Garden Weekend!

So we made some large changes in the backyard this weekend. Not only did we plant our church garden at the Gunns on Sunday, but we spent all of Saturday in the backyard with Hayes and Jezzy. Richard, God bless that man, dug 8 very large and difficult holes to house our new roses! For those of you who are unaware, the soil around here should not be called soil at all. It's clay. It's such hard clay, that Richard had to use the sledge hammer on the shovel in order to dig the holes out. We filled them three-quarters of the way full with water Saturday afternoon and on Sunday morning, they had only drained half the water that was in them. I must say, the hard work is going to pay off nicely; these roses will be beautiful!



We also widened both the beds in the back, planted a couple of lavendar plants (ringed with white marble chips), and added two containers for veggies (due to the unfriendliness of said soil). We should have lots of lovely heirloom tomatoes, as well as basil, peppers and spinach this summer. Hayes even decided he wanted a strawberry plant and spent his allowance on one! (Shades of Eleanor at 3.) We are hoping to get one more whiskey barrel for the far corner of the yard to be filled with annuals. But we were just too tired this weekend to get there!

The Small And Mighty Garden

So we finally planted our wonderful garden as a church. I am so proud of us! We are going to learn so much about each other and how to be a community. Don't get me wrong; I think it'll be really hard work, maybe even drudgery sometimes. But I am excited none-the-less. Here is a copy of the Garden Blessing and some photos of the endeavor. It was a marvelous morning. (Scroll all the way down for all the pics!)



Garden Blessing

Leader:
Our garden began as a small idea and has become something we would never have imagined. This garden will be a place of hard work. We will learn the lessons of toil and patience, disappointment and surprise. We will be rewarded in the end with lessons we never saw coming, both negative and positive.

We will be reminded that we are not in control; no matter how attentively we tend it, we are only one factor in the life of this garden.

We will learn to live in the ambiguity of waiting: waiting for the sun to shine, the rain to fall, the plants to sprout, the fruit to ripen.

We will be reminded in our weeding that getting to the roots is of utmost importance. If we don’t, the weeds will return again and again.

We will find power in being in collaboration with nature and with God.

We will be reminded about our commitment to our community. We know we cannot create a garden and walk away. The garden will have to be taken care of, even when we don’t want to do it, or when we are sick, or on vacation, or very, very, tired.

We will be rewarded with nourishment of all kinds in the tending of this garden. It is my sincere wish that the lessons of the garden will be rich for us all.


**Process around the garden singing “He’s got the whole world in His hands.”

**Children will plant some seeds in the garden.

**Everyone holds hands.

Blessing:

Almighty, everlasting God, sower and nourisher of the heavenly Word, you till the ground of our hearts with spiritual tools. Hear our prayers, please & pour your blessings upon these sprouting seeds, strengthen them in the gentle movement of soft winds, refresh them with the dew of heaven, and let them grow to full maturity for the good of body and soul. Grant us a sense of constant gratitude for your many gifts, so that the hungry may find rich nourishment in the fruits of the earth; so that we may find patience as we wait for the harvest; so that we may find wisdom in the working of this earth.

Inane Conversations

So I am checking out today at Trader Joes and suddenly the check out guy thinks I am his best friend. He doesn't want to stop with the customary, "How are you today?" Which I answer with a complete and utter lie (as is customary), "Fine." No; he goes on to ask what the rest of my day holds. Really?!

I almost blurt out that after a weekend of complete self-doubt, angst over parenting, and over-analyzing the bulk of my life, I am off to wrestle my most likely uncooperative child into a swim suit and shuffle him off to swim lessons, after which I will run home and prepare a beautiful, orgainic, gourmet meal for my family of five, then, while he is kicking and screaming I'll put my child to bed because my husband just doesn't seem to be able to make it happen before nine, then for dessert I think I'll have a very difficult conversation with one of my dearest relatives. Perhaps I can even find time to make my famous granola later in the evening. I mean really, WTF? Is he expecting this sort of answer? No. He wants to hear what I tell him, which is that I am off make dinner and soak in the tub. Perhaps that's my real fantasy: that all I will have left to do at the end of the day is make dinner and soak in the tub.

It sure sounds good right about now.

Overheard in Indianapolis

Upon returning from a garden show....

Amy: Guess what I bought today!
Dad: I don't know.
Amy: Not that it's a political statement of any kind, but a Bleeding Heart plant; or is it a bush?
Dad: No Bush has EVER been accused of being a bleeding heart!

The Honeymoon Is Over

Ok, so my crush was quick-lived. I had another pilates class yesterday; this one was with 5 others who all seemed experienced, and a different instructor. There was far less emphasis on breathing and this instructor had us using weights and rings and all sorts of "enhancements." She seemed very into the effects of the excercise (the fabulous body I am actually convinced she was born with) and not so much the benefits of the workout. Later she confessed that she needed a hot workout to really feel motivated. Yeah, not feeling so much that way myself.

I will say, though, just as Mr. Udall said to his beloved waitress, Carol: You make me want to be a better woman. And for that, I am proud of myself. I forsee a long relationship with the E-word, and pilates. But you can be damn sure I'll try to stick with Corinne as my instructor. She was much more in tune with the wholeness of the workout -- not just the results.

The E-Word

So I have this on-again, off-again relationship with excercise. I believe in it, I really do. I love it when I do it, but when I get out of practice, it just seems too much to deal with, not worth it, or just plain too much work (I forget about that fabulous euphoria I get after a great workout). And it is SOOO hard to get back in the swing of things again. I'm such a creature of habit.

Today I started a pilates class and I have a twitter-pated springtime crush! I am on-again, at least for the time-being. I have this feeling that once I can move my abdomen, I will be right back in the studio, working my core and breathing like a fool. I LOVE this stuff!

Spring?

A week ago we were out golfing. We played our first round since last fall. It felt good. I got my first farmer's tan of the year (certain not to be my last) and I remembered why I desperately want that King Cobra off-set driver with the men's shaft. I out-drove my dad twice! Hayes and his dad planted some flowers in the front, the coyotes were scavenging behind the house, and all our bulbs were happily sunning themselves.

And this week, it has been like the return of February. Certainly no golf. No more planting for a bit. The bulbs have survived as has the Magnolia, which was not fully open yet, but damn! It's cold! And Jezzy can't for the life of her figure out what happened to the sun. We hear that our neice and nephew in Baltimore may actually have an Easter Egg hunt in snowsuits. I realize that it is only April, but I am ready for the return of spring.

My Love My Church

We had a most fruitful meeting tonight. It did not take the direction I thought it would, but when does that ever happen? And furthermore, when it does happen, it never seems to be quite what I had hoped for.

We are in a period of transition, our little community. And I love the way we are handling ourselves. This is not to say that we aren't stepping on toes or making poor decisions. I am certain we stepped on toes tonight. But honestly, that was one of the most important things that happened. Because it opened the door to a discussion we might not have otherwise had. And it helped us to gain insight into one another. Most of all, by the end of the evening, we were not just more comfortable with each other, but we had new information that will help guide us in our future dealings and decision making.

I am really proud of us. I can't wait to see what happens next. I think we are ready for the next step in our journey, and we are taking it together. It feels really good.