FOTD, June 20,Dahlias

I have not posted in awhile as I have been burning candles on both end and in the middle. Since the church community garden did not have a host this year, I took it own. How hard can it be, its not that big. GOOD GRIEF!!! Alas, it is growing and producing vegetables for any who come to pick. Then there is my yard…my flowers which is a must as I do love my flowers.

Cee’s Flower of the Day today is dahlias and I have several types of those so I will share my dahlias with you as well. I am partial to the smaller ones with varied colors.

Then there are the mediums sized ones that remind me of small mums with their rich dark reds, reds with yellow tinges and bright yellows with touches of orange.

Since I feed the birds as well, I usually end up with various mystery plants in my yard and this years mystery plant I am sure is some type of vegetable, possibly in the squash family. Its not very tall, has leaves shaped like a fig leaf and tiny yellow flowers. It could also b e a weed, lol. We will see.

I will let it grow until it proves to me it has to go. Flowers bring me joy and remind me of kindness and if we can be anything, we should at first be kind.

FOTD, June 2, No Flowers Yet

Cee always gives us such wonderful ways to share the beauty we see. And while this is Flower of The Day, we don’t have flowers yet but the greenery is growing, finally. I give you beginning pics of our community garden sponsored by our church. Its small but enjoyed by those close in our neighborhood.

We have eight raised beds the boy scouts built for us two years ago. The chain link fence is to keep the rodents out…good luck. But we have a variety of bed vegetables growing. Beside the raised beds we have the larger vegetables growing, like corn and potatoes. You cant live in Iowa and not grow corn…just sayin’.

As we enjoy the growing season, let us remember the kindness of us sharing love like we do with our garden.

FOTD, May 31, Peonies and Weeds

Its the perfect time to show off Peonies in the Midwest. My bush grows huge flowers but its location is not the best. It catches all the wind as it zooms up from the river. So, if it gets in full bloom and a storm happens, the delicate limbs can not hold up the huge bloom and they fall to the grown. My buds are showing and thunderstorms are comin this afternoon. So, I have one open bloom to share with you today.

I placed the bloom in my blue spruce to give it some pretty background before bringing it into the house. The ants love these but they have not found them yet.

The other beauty I want to share today is probably a weed but it is quite lovely. In my opinion a weed is just a flower not recognized for it beauty. However they are some weeds I pluck immediately to keep them at bay. See if you can help me identify this creation. I have let it grow because of it lovely flower.

You can see that it is really nice with many clusters waiting to open. If you recognize this, let me know. If I need to get rid of it, let me know.

I have not been posting much as I have been knee deep(literally) in the churches community garden. It took us planting it twice this year due to a crazy spring to get it going but it seems to be doing well so far…

But I do want to remind you of my root cause – kindness. Kindness has a power and beauty that can change the world if we use it correctly and often. And in keeping with the flower / garden theme, I give you similarities of how we can become gardens ourselves, so garden of kindness.

The Vast Ocean of God’s Love

I have not written an encouragement post in a while but last night’s devotion in “Jesus Calling” needed to be shared because we all need to be told how very much we are loved. Regardless of how we feel we have fallen short of God’s holy standard…every day…in His sight we are gloriously righteous. He proved this vast ocean of love by literally pouring out His blood for us…freely without our asking.

We are so programed that nothing is free that we sometimes forget the power of His freely given love through the Holy Spirit that dwells in our heart.

Always know He is as close as your own hand and loves us more than we could ever understand. Remember to share that love…every day…with others and always be kind.

Must Watch Better

Spring is really a busy time for me, especially since I volunteered to head up the church’s community garden this year. I planned it our carefully, measuring out the rows, deciding on what and how many of each plant to grow…due to the catastrophe of last year’s jungle. I checked with the extension service to make sure I didn’t plant too early and we started indoors with seed for cost savings. We planted in cups at the right time…and then spring would not come…and the plants kept growing. I had a pole bean that went ballistic and climbed up the string for the blinds.

Then it was finally time. The weather was warming up and last weekend we were able to plant. Yay! I had people lined up. We put 87 of 117 plants in the raised beds. The weather was perfect and we celebrated. THEN a freak wind storm came through with cold winds and killed everything we planted.

So now we have no choice but to start over. Next year we will have to watch better like Daisy!!

And our trees are just now starting to bud and bloom. Guess I should have watched those too. They knew.

