Category: Gardening & Nature

On Travel Part 3

The idea for Part 3 of  “On Travel” came from a news item I saw earlier this summer.  July 4 marked the 250th anniversary of Thomas Jefferson’s purchase of a place known as Natural Bridge in southwestern Virginia.  It is a rock formation featuring a giant hole or tunnel.  Virginia’s Route 11 runs over the rock ‘bridge’ and a park and trails have been developed around the site. Years ago, our family visited the Natural Bridge park.

Native Americans prized the phenomenal site, but after Jefferson’s purchase of it from King George, the property continued in private ownership and became a tourist attraction early in the twentieth century. In 2016, Natural Bridge became a Virginia state park.

At the time our family went there, the park was still privately owned.  After a long, steep stairway descent, paths take you along a creek and under the bridge.  There are caves too, which may have been how the tunnel formed.  I recall how as we walked the creekside trail, our school-aged son with typical boyhood energy, scrambled along the rocky ledge of the path.  Suddenly, he fell off the path and for a  millisecond, I wondered how far down he had fallen.  It turned out that we were not far above the creek bed but the rock gashed his leg:  it was one of those gasp parent moments!

The other fun aspect of visiting Natural Bridge at that time was an evening light show.  In 1927, Westinghouse helped create a light show spotlighting the rock formation with moving beams and colored lighting.  As the lights flashed, the creation account from Genesis was broadcast to the audience.  It was meaningful to experience a wonder of nature, technology, and creativity with credit given to God.

This past week, my Bible readings included Psalm 36 which says,

5Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the skies.
6 Your righteousness is like the highest mountains,
your justice like the great deep.

The heights and skies of the mountainous area, as well as a flowing stream with just a little depth, are on awesome display in wonders like Virginia’s Natural Bridge.  It is also comical to me that verse six ends with

“You, Lord, preserve both man and beast.”  Our son came through his fall with only a scrape!

A late summer road trip approaches for us.  We will look for God’s wonders and trust Him to preserve our travel.

The Natural Bridge, Virginia, 1852, by Frederic Edwin Church, on display at Bayly Art Museum. Charlottesville, VA

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My Summer Abroad?

I spent one summer of my college years at a science station in the Black Hills of South Dakota.  My college required completion of a summer program, and while classmates headed off to Europe and Israel, I signed up for science in South Dakota!  Cost was a factor, but I hoped checking off my academic science requirements would be easier at a camp than on campus.  I also thought field science courses seemed practical for my future as an elementary teacher.

A good plan had unfolded for my Black Hills summer studies.  My college best friend also enrolled in the program.  It was reassuring to go with someone, since it was far away and I didn’t know anyone else going.  Days before the spring semester ended, my friend met me for dinner and told me that she had decided not to go.  Her change of mind stunned me and left me questioning my plans.  I only vaguely recall considering my options, but I have a clear memory that confirming my Black Hills program plans was a step of faith that God wanted me to take.  It seems trite now, but it was big for me then.

The summer of botany, zoology and geology studies proved rewarding in every way!  I saw it then, and still do now, as confirmation that I had followed God’s plan for me. In academic subjects that had proved challenging for me in high school, I made my all-time highest college grades.  I developed a growing appreciation for the beauty of nature and the wonder of creation ( All Creatures Great and Small).  Hands-on classes were fun and engaging.  We travelled throughout the remote and beautiful Black Hills region for field trips, and I camped for the first time with new friends.  I experienced a spiritual awakening that summer too.  As I spent regular time outdoors alone with God and His Word, a personal real walk developed with Him.  Braving the program on my own turned into a time of maturing and happy expansion … yes, just west in South Dakota!

One of the reasons my Black Hills summer comes to mind occasionally is because of a song I hear on one of my regular playlists. It was not that summer’s hit tune, but a hymn sung by a student choir.  One of the guys took it upon himself to form a volunteer choir for us.  He picked a few hymns that we practiced and performed in Sunday services at one or two local churches.  I especially remember singing “How Firm a Foundation” *.  The hymn’s lyrics are vivid yet poetic, and the tune is robust, like a national anthem!

I close by sharing the first stanza of the hymn “How Firm a Foundation” because the words align perfectly with the theme of my blog:  the foundational value of God’s Word for us.

How firm a foundation ye saints of the Lord,

Is laid for your faith in His excellent word!

What more could He say than to you He hath said,

To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?

From John Rippon’s “Selection of Hymns,” 1787, Public Domain                        Based on 1 Peter 3 v 23 & v 25

* ”How Firm a Foundation” is one of several hymns Rev. Tim Keller chose for his memorial service.  The worship service in his remembrance was held last week in St. Patrick’s Cathedral (NY).  I have added the memorial link to my recent blog about him.

