IN Carmel

                                Pansies on the way out but still looking good enough for a picture.  That thanksgiving for a wonderful night of sleep, ready with eyes open to a new day of what-ifs.  The morning started with an empty trap which changed after about two hours of being awake.  Yes...the string now is 7 with two extra visitors on two different days. A total of 9.  All of them have the chance to run and jump together in the woods.  We need to add the word chipmunk to this paragraph.  There's a hymn with words about the circle being unbroken.  I don't think chipmunks were in mind when this song was written but I think the words work in this case. .   Another chipmunk ran into the trap around 7 pm...another trip to the woods.  10 total.                          ...

 Sunday dawned bright and early for me.  Well, on second thought it wasn't bright at all. It was dark.  Another one of those short nights was gifted.  Some gifts I would like to return.  I can say I was early getting all the early things completed.  My first question when Doug woke was how are you feeling?  Not so hot was the answer since there has been pain like a kidney stone that started last evening..  Drugs were keeping him in the current world.  So Doug spent the morning at home, out of the way, asleep at the switch.  But before I left for North there were two trips to the woods.  Yes...the one or even two a day trapped chipmunk regiment is still intact.   This pot is getting fuller.  God's water and sunshine are really helping to push these plants along.  This is a little dark I would say but the most recent picture as of this afternoon.  I was sitting on the patio so the picture is taken from a diffe...

 Yes...it's been a great Saturday. I love days when they just happen.    The morning was filled with working at Bread and Bowl, providing a carryout lunch for those who come to our church door.  I love that program, first working with other church folks and then visiting with the community folks. The rest of the day just happened with no big plan.  Just a little of this and that.  I decided to clear the ground cover around one of our very tall and very old Norway Spruce.  I hate seeing ivy and euonymus climb the tree. This job should not need to be repeated for a while.  Just another hour of almost standing on my head with clippers in hand pulling the ground cover and stretching hamstrings almost beyond their stretchability.  Done! The tree is free! A stop at Krogers on my way home from church for a Grape Jelly purchase assures me that the Orioles will have food on the table for a long while.  They continue to visit more than once a day....

 The ground is totally saturated.  It's just a big pile of mud with plants trying to find space to grow.  More rain is in the forecast.  The morning started with a trip to the woods.  Yup...one more little animal with four legs and a little bushy tale trapped himself.  Maybe this time it's herself.  That makes five in four days.  Another one was spotted in the tree!  It's the next epidemic.  Beware.  Grab your mask.                                        When the ground will let me, this fern will be on the way to Michigan                                              to the JB Russell family flowerbed. Amy stopped by and we had such a great "pastoral" visit.  Lots to talk about some being pastoral...

 Productive if you count another chipmunk who trapped himself.  I don't even see them running until they are in the trap.  One a day and for one of those days two.  Better success at this than fishing.  Great luck continues.  And today, Thursday scored another one.  The baby squirrel has avoided the trap so far.           Pretty little flower called Love in a Mist.  It seeds itself and fills in a lot of small spaces.                                           The seeds form inside a little paper like ball that is just as pretty as the flower.  The morning rain was of two kinds.  First misty and then the pour down came.   There is more than an inch in the gauge for this one.  The plants seem to have gained in size as well.  Full and growing even fuller!  Maybe th...

 The biggie that happened so far today is the news that two chipmunks trapped themselves in less than 15 minutes.  From Ferruginous Hawk to Chipmunk.  That's a far trip.  Chipmunk season has arrived later than expected but it is here.  So far 4 chipmunks in the last three days.  Pretty good catch I would say.  They all have arrived safely at the woods, happy to be back with their friends from the yard.    Today arrived cloudy with some gentle rains.  A great morning to transplant zinnia and calendula plants.  Never fear, those transplanted are well protected from the sprayer man hidden from him on the north side of the yard.  The seedlings are looking good, with a promise to grow.  There are still many to be moved when the world is safe for them.   The Carolina Wrens are busy as any parent planning a family.  The house  was sitting on the patio where they were in and out in fine fashion so I thought it ...

 Yes...one of those 3 am starts again.  Long ago I got over wondering why.  It just is.  So I used the time to entertain myself with wordle and books  The morning's work chore finished what was started yesterday.  Deadheading Siberian Iris.  Splitting into two days of work is a good idea when there a million dead heads.  I checked the Bluebell bed and and they were beginning to melt.  Tt was time to get the green part of the plant in the trash can.  I would mark today's word as change.  Weeks ago I bought a big flat of short, bushy zinnias to line the paths in the garden.  The bluebells were filling the space for some of the zinnias.  I planted them in other places waiting for the time when they could be moved.  That happened this morning with more space available for taller zinnias when they are big enough to transplant.  I love, love, love this time of the year.  It's planning and doing and doing and plann...

