Contentment

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moss tendrils twine

unharmed by winter wind and ice

needing nothing more

Spanish Moss is very common in our area of the Texas Gulf Coast, and in many  areas of the South. It is not a moss at all, but kin to the pineapple. It needs only the moisture in the air for thriving. A freeze does little damage, so in Spring it comes back and continues to grow.  Ice build up might make it heavy enough to fall to the ground.  But if it does end up grounded, it is not dead. Tossed back to the trees,  it will thrive again.  Thinning it actually helps it grow.

Winter Book of Hours

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. hibiscus leaves shimmer
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fern frond lights a shady corner.

20160115_152913flower flickers with rosy glow.

 

morning ,afternoon and evening light moves across the garden

illuminated  book of hours

,

 

Renewal

IMG_3072Last Easter we planted a Chinese Fringe tree in our front yard. It already had white blooms and as more opened, the tree was covered with clusters of small white blooms. It is a deciduous tree and the blooms appear after the leaves each Spring.  As temperatures soared in July, we noticed a few brown leaves and then more.  We made sure the little tree was watered deeply every day; for awhile it seemed that we would lose it. But over a period of weeks, new green leaves outnumbered the brown ones.  Gradually, the tree announced its survival

IMG_3069One day we noticed new white blooms!  The tree evidently thought it had survived fall and winter and that Spring had returned!

Withering drought has caused loss of many trees in our area, particularly recently planted ones. I am glad our little tree is a survivor!.  In the springtime we often talk about new beginnings and renewal.  I am glad for the fringe tree’s lesson – when I am experiencing a season of drought in my soul, there can be another Spring.

Why?

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Anyone who has been around small children knows how often we hear the question “Why?”  I have been asking that question about my fig harvest this year.  We have a fine fig tree in the garden that typically has so many green figs it is hard to keep up with the harvest as they ripen.  This year we had an unusually wet June and although there were hundreds of green figs and they began to ripen early, harvest slowed and stopped completely in the second week. Our brutal Texas heat came on suddenly. My research tells me the tree went into conservation mode and began aborting its fruit.  Even though we watered heavily, nothing brought back the production so the hard little green figs began to drop to the ground, wasted and of no use to anyone. Not even the birds would eat them.

The problem is that  figs are  shallow rooted and easily stressed. That reminded me of my own need for  being rooted deeply to be able to take the heat and  avoid reacting in damaging ways to the stress of our uncertain times!

” May your roots go down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love;”  Ephesians 3: 17, The Living Bible