnmower later that same afternoon. My husband chose one that was comfortable for him, and I think he was kind of excited about it. We had a nice dinner out with my mom, and then took a quick look over the lawn, gardens, and just settled in at dusk.

Sunday after church, we made the usual run to Walmart and Sam’s Club to get personal stuff and groceries. We went home for lunch, and then started in with chores. My husband made a trip back to the store to pick up a patio furniture set we liked, and he made two trips back and forth to the store to bring it all home in our small SUV. The kids played outside while I raked the yard – and I actually got ½ the backyard cleaned up. I transplanted 2 hostas and a Siberian Iris that Bob gave us last week. I watered them good, but the soil is very thick – clay mostly. I hope they survive. I may have to dig them up again and put in more fertile soil, but we’ll see how it goes for a couple of weeks.

Friends brought over a pot of flowers (geraniums, and something else?) that needs full sun, so I set it on the front step by the door facing west. I think it’s a pretty combination of purple, red, and green. They also brought over a tray of veggie plants – 2-3 types of tomatoes, peppers, onions, squash, pumpkin, zucchini, and watermelon. I purchased them from the boy-scout troop. I said they could keep the onions, because we already have so many growing in the weedy garden. In fact, I had my first harvest yesterday. Green onions were very large and beginning to bulb on top, but I dug up 3 sets anyhow. There’s a lot scattered throughout the whole area. I’m going to see if I can gather them together in one square box of the garden.

I stayed up a little later after dinner to put together the patio furniture, and I’m half-way done. My arms, neck, legs, and hands are sore and calloused…and ibuprofen is becoming my best friend at night. My eyes and nose are running a bit, and I need to remember to take some allergy meds to be able to enjoy the outdoor dust and pollen. I know this is just the beginning. I’m learning to pace myself. It’s supposed to rain tomorrow, but I didn’t pay attention to how much is expected. I’ll take each day as it comes, and start writing down that to-do list today.

Rain, rain, thanks for the rain...

So much rain the last two weekends, and the grass is growing, and so are the dandelions! YIKES!

But, that means we need to buy a lawnmower this weekend. I suppose we’ll get some materials to build a compost heap, too. Hoping we keep it brown enough to not smell up the neighborhood with rotting greens. All of the lovely dried trimmings I had from cutting down the ornamental grasses got hauled away by our garbage collector last week, because they only pick up that stuff once a month, and I didn’t have a compost heap yet. Oh well…I’m sure there’s more where that stuff came from. Especially since we got so much rain that the grass is actually getting a bit long. It’ll be good to mow it, then fertilize with crab-grass controller, and then spray those ugly dandelions.

Did I tell you we have dandelions? I think there was too much time between the previous owners in the house and the end of the season, because they took such good care of the place, but the veggie garden is awfully weedy, and the dandelions are all over the place. I’m going to try that vinegar stuff on one small section of them, and see how many applications I’ll need to really kill them. Then, hopefully, I won’t kill the grass around them. I guess I’m buying Weed-B-Gone when we go to Home Depot for that lawn mower.