 Monday, an over-the-top day.  A decent night of sleep, wordle, crossword puzzle 2 eggs and coffee, and then a walk around looking for whatever there was to look for.  I noticed a lot of birds singing and it seemed that there were some stress calls...then a lot of stress calls.  At the top of our neighbor's trees that are very, very tall I noticed some birds flying up and down, in and out.  Then it came in focus...a HUGE bird sitting quite still with other birds dive-bombing. The big bird was motionless unless trying to elude the intruders.  It was HUGE.  I got my iPhone camera, took a few pictures, edited the pictures and this is what I saw.   So I turned to Merlin, the bird app to discover that it is a Ferruginous Hawk, the largest of hawks.  Wingspan from 53 to 56 inches.  It can dive at a speed of 150 mph. and usually flies between 20 and 40 mph. It is found in prairies, deserts and the open range of the west.  It was magni...

 Yes... a life-giving, rewarding day of blessing, and I could add at least twenty adjectives to the list. It was a day of music, liturgy, and scripture about the earth's gifts and all that is in it from God. The garden makes me aware of this as well.  God's goodness is amoung us.  We are surrounded by wonder.                       Noah's pond is surrounded by thyme, dianthus, lambs ear,                        and oregano.        Lake superior rocks edge the bed.  Doug and I left for church around 7 and returned home near 2 pm with our memory basked filled to the brim.  Friends and members returned for worship with times throughout the morning spent visiting with many.  Music, scripture, visuals, and liturgy along with preaching all focused to remind us of the beautiful world here for us and the care that has ...

 I got up early...very early perhaps around 3:30...just could not sleep so I got up.  Some nights are like that.  Watched TV, did wordle and the morning arrived with two eggs and coffee as usual.  Did a walk around the garden greeting the cucumbers, tomatoes, and pepper plants.  The eight cabbage appear to be eager to grow. The row of basil plants is becoming better defined along with the red beet and radish row.   The lettuce and chives for Thursday's supper were delicious.  Yum.   The spider plant is showing beautiful clean white flowers.  There also is a purple flowering spider plant as well as a spider plant producing burgandy-colored flowers.   Then off to church for a final rehearsal with tomorrow's music. The final fix was done with visuals and there is a good feeling that tomorrow will come together for many who will worship with us.             There is a bird sitting i...

 Yes...a blustery day.  Lots of wind that should dry the soil a bit.  The rain has been a blessing.  It's brought a huge amount of growth to everything plant-based.  The beds are bursting with a huge variety of bloomers soon to come. There are a few of these in the garden.  This morning's wordle answer happened in three tries.  Woo.  Just a little proud of myself. Let's add the word LUCKY!  The garden work included moving a small Mullin plant to a bigger place.  I love those plants although they do almost nothing but grow and look pretty.  I would say majestic in the upright form they will take in a few weeks.                                     This is a very big Mullin plant volunteer. I hoed out some weeds, did a bit of trimming, and applied some Preen.  The Iris are fading fast so those stems need to be cut off....

The day began as usual with Crossword and Wordle with both being solved quickly.  A little TV and Breakfast and a walk through the garden happened, finding new seedlings emerging.  Yeah!   I met Heidi at 9 at church to talk through come coming events that involve visuals.   Easter is disappearing and we moved to this coming Sunday's service, the emphasis on caring for the earth.  Two new anthems commissioned for us to sing this Sunday supporting the theme will be heard with thank yous given to the Richard and Anna Lee Hamilton fund. The sanctuary reflects a visual bit of an earth theme.  Sunday's activities also involve a garden plant swap and here are my contributions.   Two pots of sea oats grass, one pot of Valerian, a medicinal herb whose roots promote sleeping,  although it comes in pill form and better regulated, and a large native Indiana plant called a cup plant. So if I take 4 plants, I can come home with 4 other plants if ...

 A wonderful night of sleep after the Sunday night crazies.  This morning I got the urge to dig out some euonymus.  The stuff I don't like.  I'm replacing that stuff with Blackeyed Susans.  Something that will bring a bit of color to that area later this summer.  That's finished.                       More Dianthas and Tymne are showing their stuff.                                 And yes, the Noah pond still exists.   Zinnia report.  The true leaves now are beginning to be seen.  Yeah.  They are growing slowly but surely.  That's good enough for me.  It should rain tomorrow.   At 11:30 I met my long-time first-grade teaching team friends from nearly 30 years ago having taught together at Forest Dale El.  We try to have lunch together just a...