Photo credit of the Black Hills, SD – travelsouthdakota.com

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Living Like a Live Oak

The iconic image of a southern estate property often includes a sprawling live oak laden with cascading moss.  If you are not familiar with southern flora, you may not realize that ‘live’ does not describe the tree as not dead, but it is the name of the predominant oak variety in the south, particularly the coastal south.  A live oak inhabits our front yard, not a spectacular specimen, but other larger beauties grow on nearby properties.

The name ‘live’ refers to the presence of leaves on the tree all year long.  Live oaks shed and regrow leaves throughout the year.  But there are other good reasons for calling it live.  Live oaks are known for their longevity, easily living hundreds of years.  They also spare life and prevent destruction.  Due to their low, spreading nature and deep, strong roots, they survive coastal storms.  Early peoples knew to cling to live oaks for safety during hurricanes.  Their broad shape buffers wind and protects surrounding structures.  I find compelling beauty in the live oak’s gangly, low-spreading branches, especially when adorned with natural mossy tinsel.

The first song in the book of Psalms compares living a godly life to a prospering tree.  Psalm 1 states that a godly man flourishes like a tree planted near a good water source.  The well-watered tree produces fruit and lush foliage.  The Psalm contrasts the godly life to the “wicked,” whose life and successes are short-lived.  Psalm 1 describes right living or the righteous as separated from sinful ways and focused instead on God’s law (the Scriptures).  Whether the psalmist had in mind the elegant symmetry of a maple, or the majestic reaches of a redwood, or the unique form of a live oak, a thriving life flows out of wise spiritual habits.  Here is the first Psalm:

Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.

3 He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
4 The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
6 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.

This live oak is at Airlie Gardens in Wilmington, NC. The photo is from Wilmingtonandbeaches.com

 

 

Thankful for November’s End

I am thankful for November 30.  The date marks the end of the Atlantic Hurricane season.  In setting up a new life and our home in coastal Carolina, we accomplished a lot.  But hurricane preparation, or even having a “just in case” plan, missed our list of top priorities.  We took a risk, and I am thankful that hurricane season is soon over.  The year 2021 was an active hurricane season for the Atlantic, using all 21 storm names.   None of them swiped our area although a deadly tornado struck south of here in early spring.

A magnificent October beach day!

Talking to neighbors and new acquaintances, I observe a serious respect for storms.  Many folks have stories of damage and devasting loss due to past hurricanes.  In 2018, Hurricane Florence stalled over the area causing unprecedented flooding.  We were looking at property and houses then and we witnessed the piles of debris and blue roof tarps everywhere!  Among some lady friends recently there was disturbing recall of past hurricanes Florence, Floyd, and Fran.  I guess I better beware of storms that begin with the letter F!

Storms pack power: the ocean has fury.  This is God’s hand.  He created the earth, nature, and weather.  Its beauty awes us; its potency demands respect.  Jeremiah 31:35 says, “This is what the Lord says, he who appoints the sun to shine by day, who decrees the moon and the stars to shine by night, who stirs the sea so that its waves roar – the LORD Almighty is His name.”  Jesus’ followers also experienced amazement when He “calmed” a raging Sea of Galilee storm, saying, “What kind of man is this?  Even the winds and the waves obey Him!”  (Matthew 8:27)

Blessed with a calm Sea of Galilee sail three years ago.

Recently, I came across this poem that considers the ocean and our worshipful response, https://decisionmagazine.com/ruth-bell-graham-relentless-yearning/.  It was written by Ruth Bell Graham, wife of the Rev. Billy Graham.  Their home was in the mountains of North Carolina.

Now, let’s hope my husband and I work on a generator and flood prevention before June 1, 2022!

What’s your blend of thankfulness?

The Garden Curse

“Cursed is the ground.”  Yes, I have been wanting to write about gardening as I continue my first decade of writing.  When I began this blog, I tested the waters by posting some “glearnings” from gardening.  A new yard (and new climate and new soil) inspires me to discuss gardening again.  From an early moment when I mistakenly thought the builder had cleared out a cherished live oak, what a trial the raw landscape has been! I have no trouble understanding the Garden of Eden curse.  But like the curse of painful childbearing which culminates joyfully in a baby’s birth, “toil in the soil” richly rewards the heart and soul. (Find the two curses in Genesis 3:16-17)

I foraged this Purple Heart before we even moved in. They multiply nicely – fingers crossed!

