Category Archives: Gratitude

May 18, 2018 · 11:52 am

FRIDAY FUN

It all began by accident, really.

My new neighbor Alison

Wanted to learn to knit.

Then the next week Carrie decided to join us.

We picked late Friday afternoons

To get together.

And eventually John started showing up

Offering wine.

Then Carrie and Alison decided

We needed to expand on this idea

And before you knew it

Every women in our church

Was invited for some Friday Fun.

The rules

Such as they are

Are simple.

The hostess is in control

Of food

Of drink

Of activity

Or the lack there of.

Last Friday was my turn.

And what with it being mid-May

It only seemed natural

To gather in my garden house

And do a little flower arranging.

Then Christianne

“Knower” of all things royal

Realized it was the week before the royal wedding.

And the plan grew.

A little flower arranging.

A little lesson on royal wedding traditions

And a lot of silliness.

Something I don’t often let happen.

Not that I’m dower…

I’m not

But I just don’t get silly often enough.

So with a few plastic tiaras

And a royal name tag game

We were off.

Cramming seventeen women

And their flower vases

Into my garden house.

We are an eclectic group

Ranging in age from 30’s to

Well multiples of 30!

Carrie made peach and strawberry bellinis

Christianne made a lemon blueberry cake

As close as we could get to the upcoming

Lemon and elderberry royal masterpiece.

After a few brief instructions.

Everyone dove into the flowers

I had cut and conditioned.

It’s not been a prolific flower spring

What with our mid-April freeze

So I foraged a bit.

Using Columbine along with some Arugula gone to seed.

A bit of blooming sage

And of course Euonymous

Because it lines two sides of my fence

And I can never cut enough of it

To keep it out of my path.

Also because I’ve known it to last

Something like 3 weeks before it wilts.

It’s the titanium of flower arranging.

So there you have it.

A recipe for fun.

Friends…flowers…frivolity

With a side of royalty!

Gail

(alias Lady Edith Peg Rural Route!)

1 Comment

Filed under Arugula, Bouquets, Columbine, Euonymus, Flower Arrangements, Gardening Friends, Gratitude, Sage, Uncategorized

May 13, 2018 · 9:27 pm

“RRANGEMENTS”

I bought these little enameled vases

Years ago

At “Crazy Days”

And only remember using them once.

Until Harper and Henry discovered them

One Easter.

They spent most of that Friday

Snapping off tulips

To make “rrangements”.

So, of course, I had to send some home with them.

Later that year when I visited.

I noticed these little vases all over their house

They were constantly changing the flowers

Kids love to pick flowers

And they seldom leave enough stem

To actually put in a vase.

So these tiny renditions

Were just the ticket.

Kids also learn by watching.

And they have a splendid example

Of arranging in their mother.

In all the years of their marriage

There are always flower arrangements around

When we visit.

In the guest room

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On the fireplace mantel

And kitchen window sill

Along with the dining table.

The kids have picked up on this

Often having flowers in their room.

Luckily, Elliott is good at growing flowers

Supplying dahlias and roses and hydrangeas

All season long.

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It’s the simple things

That we often remember about our childhoods.

The smell of my mother’s pies in the oven.

The warmth of the fire that my father

Built each winter day.

Standing over my grandmother’s floor furnace

Making my night gown into a warm balloon.

The roses at her front door.

I’m thankful for the memories

That Kristina and Elliott are creating

For their family.

And happy that flowers are part of those memories.

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Happy Mother’s Day

Gail

7 Comments

Filed under Children in the Garden, Dahlias, Flower Arrangements, Gardening, Grandchildren, Gratitude, Hydrangea, roses, Uncategorized, Vases

May 21, 2017 · 8:28 pm

ROOTS

I woke up this morning

Thinking about roots

A word that has a double meaning in my life

Since I have deep roots in the prairie

Being the fourth generation to

Live on these plains.

I come from a long line of farmers

My father

Both grandfathers.