I realized as I started to post this that is has been nearly a month since I last posted. That’s way too busy for being retired. Once we replant this weekend, I am glad someone else is in charge of the rest.

Well, have a good rest of your week. And remember…Bee Kind!

CBWC: Shoes, Boots, Slippers

While taking this rainy day to clean out closets, I ran across some shoes I have not worn in a couple of years…and they needed posting. Thank you Cee for allowing us to share fun memories. Today we have changed purple and white shoes to black and white…but the memories are still full of color.

Remember whether in black and white or full color, kindness is always beautiful color.

April 6 #1minFiction Challenge

Cranny’s #1 Minute Fiction Challenge this week made me laugh as my mind went in a whole different direction. Come join in to share you thoughts.

The Glass Box

“Hey George, come look. Those weird creatures are coming up out of the ground again. Hurry, come look before they leave.”

“Ignore them Martha,” said George as he moved away out of sight. “The more attention you give them the longer they stay.”

“But George they are fascinating to watch. Come look.”

“No.”

“One of them has that light box thingy that gets bright when he puts it close to his face. I wonder what it does?”

“George, are you listening to me? Don’t you even care?”

“No.”

Have you ever wondered what goes through the minds of animals at the zoo? I bet they think we are the weirdest creatures of all.

Regardless of the creature you come in contact with, always be kind…but if you need to run first, then run and be safe, then be kind from a distance.

Tuesday Writing Prompt Challenge April 5

Devereaux Frazier and Beth Amanda are currently hosting the Tuesday Writing Prompt Challenge. The prompts are designed to be quick challenges that can be written in 10 to 15 minutes, inspire you creatively, are fun, and get everyone interacting.

For today’s prompt, use the theme of unraveling in a piece of writing.

Life

Life should be filled in purity

Instead it shows prematurity

Unraveling itself in immaturity

Firmly bound in obscurity

Remember to always share kindness with those who feel lost in this world. It will help them find heir feet of security.

CFFC: Fire

This week with Cee’s CFFC challenge, our topic is celebrating Fire. Photos of fire, fiery colors, flames, fire stations, fire trucks, etc. are all allowed in this challenge.

While fire can be devastating when out of control, it is also a source of enjoyment and relaxation that we all can enjoy. Below, Daisy shows the benefits of relaxation.

We call them pacifiers because all activity stops immediately to enjoy its warmth.

Fires can be also used as a tool. This was a house on the property of my church that we used for various activities. But the foundation was beginning to crumble and we felt it was getting unsafe. So we donated the house to the fire department to be used as a training tool. They used it for several months with various rescue trainings for new fire fighters and then when they were ready to graduate, they used it as training for house fires. With a lot of older homes in this neighborhood, it was a powerful training tool for the new guys in showing how easy home fires could get out of control. They were even surprised how fast this one went up and how hot it got – 100 year old wooden home.

And then there is the fun side of fire fighter training where new fire fighters learn how to handle the hoses but at the same time play with the kids at the park.

And then we close showing the peaceful evening of a winter sky where we have the most beautiful sunsets. The sky does indeed look like it is on fire.

As you go about you day, remember the beauty, the power and the warmth of kindness and share it often.

Encouraging Signs of Spring

For whatever reason, this spring seems to be dragging it’s butt. In reality it is probably just me, as I am so ready to be outside and working in my flowers. And the seeds planted in the small pots for the community garden are well on their way of needing to be in the ground real soon.

Today we had more rain…with snow mix…tomorrow more rain but maybe a hint of sunshine. I honestly think spring is close. I now see the robins in my yard. A sure sign for me.

Its not a real clear picture…but neither is spring. So onward we go. Then in two and a half months we will be complaining of being hot. I heard an old man say one time that there are three stages of life – you are born, you pay taxes and then you die. How sad is that? I was born in the last century, I paid 2021 taxes yesterday, so all I have left is death???

Guess that old man doesn’t know me that well. I just got started and have yet to dance…so dance we must. And as the breeze flows gently through the air we dance in its currents…

While these have not broken through the ground yet, I look forward to their dance. I planted them last year so hopefully they will dance with me this year. Just a note to remind you while things may seem dreary, you can always dance. Some may laugh, some shake their heads but all will smile. What a great excuse to dance in life.

Have a safe and blessed weekend. Laugh, dance, smile and ALWAYS be kind.