Last summer I did very little gardening - just picking from my mother's bountiful harvest when she had extra. We were so busy remodeling our shop and trying to build a business that we barely had time to sleep, let alone garden. For the first part of the summer I felt guilty that I wasn't helping in the garden, however, I finally realized that there is a season for everything under the sun and that was a season for building, not for gardening.
This year is different. We are no longer building a business, but running one and although my days are still full to overflowing, I have the ability to carve out a few hours to dedicate to the garden. And oh, the joy I feel running my fingers through the soil and breathing in the heady scent of freshly turned earth.
Long before the snow gave way to grass, I began pouring through catalogs and planning my summer garden. I bought heirloom seeds and started them inside so they would have a good start before hardening them off for the garden beds. With more rain than sun, my poor little plants have grown a bit yellow and a few have curled their leaves in protest, but most of them have soldiered on and hold the promise of life.
Over the last couple of weeks we have been working the soil, pulling the weeds and building beds, trusting our work will bring sweet rewards. Today, Sir Knight tilled the big garden (or what he could reach of it with the tractor) and we planted a few more rows. Potatoes, carrots and lettuce were sown, leaving room for more bush beans and peppers and cabbage.
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| Freshly tilled |
As I was preparing the garden to be tilled, I dug up even more strawberry plants. We have been giving them away as fast as we can dig them and I'm sure the freshly dug plants will be no different!! It is so much fun to share in our bounty of plants!
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| More strawberry plants to give away! |
Our morning spent in the garden was remarkably timely. Almost as soon as the tractor was stabled in the equipment shed rain drops began to fall. We hustled inside and I began an afternoon of cooking and baking. Miss Serenity leaves tomorrow after church for a 5 month stint as a wildland firefighter and I wanted to send her off with some of her favorite goodies from home. Oat rolls and Filled Oatmeal cookies are two of Serenity's favorites and they are both full of energy to keep her going through fire school. While the rolls raised and the cookies baked, I made a big pot of Leek and Potato soup - perfect for a rainy spring day - and even more perfect with fresh-from-the-oven oat dinner rolls! It was so satisfying to watch the rain water the freshly planted garden while the scent of leeks, potatoes and bread permeated the air.
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| Potatoes and Leeks ready to go into a soup |
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| Sautéing leeks |
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| Fresh Oat dinner rolls |
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| Filled Oatmeal cookies (AKA Survival Cookies) |
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| Rolls and Cookies packaged and ready for Serenity to take to fire training |
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| Miss Serenity |
And today was a red-letter day in another respect. Maid Elizabeth closed on the sale of her old home - finally!! Elizabeth was originally supposed to close on her house on May 3rd - one day before her birthday. Our entire family traveled to her home to move her (including my parents and our pastor). When we arrived, we learned that the house sale had not closed. Maid Elizabeth had already quit her job and packed her home, and now, everything was up in the air. We went ahead and moved her in spite of the complications, and she has spent the last month praying and hoping and praying some more. After a number of upgrades to her old home, the loan finally went through and her home was sold. We are rejoicing!!!! Now, while still in her 20's, Maid Elizabeth owns her home free and clear. Only God can do that!!!
After a year of upheaval, our entire family are settled here, in the Highlands. We are together. We are home. We are ready to see what God has for us next. And we are grateful.
