And the rains came and the wind with it



Garlic!



Leslie says:

Donna and I are rejoicing in the warmer weather, in the early spring and are especially thankful for the mild winter  but, of course, the wind and rains of spring have interfered with our best-laid plans.  So today I suited up in old jeans and tall rubber boots to attend to chickens, chicks  and the garden.  Once the chickens and chicks were moved and situated, I made my way to God’s Bounty and feeling the sun on my back as I worked pulling a few weeds I managed to perform a little work. The onions and garlic have been planted and today, thanks to a comment made by a friend, wild onions (chives) have found their way from my yard into some semblance of a neat row beside the onions.  Looking around I noticed that tiny turnips are peeking out and the garlic is coming up!  This evening I planted two long rows of spinach and tomorrow hope to get the lettuce and radish in.  Salad days will soon arrive!

 You might be interested to know that I live on a beautiful hill in a breathtaking valley.  There’s little to break the wind from the south, west and north so, in our century old house, we are accustomed to feeling the strong gusts.  And so it is in the garden which is just south of the house…..and if the wind is howling, even on a beautiful day, planting seeds is almost impossible.  And we’ve had strong wind almost continually this month.  And rain.  Lots of rain (but after last summer’s drought, not one word about too much rain has been uttered around here).   This week alone the rain gauge measured 4.5 inches.   I’ve worried that we are late in getting cool weather crops planted but then I am reminded that it is still March and we are usually waiting for the next frost at this time of year. 

And the sisterfriends and seeds wait for the ground to warm, the wind to slow and the rain to stop for just a bit……

“The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”  Numbers 6:25-27(NIV)

March 5, 2012

Leslie says:

And so yesterday began with strong, hot coffee, a quiet morning devotion, a later breakfast and another foray into God’s Bounty.  The fence that Donna and I struggled to put up last year was leaning in (most) places and Gene helped us strengthen it (well, he actually did the work and Donna and I handed him tools).  It’s amazing what well-placed wood screws and braces and a little brawn do.  The wind was fierce today and prevented any other kind of outside work so the rest of the morning was spent poring over catalogs and making what we sisterfriends are most famous for….endless lists! Our lists are a thing of beauty…..seeds that we saved from last year, seeds that we bought but didn’t plant, seeds that we want to buy, places we want to buy the seeds, plants we want to buy.  We can fill page after page with our lists and plans.  Our garden journal filled with those lists is a ‘someday dream’ at the moment that will eventually, in the months to come, turn into a very sweet blessing. 

PS.....we planted 2 varieties of potatoes today.

The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. Isaiah 58:11 NIV

Leslie says:

Donna and I have been sisterfriends for years and although we've both been interested in and have each had gardens, we didn't undertake a shared garden until 2011. Of course we started a big gardening project during the hottest summer on record in Oklahoma in the midst of a crushing drought. And, of course God blessed us with a lush, green oasis in the midst of a parched pasture that, despite hours and hours of work......produced very little. In retrospect, we believe God grew the garden last summer to serve as a haven for His creatures. It was alive with bees, wasps, hornets, butterflies, a fat rabbit, several dogs trying to stay cool, frogs, lizards and probably a snake or two. There were what looked and felt like millions of grasshoppers in all colors and sizes and they feasted on anything green. We named the garden God's Bounty because the blessings, while not always of the vegetable kind, were plentiful and, of course, always bestowed upon us exactly when most needed.

So, we find ourselves once again longing for dirt encrusted fingernails and hot summer mornings. The gardening books and journals are covering many surfaces and seed packets are stacked haphazardly on the table and today, March 3, 2012, we spent our first day in God's Bounty.

Donna says:

God's Bounty. A place of life and hope and healing.  There are few places where that is more evident than in a garden.  As is often the case, what was harvested over the course of the season wasn't entirely what Leslie and I expected when we began diligently researching and dreaming on a bleak January day.   What an experience it was - from the chilly grays of winter to the scorched browns of summer.  I'm sure we will be reliving our times in God's Bounty 2011 on these pages just as we did while we worked today.   Join us in God's Bounty.  A place of life and hope and healing