Faith, Folklore, and Friends

Every physical thing on this planet is temporary, although some things lasts longer than others.  That shiny new car that you were thrilled to get becomes scrap iron in just a few years.  In high school, I sometimes skipped lunch to save money to get white "Go-Go" boots.  I got the boots (they were so cute) but they didn't last as long as it took to save for them. Everything tangible is temporary.  Even the lofty peaks of the Rocky Mountains will someday be a collection of grains of sand by the seashore if the Earth lasts that long. We just can't stop gravity and wind and rain and the turning of the Earth. Reckon it would be a good thing if we didn't value things by how long they last, but for how much joy they bring us? Flowers come and go so quickly.  We plant and weed and mulch all year for two or three weeks of sheer beauty.  Is it worth it?  Without a doubt, it is. This was our front yard on Sunday, May 4.  The Knock-ou...

One of the things I love about out Wildflower Society is that we have lots of door prizes, mostly plants.  There is a number on our name tag when we sign in, and these numbers are used to draw for door prizes at the end of the meeting. Two years ago, my number was near the end, and all that was left on the table was a tiny little pot with an iris blade sticking out.  I brought it home and stuck it down in a pot of herbs.  Last year, I transferred it to a better home. Apparently, this has been a great year for iris.  I have seen them in  yards and pictures, beautiful clumps of iris in all colors. I guess ours are finicky or persnickety. We transferred all our iris last year, and this is the only one that bloomed this year.  We are glad that we had at least one that would show off for us.

Jesus looked at them and said, “ With man this is impossible, but not  with God;   all   things   are   possible  with  God .”   ~Mark 10:27

Shout for joy  to the  Lord , all the earth.        Worship the  Lord  with gladness;      come before him  with joyful songs.   Know that the  Lord  is God.      It is he who made us,  and we are his;      we are his people,  the sheep of his pasture.   Enter his gates with thanksgiving      and his courts  with praise;      give thanks to him and praise his name.   For the  Lord  is good  and his love endures forever;      his faithfulness  continues through all generations. ~Psalm 100

When you set out to work on a garden,  something surprising happens. The garden  goes to work on you, too. In the process of  bringing a patch of earth to life, your life is  transformed.  ~Amy Stewart  

Monday and Tuesday were stormy here and all across the south.  We had much destruction just twenty miles from our home, but we were safe with no damage. Ten of us gathered in our basement and watched the Weather Channel and Huntsville stations that had continuous weather coverage.   We saw a tornado sweep down on Tupelo, Mississippi. We prayed and watched in horror as the twister sped through the city. Tupelo is about ninety miles from here.  Today, the people there are recovering and making plans to rebuild. My parents lived through the massive tornado outbreak  that leveled Tupelo in 1936.  We heard about it just about every time there was a storm when I was growing up.  Mama would look at the storm clouds and compare them to the ones "the day that Tupelo got blown away".  I found this clip of the 1936 storm on the Internet; I don't know who to credit for making this video. Storms are a part of life in the South.  We are thankful ...

Rose-breasted grosbeaks migrate through our area from about the middle of April until early May.  They seemed a little later this year. I watched the feeders for days before they showed up.  It was worth the wait. I have been trying, without success, to get some photos since they have been here.  This morning, I managed to get a few by staying inside and not disturbing them.  These shots were taken through two panes of glass, so please forgive me if they seem a little fuzzy.  They hide in the scaly-bark hickory tree just off the deck. This handsome fellow seems to really enjoy the woodpecker suet. I'm really glad I was able to get these shots before they take off for the northeast.  Y'all can come back anytime!