The great grandfathers

Whose story I know

And likely those whose stories I don’t know.

And my mother

Grandmothers

And great grandmothers

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Who farmed along side

Their fathers and husbands.

So I’m genetically connected

To the land.

It’s interesting to me

To see how this genetic predisposition

Translates from generation

To generation.

My great grandfathers

And grandfathers farmed to survive

On the plains .

During the Dust Bowl.

To provide for their large families

Who helped them work the land.

My father’s generation

Would have to be more creative

To continue to farm.

Many taking non farm jobs

To help make the farm work.

Then came my generation.

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No farmers among us.

But in me farming morphed into gardening

Serious gardening.

Rooted in a love of watching things grow.

Knowing that the weather can be

Your greatest friend

Or foe

Now comes Elliott’s generation

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In the span of a few weeks

His graceful old Redbud tree was

Frozen while in full bloom.

His beautiful Hostas were

Shredded by a 20 minute hail storm.

Only to be snowed upon the next week.

Gardening is tough

Even if or especially if you are an urban gardener.

I believe that because gardening is tough

It makes people

Tough

Resilient

Patient

Hopeful

So I’ll go to my garden

To replant dahlias

That didn’t survive the

Frigid blast of early December.

I’ll rejoice in the two purple Poppies

That will multiply in coming years,

And I’ll thank God

For the deep roots

Of my garden

And my life.

Gail

3 Comments

Filed under Farmers, Generations, Gratitude, Hosta, Poppy, Redbud Trees, Uncategorized

April 30, 2017 · 6:18 pm

THE GOOD NEWS EASTER EGG HUNT V.5

Family

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Kids

Gardens

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Friends

Community

These are the things I love

Once a year

They all roll into one afternoon.

Five years ago

My friend Kay and I hosted the first

Good News Easter Egg Hunt

For members of our church

Our neighbors

And extended families.

It quickly became a tradition.

Once again this year

Family…Kids…Gardens…Friends and Community

Came together on a sunny Saturday afternoon.

The crafts this year

Were musical instruments.

Which brings me to my friend Eddie Lou.

It’s always handy to have a music teacher

At your side.

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And that’s where we’ve been.

Side by side for the last forty plus years.

Church choir.

Raising kids

And now grand motherhood.

So it was natural

That the three of us would plan this year’s event.

Kay a master at the grand motherhood thing

And entertaining children.

Eddie Lou & Kay

Eddie Lou using her well honed teaching skills

To help children create

Rain sticks

And Drums

And Shakers

And Tambourines

More details were worked out by

Kara, Abbey and Tashana.

While Andrew and Katie provided

Bags of candy for all the kids.

Megan filled 700 Easter eggs,

And Monica supplied her famous lemon cookies

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The Ladybug release has become the highlight of the afternoon.

With kids not just expecting

To have bugs crawling up their arms.

They actually look forward to it.

Needless to say

It takes a village

A community

To create memories

To nurture

To simply share

In the joys

Of Life!

Gail

Thank you Beth Young and Jennifer Cole for the use of your marvelous pictures.

white iris

FLUTTERBYS

For weeks now

I’ve been seeing the signs

Orb spiders have arrived

Praying Mantis are hanging around

As are Locust.

Dahlias have made their debut

I can hear the band practice

At the high school football field.

Cockscomb is everywhere

And Flutterbys

Are here.

Somewhere along the way

Butterflies became flutterbys

At our house.

Elliott loved them as a child.

Even bringing them into the house

To live…briefly!

When you think about it

Flutterby is a more accurate description

Of these late summer visitors.

The Monarchs are on their way

To Mexico.

And a few are stopping by

For a snack in my garden.

They brought along their friend

The Tiger Swallowtail

Which has been impossible

To get on camera.

I can’t say enough about this season

Especially in a year

That brought such heat.

In some ways I find it

As much a source of renewal

As spring.