So, what happened in our new yard?  Well, surprisingly stuff grows in sand!  We started with seeding a lawn and it worked!  Sowing grass seed in bare sand seemed impossible but the seed germinated; we have a grassy lawn except where a heavy rain washed out a hilly spot and pesty crabgrass happily filled in.

I admit that I enjoy the better end of our gardening equation:  my husband does the hard and heavy work while I play with plants.  So far, I’ve had six months of garden dabbling with a host of mishaps to show for it.  Here are a few of my fiascos:

We transported about two dozen of our favorite hostas to NC.  While waiting to be planted (on the patio table), the deer feasted one night leaving us barely a stem!  Talk about preparing a table for my (gardening) enemies, Psalm 23:5!  A few other remaining hostas set out in a border were pulverized by a strong hailstorm just a week or two later!  A transplanted oak sapling, also from Virginia, met its demise with the mower.

We were happy to take a young crape myrtle offered by neighbors and it likes the spot.

New flowers I tried ended similarly.  A splurge purchase of a beautiful unique vinca, which would reseed annually, mysteriously keeled over, probably stray herbicide!  Locally popular mandevilla vines have yielded zero growth and blooms.  Portulacas that I remember self-seeding in the sidewalk cracks of my childhood neighborhood apparently drowned with too much rain.  Four ‘o clocks that I grew from seed aren’t blooming at four o’ clock, nor at any time.  A friend sent me lily bulbs which produced lovely pink flowers but they’re another deer delicacy, so I netted them … but the netting trapped a snake, a good snake that we wanted to keep around.  (My brother-in-law managed to free it with his fishing expertise.)  Geraniums hate the heat, and torrenia didn’t fare any better.  Indoors, the Majestic Palm that I planted on Palm Sunday unfurls fresh fronds that quickly turn an unroyal brown.  But with grass underfoot, some lush potted ferns, and a planned landscape to be installed next month, we count our blessings in this new place.  I think gardeners like me embrace “the thrill of victory AND the agony of defeat,” as ABC’s Wide World of Sports used to say!

The Bible speaks often about all types of vegetation; it was written during a time when earth’s produce greatly impacted survival, keeping our ancestors attuned to their environment.  Many Scriptures suit my topic of gardening, but I will share a verse I read today.  It mentioned a tree flourishing in its native soil (Psalm 37:35).  Incorporating native flora and trees promotes the environment.  I enjoy finding and planting natives.  In the context of Psalm 37, the thriving tree compares to the flourishing of evil, when wickedness seems to thrive.  Certainly, godless philosophy gains the upper hand at times, and right living faces threats, but the rest of the verse promises this about evil times: (it) passed away and was no more and could not be found (Psalm 37:36).   We can rest well on that promise.

 

Message in a Bottle

Just weeks into living in our new home, my husband unearthed an old glass bottle from our unlandscaped yard. For me, it meant familiarity; a find ready to add to our assorted collection of found jars and glassware.

I discovered my first vintage glassware on a walk in the woods with my friend Mary. Her family owned a large property in the neighborhood, going back a couple of generations. I guess she knew a spot that had once been a dumping ground. There I dug up a cut-glass saltshaker, loving both its pretty design and nostalgic aura. Years later, I married a man who collected many antique bottles. They were medicines and various food bottles. He’d spent his growing up years in rural western New York, full of old houses and barns where antiques were plentiful.

Pictured are my first glassware find, a saltshaker; a McConnon & Co. bottle dug up in our new yard; and a nostalgic blue bottle found in Virginia, spring water from Saratoga Springs, NY!

After marriage, our house in suburban Virginia sat in an area where Civil War units once encamped. We found a bullet or two over our nearly 30 years there and various other glass items and canning jars not quite that old. When our son and his wife planned their wedding décor, they used our bottles in the table centerpieces. Vintage bottles, from youth to retirement, seem to be our story. So, wouldn’t that theme make a great blog subject, but what is the message in the bottle? My stated blog purpose is to apply truths from God’s Word to the words I write.

The tablescapes at our son’s wedding featured the couple’s photo, a table card, and one of our ‘heritage’ bottles with a fresh sprig of eucalyptus.

Let me suggest two possibilities: Just as collecting bottles has spanned my childhood to maturity, and touched the next generation too, the Gospel spans time and generations. Faith may pass from generation to generation as we subtly model and overtly share the legacy of our Christian beliefs. Be bold. Be instructive. Do so humbly. This directive is found in Psalms 48:13, 87:18 and 145:4.

Similarly, excavating an old glass bottle again here on our new property brought to mind God’s unchanging nature. Scripture promises that God remains the same without even a shadow of difference yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8, James 1:17). Such eternal assurance far outweighs the serendipitous find of another glass bottle for our collection.

