Gardening without Rain

This summer has seen record-breaking temperatures in North Carolina.  So far, we've surpassed the number of days with 90 degrees or better by three days and are well on our way of crushing the old record, whatever it was.  The coming week is forecast to have another series of days in the mid to upper 90's despite the fact that the first day of Fall is Thursday.  On top of the extremely constantly high temperatures, we've suffered from a severe lack of rainfall, currently running about 8 inches behind for the year, and most of that shortfall occurring during the last four months, which has resulted in crispy grass and dying shrubs.  Going without rain for weeks at a time has caused every living plant, tree, and shrub to suffer, and leaves are now turning yellow and brown and dropping to the ground as a result.

Last winter, I grew and then sold during the spring 757 heirloom tomato plants, 19 varieties in all, and planted 15 of those in my own garden, expecting a bumper tomato crop.  There's nothing better, to my tastebuds, than sinking one's teeth into a warm tomato picked right off the vine, ripe and juicy, but the weather conditions have not been condusive to vegetable gardening.  I'm still waiting for those tomatoes!  With temperatures exceeding 100 degrees several times and no cloud cover, the few tomatoes that did set and turn red literally cooked on the vine, the strength of the sun's rays breaking down their tissue during the day.  I learned to pick the few tomatoes I got before they ripened and in the morning if the day was predicted to be extremely hot again, which was about every single day.  Tomatoes and other vegetables don't set fruit when they have to fight to stay alive during extreme conditions; they flower but drop the buds to conserve energy.  It has been a battle to get anything from the earth this summer in the Triangle region of North Carolina, and all the thoughts I had of gorging on tomatoes, canning and freezing them, selling some and giving some away, vanished weeks and weeks ago.

I told my husband the other day that I realized why I didn't feel like there was a summer and that I didn't enjoy it -- I literally spent my life watering the gardens, both vegetable and flower, and all the pots on the deck for at least 1-2 hours every single day.  My time was spent keeping things going.  Our water bill reflected that effort.  And yet we got very little from the garden.  The only thing that did well were the cucumber vines; I'm going to purchase the same variety next year because I've never harvested so many long, perfect cucumbers in my 40+ years of gardening.  Oddly, now that the season is winding down, we're getting some tomatoes on vines that we didn't even plant, volunteer ones that showed up down the slope by the compost bin, and even though I haven't watered them, they are thriving and setting fruit now that the nights are cooler.  When temps were 100 in the day and 80 at night, that was impossible to do.  Hopefully, those tomatoes will have time to mature and ripen before frost sets in.  The other tomato plants are spent and almost completely brown.  No amount of water and cooler temperatures will revive them. 

Gardening without rain is like trying to do good without God.  It just isn't the same.  Yes, you will produce some fruit, but it won't be what it could be if God were the reason for your good deeds.  Just as my gardens need rain from the sky to survive, we need God to give us the strength we need to produce fruit that will bring glory to His name.  We must plant seeds and allow Him to do the watering. 

Butterfly Kisses

Butterflies and little girls -- no prettier combination exists in my mind.  With my abundant flowers, butterflies are everywhere in our yard, and I've discovered that butterflies won't fly away if you approach them from behind.  Apparently they don't see you, and you can actually touch them -- even with your nose.  The numerous tiger swallowtails that frequent my yard often have a wing span of 4 - 5 inches, and they are gorgeous beyond description.  I can tell if a particular butterfly is rather young or old depending on the condition of its wings.  Young butterflies have perfect wings with bright colors, while older ones often have pieces of their wings missing, broken by the storms of life, and fading colors.  So far, I've found 2 Monarchs fallen to the ground in my gardens, their life cycle complete.  I'm still finding Monarch caterpillars, but despite numerous caterpillars, I've yet to find a chrysalis anywhere in my yard, so I'm keeping a vigilant eye for them.  I'm continually amazed that so many caterpillars can eat my plants and then 'disappear' when they chrysalize, making it a challenge for me to locate even one!