It’s cooler days

Are refreshing

Even though I know

My least favorite season

Is close behind.

For now

I’ll pick peppers

And tomatoes…finally

Transplant roses

And make extravagant flower arrangements.

Because fall is the season of bounty

In my garden

For that I am grateful.

Gail

Surely this is the last Easter egg out there!

3 Comments

Filed under Bugs, Butterflies, cockscomb, Dahlias, Fall, Gardening, Gratitude, late summer garden, Orb Spider, Peppers, Tomato, Uncategorized

May 29, 2016 · 2:30 am

FREE RANGE OR HOVER MOTHER

Recently I had the great joy

Of helping to care for my grandchildren.

In my case that’s twin 22 month-olds

Harper and Henry.

Or as I sometimes call them H2W.

They are as you would expect

Perpetual motion

Times 2.

So their parents wisely

Planned a few activities in advance.

On Tuesday morning

We headed to the Denver Botanical Garden

For a class on Sunflowers

Designed for 18 – 24 month-olds.

The room was all set up for the class.

An oval rug for sunflower story-time.

Toddler sized table and chairs for the 2 dozen or so participants

Which included 3 sets of twins.

And a row of adult sized chairs along the perimeter.

Henry and Harper found a chair and settled in

For whatever was to come

Kristina and I found a chair in the adult section.

When the sunflower art session started

We realized we were the only adults

Not hovering above their child.

Now, I’ve heard the phrase “hover-mother”

But I’d never seen it in action.

Folks, it’s real.

Where Henry and Harper created abstract masterpieces.

Other’s somehow formed perfect rows

Of perfect sunflowers.

It made me think of my garden

Am I a “hover-mother” gardener?

I love to putter around my flowers.

Deadheading – staking things,

Moving plants to what I think is a better location.

When I got home I realized that I’m likely

More free-range.

What with that crazy hollyhock having returned

To the front of the garden.

Not to mention Larkspur run a muck.

Later in my visit

The weather warmed up enough

For us to play outside.

Elliott provided plenty of water.

For Harper and Henry to play in.

They were generous.

A little on the plants

A little on their grandfather’s shoes.

And eventually a little on each other.

Parenting styles seem to be like gardening styles.

Some of us need to be all hands on all the time

While others step back and let nature be

What nature can be.

I’m thankful we seem to be

A free-range family.

Gail

4 Comments

Filed under Children in the Garden, Gardening, Grandchildren, Gratitude, hollyhocks, Larkspur, Sunflowers, Uncategorized

April 14, 2014 · 12:18 am

DISSONANT HARMONY

Sometimes I forget

Just how much

Music and gardens have in common.

Until this morning.

Before I left for church I reminded myself

When I get home to cut that single RED tulip

Blooming wildly in the midst

Of all those perfect pastel beauties.

It has somehow survived the year

And returned to bloom again.

But it doesn’t fit into this year’s color scheme

So…off with it’s head.

I thought.

It’s probably the only tulip

That’s ever been saved from cutting

By the tenor section!

Here’s how.

We were practicing for our annual

“Palms to Passion” service this morning.

Doing a simple yet glorious version of

“God So Loved the World”

We were sounding pretty good

Except for one measure when those aforementioned tenors

Were moving from note to note ahead of us

The melody loving soprano section.

The tenors should know this by now.

I thought.

Then I took a moment

And actually looked at the music.

They were singing it correctly.

Our parts were not the same.

We, the sopranos, were the dissonant ones.

Intended to be different from one another.

Imagine that…

Dissonant harmony in a church choir.

For some reason

This moment really resonated with me

And I began thinking that

Music is like a garden

Which is like life.

Sometimes it’s the very things that sound off tune

That resolve into true beauty.

It’s the differences that make us richer

And deeper.

Sameness is comfortable

Appealing initially.

But it is in the bounty of difference

That we experience the true nature

Of all that God created.

Music and gardens.

Some of Her best work!