I am thrilled to add something my husband wrote after hearing that my topic was on finding bottles: “Even though glass bottles are lost in the ground for hundreds of years, when they are found, nothing has deteriorated or decayed. They are cleaned off and as good as the day they were left in the ground. We see this in certain families. Spiritual foundations are intact for many generations, just as excavated glass bottles remain in good condition for centuries. Glass bottles seem to preserve themselves, but the spiritual foundations need to be preserved with dedicated precision and care.” Thank you, dear – it’s perfect!

 

Transplanted

Our transplant process from Virginia to North Carolina includes building a new house. Some, like my husband, plunge into home construction with great enthusiasm. I, on the other hand, falter at the enormity of the tasks and choices. Reviewing house plans, selecting tile, picking appliances, and determining paint colors have stressed and overwhelmed me. I dutifully did my best, but it wasn’t easy or joyful for me. Then we started talking about landscaping. Suddenly I was engaged in garden planning, enjoyably doing extra research on regional flora, and coming up with ideas for the yard. Now I am scouting local plants on our walks and harvesting seeds. My green thumb is getting back its color!

I am not a master gardener by any stretch, though I have friends who are. I do not have a good eye for layout and design. I merely like being outdoors and trying new plants. I buy nursery plants, start flowers from seed, propagate plants or forage for seeds and salvage plants on the brink. I love ‘window shopping’ at nurseries and garden centers.

I have often thought to myself that it was a good day when I could get my hands in some dirt. Even repotting a houseplant seemed to tend my soul and cheer me up. This winter I was reading a book on brain health and came across an interesting finding. There actually is something to connecting with soil. The phenomenon is called “grounding.” Any physical connection to the earth, be it hands in the dirt, bare feet on sand, or wading in a stream somehow renews us. Timothy R. Jenkins, MD, writes, “coming into direct contact with the earth with one’s skin results in immediate changes in the electrical condition of the human body and restores a healthy natural balance.” I think we innately know this: don’t kids love to make mudpies, stomp in rain puddles, and dig in the sand? My mind really was feeling good after gardening!

Here again I see the amazing truth of God and word of Scripture being discovered in science. Yes, we were made to tend the earth (Genesis 2:15, Genesis 1:26). Though gardening and farming are plagued with hardship since sin’s corruption of the perfect creation (Genesis 3:17-19), remnants of the original blessing and design remain. God gives us the healthful opportunity to work the earth and be outside in His world. And Spring is coming, earlier in Coastal Carolina than in northern Virginia!

I asked my friend Barb, who is a Master Gardener, about this asparagus fern that seems to be a perennial here. She says it can winter over in this area. She suggested harvesting stray seeds to sow – will do!

The book I read is The Aging Brain by Timothy R. Jennings, MD, 2018.

 

All Creatures Great and Small

Did you read the classic James Herriott stories retelling the experiences of an English country veterinarian? I thoroughly enjoyed reading the detailed, even graphic accounts of treating farm animals and working among simple folks in rural Yorkshire. The veterinarian turned author wrote a series of four books and he gave each a title from an English hymn: All Creatures Bright and Beautiful, All Creatures Great and Small, All Creatures Wise and Wonderful, and The Lord God Made Them All.

This delicate flower named Toad Lily is blooming in my yard now.

Cecil Frances Alexander wrote those words in 1848. Her lyrics reflected tenants of The Apostles Creed and may have been inspired by Psalm 104. The poem’s wording also echoed a stanza from Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s “Rime of the Ancient Mariner.” Whatever her inspiration, the concept of God’s creatures is now well-established in the English lexicon.

Amazing how the moth perfectly mimics the leaf.

All God’s creatures, great and small, amaze me. I’m not a biologist (that’s my husband and daughter) but I appreciate the order, complexity, beauty, and creativity of living things, especially little things like flowers and insects. Field botany and biology courses in college piqued my interest in God’s tiniest creatures, starting with microscopic algae! My classmates and I collected, preserved and identified an assortment of plants and bugs. We became quite competitive regarding the varieties and sizes of our specimens, which would partially determine our course grade. I give much credit to one of my professors, Dr. Dorothy Chappell, who always pointed the origins of our amazing world to its amazing Creator.

Never did figure out what insect this was. It was about 4 inches long; maybe an unusual dragonfly variety.

God’s created organisms can all rightly be called God’s creatures, but another phrase is not so accurate. “God’s children” is an expression that some use to refer to all people.   This is a misnomer. God’s children are those who have joined God’s family by means of repentance of their self-sufficiency, claiming instead dependence on God’s forgiving work through Jesus alone. Those are the only ones who can rightly be called “God’s children.” John 3:16 tells us that this opportunity is open to all, but the choice is ours.