My granddaughter, Cami, loves my flower gardens.  When the wall was built this past April, she asked if she could walk through the garden, and I told her certainly she could, so off she trotted, skipping and dancing through the short path.  When she emerged, she exclaimed, "It's just like Duke Gardens!"  Cami is a lover of nature and animals, so when she's at our home, I spend time with her exploring our yard.  We never have any trouble locating little toads; they are so numerous in our yard that one has to be careful not to step on them!  Recently when she was over, I explained to her that she could 'kiss' a butterfly and that it would 'kiss' her back if she could get her nose up to one, so off she went.  Actually getting her nose on a butterfly was a challenge because every time she got close to one, it would fly away, but she never gave up, patiently following the butterflies as they flitted about.  Finally, she was able to get her nose on one, and the butterfly flapped its wings slowly against her face!  What a precious moment for her!  She was enthralled with the experience!  The attached photo is a true Kodak moment.

Just as Cami had to chase the butterflies to get what she was after, so we too must chase our dreams.  With my 61st birthday looming this weekend, I realize that I still have unfulfilled dreams, dreams that are worth pursuing.  Dreams give us hope for something better, something accomplished, something completed.  The Bible says that without hope, people perish.  Pursue your dreams; keep hope alive no matter what desires dwell in your heart.  Seek first the kingdom of God, put your hope in the Lord, and He will bring your dreams to pass.

Where has time gone?

Here it is, Labor Day weekend staring me in the face, and I'm wondering whatever happened to summer.  Not once have I been swimming with my grandkids; not once have my husband and I gotten on our bikes and gone for a ride; not once have we strapped on our hiking boots and taken a hike; not once have we put our canoe in the water; and not once have we taken a day trip for rest and relaxation. 

Instead, our weekends have been filled with extended family matters related to my mother-in-law, entertaining friends (moreso than family), hosting events at our home, and simply doing what needs to be done on the weekends when you work full-time.  And now summer is coming to a close, and I feel as if I've missed it.

Sadly, we got caught up in a flurry of activity, some of which we couldn't control but some of which we could control, and we sacrificed time with our families for it.  I've had to repent of my part in this, and I'm seeking this weekend to reconnect -- to go swimming with my grandkids; to plan for a trip to one of the local lakes where we can plop the canoe in the water, swim and play in the sand with the little ones, and take turns paddling around the lake; to plan a day hike with the older grandkids; to plan a day hike with just me and my husband; to sit back and relax and watch the butterflies and the birds in our back yard.  Sometimes I feel as if I spend so much time tending the flowers that I often don't take the time to enjoy them. 

Today, I hurried home for lunch after dropping some books off at my church, and while I was eating, I wandered through the flower beds and saw the biggest tiger swallowtail butterfly that I have ever seen!  So gorgeous, bright, and large!  Had I not gone home, I would have missed this fragile creature, but it again reminded me that we are here on this earth for only a brief time, and that butterfly was once a caterpillar but can now fly, and likewise, we are in our 'caterpillar' stage on this earth until given our heavenly wings.  Butterflies live only a few short weeks, and comparatively, we live a much longer time, but when looked at in the light of thousands of years, we are but a blink of an eye, a vapor in the wind, and then we are gone. 

I've learned that time is a commodity that we spend; often we waste time, or we spend it on meaningless stuff, or we burn it, or we relish and savor every minute of it.  I feel as if I've wasted much of my time this summer, and there's no way I can get it back.  It's gone for good.  But I can determine to allocate and spend my future time in more meaningful, more purposeful ways.  Babies will be babies only so long; toddlers will be entering kindergarten before we know it; elementary age kids will be middle-schoolers in the blink of an eye; and high-schoolers will be heading off to college before we can say goodbye.  So, yes, I regret wasting so much time these last few months (those minutes and hours over which I had complete control), but I do endeavor to spend my time wisely from this day forward. 

How about you?  Have you wasted, lost, or burned time?  Have you lost your connections with family due to 'busyness'?  If so, stop and listen to your heart, the hearts of your loved ones, and the heart of the Creator, and then hold time tightly in your hand, spending it on the things in life that matter the most.