Gail

1 Comment

Filed under Gratitude, Redbud Trees, spring, Spring Flowering Bulbs, tulips

Tagged as Difference, Music, Palm Sunday, Redbud Trees, Tulips

March 31, 2014 · 1:17 am

PASSIONS COLLIDING

Yesterday began with a long list

And a few hardy souls.

It was the first spring clean up day

At Faith Farm.

Over the winter two of my passions collided.

Feeding hungry people and gardening.

Hope Outreach, another local non-profit

Had built a wonderful garden about 8 years ago.

Recently they decided that they needed to find someone else to operate it.

Fortunately, that word got to Loaves & Fishes

And as of the 1st of the year

Faith Farm became a production and teaching garden of Loaves & Fishes.

Imagine a place where we can grow vegetables

Pick them in the morning

And give them to pantry clients in the afternoon.

Fresh organic produce in the hands and tummies

Of those least likely to get have access to fresh organic produce.

You gotta love a deal like that!

But remember we run Loaves & Fishes on a shoestring

With 99% volunteers.

Faith Farm will be the same

One paid employee

A passionate, knowledgable gardener named Charity

And lots of volunteers.

But where will they come from

We had maybe four people who worked the beds at L & F last year

But we need legions of volunteers to pull this one off.

So it was yesterday morning that we planned our first volunteer work day.

We spread the word and hoped for 10 maybe 12 people.

Bit by bit we stumbled into the crisp morning air.

And began to attack Charity’s very ambitious list.

People kept showing up.

Mostly middle school kids.

4 – H boys

honor society members & cheerleaders

grandchildren

kids

21 in all

We chatted and worked and experienced new things.

A few early spears of asparagus right out of the ground

Made a first time fun mid morning snack.

The sun and the sight of it all warmed my heart.

We are meeting our mission from the beginning.

Growing healthy vegetables and showing others how to do the same.

Then there’s the added joy of community.

Bringing all kinds of people to a new place

Having fun, learning

And helping others.

Saturdays don’t get much better than that!

Gail

Your next chance to help at Faith Farm and Loaves & Fishes is Saturday April 12 during Family Volunteer Day.

Sign up by April 2nd and you’ll get a free t-shirt and lunch courtesy of the sponsor 1st Presbyterian Church.

Call 580-540-9830 to join in the fun. Or message Jennifer on our Facebook page Loaves & Fishes – NW Oklahoma

GRATITUDE

This morning our minister, Andrew, spoke about gratitude.

This afternoon I’ve been puttering away in my garden.

A place where it’s almost impossible not to feel grateful.

And I am.

For the glorious weather we have been having.

For the gift of fall roses

That seem a bit different from their spring sisters.

Perhaps they’re a little sturdier knowing that

They are among the last of the season.

For the abundance of tomatoes

Both green

And ripened.

For peppers that take all season to grow.

And come into their own as others fade.

After all, if I were a pepper

I’d wait till all that squash finished showing off

Before I made my appearance.

And you can’t write about gratitude this time of year

Without talking about dahlias.

They are among the most amazing of all the things I grow.

And yes, I’m even grateful for cockscomb.

But…

As glorious as this day has been.

And as giving as my garden continues to be.

It pales in comparison to my friend Suellen.

Last week after 11 years of silence.

The miracle of the Cochlear implant was turned on for her.

And she can hear.

Think of it.

The voices of young grandchildren she had never heard.

Birds singing

Crickets

Music

Even traffic.

There’s likely no one else I know

Who’s more grateful tonight.

There’s a community of those who care about you

Who are grateful to the bone.

Gail

2 Comments

Filed under Bouquets, Cochlear Implant, Dahlias, Fall, Fall Vegetables, Flower Arrangements, Gardening, Gratitude, Green Tomatoes, late summer garden, Peppers, roses, Uncategorized, Vegetables

Tagged as Cochlear Implant, Cockscomb, Dahlias, Gratitude, Peppers, Roses, Tomatoes

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