The ‘walking stick’ and the featured praying mantis are two of my favorite insects. I see the incredible uniqueness of God’s handiwork in them.

The letter or epistle of First John (not the Gospel of John) uses the expression “children of God” several times. My pastor, David Platt, is currently preaching a sermon series on this book of the Bible. His sermons on First John can be found on-line at www.mcleanbible.org/sermons.

Deeply Rooted

I began plant propagation experimenting with a date palm.   At about 10 years old, I got a pit from a dried date and decided to plant it to try to grow a palm tree.  I covered the pit with dirt and set my flowerpot in a sunny window.  I watered and waited.  After many weeks, actually it turned into months, the pot remained unchanged.  I figured my seed was dead so I dug into the pot.  To my great delight, the pit had sprouted and was sending up a shoot.  I filled the soil back in and eventually witnessed the emergence of a mini palm tree complete with leafy fronds.  I guess that success hooked me!

Succulents are easy to root and that’s how I got all these. Mezoo is a favorite tropical.

I have grown quite a few trees since then. From its fruit I have grown a paw paw tree, a Hardy Orange, and an Osage tree.  In addition to those three, our yard includes some sassafras trees and a mulberry, as well as Rose of Sharon, barberry and grape holly shrubs that were raised from replanted saplings or cuttings.  Some of our evergreens came from the north and from Forest Department saplings given away at the New York State Fair.  Many of our woodland perennials grew from transplants from elsewhere or were shared by gardening friends.  Once established, a lot of these kinds of plants naturalize again on their own and fill in large areas or they can be passed on to the next gardening friend.

I call this the candy corn vine: it blooms in October. Its real name is Mina Lobata, Spanish
Flag vine, and it’s one of my few seed successes this year.

Rooting plant cuttings yields the most reward for me. It’s so easy to snip a vine or side stem, plop it into water, and watch the roots appear!  My husband collected antique glass bottles which now serve as lovely vases for my windowsill cuttings.  My green thumb is much fainter however, when it comes to starting from seeds.  I buy and plant seeds every year but few seem to make it all the way to the flowerbeds.  Some germinate but I’ve discovered that growing to garden size is challenging.  I understand why plant nurseries have to charge so much for annuals. I think an elegant glass conservatory would be the perfect place to tend my tiny plants and I discovered an abandoned greenhouse nearby, but somehow I’ve been unable to convince my husband that he should relocate it to our property!

My potting still life. It was a sharing project.

The Bible says a lot about planting. Ancient cultures survived through cultivation. “Have your roots planted deep in Christ. Grow in Him. Get your strength from Him. Let Him make you strong in the faith as you have been taught. Your life should be full of thanks to Him.” (Colossians 2:7) The Apostle Paul explains that to be strong in faith, you have to grow a good root system.  This takes effort and the right growing conditions.  Getting to know God by reading the Bible, listening to teaching from Scripture, and being around others who have Christian faith will give you a healthy growth spurt.

I also love how the first Psalm paints a vivid image of a vigorous tree to describe the life of strong faith. https://www.bible.com/bible/111/PSA.1.NIV

Footnote: The cuttings photograph credit goes to my daughter.

The Solar Eclipse: Brought to You by the Creator God Almighty

1 The heavens proclaim the glory of God.                                                     The skies display his craftsmanship.                                                              2 Day after day they continue to speak;                                                             night after night they make him known.                                                  3 They speak without a sound or word;                                                       their voice is never heard.                                                                             4 Yet their message has gone throughout the earth,                                  and their words to all the world.                                                              Psalm 19: 1 – 4 (New Living Translation)

Today’s solar eclipse captivates millions of us. I don’t know if you got the protective eyewear or will even get a break outside as it occurs, but this celestial phenomenon made big news!

That’s exactly what Psalm 19, as quoted above, states. The sky speaks to us and it clearly speaks of God.  Truly all of nature points to its Creator.  The beauty of mountains, flowers, snow, and the big cats as well as the power of oceans, wind, volcanoes, and earthquakes remind us of the Divine.  These tell of God without words and through a common language.

But the heavens are a unique impression of God. The sky is something that can always be seen and it can always be seen by everyone.  That is not true of the ocean or snow or wild cats.  The firmament also has a way of suggesting eternity.  Where does the dawn come from and how far do the stars go and why is the sky so vast?  We think these thoughts as we gaze heavenward.

So as you join in the eclipse excitement today, consider that God is sending sky watchers His message.