Gardening 2011

As yall know, I love to garden and we've been busy at it despite all the rain.

I got a call (surprise!) on Mother's Day telling me they were able to get the gardens tilled and staked inbetween storms and we were ready to go. Yay! Here we are the next day - a before and after shot. Before is the "bare plot, 5/9/11" shot. We spent about an hour there and dug a trench around the perimeter.


A few days later (Friday, 5/13), we came back and dug the rest of the "trenches" to make our six rows. Kind of like raised beds.



Then it rained and poured. For a week.

When we came back, our trenches were more like moats.

It's important to note that this is the fifth year I've had a garden here and while I've been told there are wet lots (and we used to have one of them), I've never had this problem before. It's incredible.


It took me two HOURS to get one row covered in plastic (Friday 5/20). ONE ROW. It was like playing with playdough or making bricks out of mud. I also spent some of that two-hour chunk of my life trying to drain the moat (or at least give it an outlet and let it drain itself - slowly). Vivace and I played with rocks and bricks in the mud and I showed him how a dam works - that sort of fun thing.

Sunday 5/22, I took the younger two along and they helped and kept me company while I covered another three rows. We played fun rhyming games, sang silly songs, wore boots so we could play in the mud, they helped dig and plaster mud over the edges of the plastic as much or as little as they desired, and lay what cardboard we could find to keep weeds from growing (as if they wanted to in that slime). We also planted the tomatoes. Yay! Happy tomatoes. That took us three hours. It was harder-than-usual work.


The next morning (Monday, 5/23), it hadn't rained yet, despite a forecast calling for it, so Vivace and I went back again and finished the last two rows of plastic in just an hour and a half. Amazing how much easier it is when the mud starts to firm up! We are now ready to plant the rest of the garden - when we can find time and the rains hold off. So far this week, they've held off despite the forecast, but we haven't had time to get back there.

We have some gardens here at home too. The little kids and I planted our small home veggie garden and my flowers on 5/11 in the early evening (didn't take long). We have sugar snap peas, beans, spinach, and mesclun planted. It's not the sunniest of locations but it usually gives us a few things right out back which we like, and is fun to watch on a more frequent basis. As of today, one row of snow peas is several inches high, and the other hasn't even germinated, so we think they won't grow - oh well. The beans are just starting to come up. (Not enough sun to promote quick growth).

In the flower boxes, I use "Repells-All" that worked for keeping squirrels away last year and I actually used more of it this year, in a way I presumed would be more effective.... but something nocturnal and I seem to be in a war for WHO will WIN. This picture (click on it to see a larger version) was taken a couple days ago and it shows that whatever it is (not a squirrel I'm sure - maybe a skunk?) had dug out ALL SIX boxes. I've had to completely replant these plants about 5 times now - and it really is different behavior from the squirrels. The past two nights have been better - not sure why (nothing has change to my knowledge) but I have to check them every single day to be sure they're still in their pots!

Graduation from Pre-School

Today was the last day of pre-school for our youngest, our little Vivace. It has been a wonderful year for him. His pre-school has been perfect for him and for us, and with a wonderful teacher, and a small group, we couldn't have been more pleased.

This evening, we were treated to a graduation ceremony complete with songs, hats, gifts, and refreshments. It was very fun. He is really our most out-going, exhuberant, vivacious child (hence the name). If you can't tell from the pictures, he really gets into his singing, and belted out the words to each song with all his heart and soul.
We are proud of him, and we also recognize this is a big step for us as a family; it's the end of an era. In just a few short months, all the kids will be "school-aged." So tonight, we said "good-bye" to pre-school, not just for Vivace, but for us as a family. Bittersweet, indeed. But what smiles this child brings to all who know and interact with him.

Thank you Vivace for a very special evening. We are so thankful for this very special year at this beloved pre-school!

Baseball

If we haven't written in a while, it's because it stopped raining and we've been playing baseball every possible free moment. The kids are loving it and when I'm not home catching up with laundry etc, you'll find me at the ballfield cheering them on.

Some years ago, I "swore" I'd never join the crazy baseball frey, and certainly not with more than my boys. Naturally, I'm now eating my words and my hat (and getting a sunburn, bugbites, and wet depending on the day and the weather). Dante, Constance, and Patience are all playing, and Vivace can't wait until he is old enough next year. I've learned how to rake and line fields, I'm team parent for both teams (that means I get other folks to sign up for stuff and if no one does, I either beg or do it myself), and I actually have learned a lot about the game these past several years. Of course, there's still a lot I don't know, but more important than anything else, I'm seeing growth in character, both mine and that of my kids, through this sport and these crazy weeks.

That is why we keep signing up.

When it doesn't rain (and pour), we can be found at one of the village parks every day but Sunday. Last week, on the only "off" day, Patience and Andante had fun with their Dad practicing - yes, voluntarily and eagerly - at the park. They wanted to improve their pitching, batting, and catching. Both have pitched twice now, Dante has done a LOT of catching (he loves that), and both are really improving in their batting. Patience even said Dante is one of the best hitters on the team. We'll see (and yes, they're on the same team this year - yay!). Constance meanwhile can be found telling the other kids on her team (Coach Pitch) to pay attention, and she herself can be found making pictures in the dirt moments later when distracted. It's fun. She even sometimes hits the ball, but that's not her strength.

In any case, it's fun, and we'll be busy most nights every week from now 'til mid June at least, and then there will be the playoffs. Nevermind the rain or the need to get the garden in (and yes, I have begun that, but it'll be several days before I have chance again thanks to the current deluge...) I doubt you'll hear often from us 'til baseball season and school are over and the garden is in. Naturally, I'll try to write when it rains and I have a breather (if there is such a thing), but when the weather is nice, you'll find me outside cheering on the kids!

And there's more!

Ezekiel 18:23
"Do I have any pleasure in the death of the wicked," declares the Lord GOD, "rather than that he should turn from his ways and live?"

....and lest that not be adequate in and of itself, try repeating it a short time later....

Ezekiel 33:11
"As I live!" declares the Lord GOD, "I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then will you die, O house of Israel?"

And then a facebook "note" link entitled Tragedy of Tragedies. Read it - he says what I was trying to say so well, and so much better than I ever could.

Stone throwing

There is no right way to say what I want to say about Osama bin Laden's death, but my sister, on facebook, boldly made an attempt, so I will share here the quote she posted, along with my reply, and a few further comments.

"I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that" -mistakenly attributed to MLK by my sister (source is actually unknown)

"We should be glad that he's gone, and can no longer hurt anyone. But we should not rejoice in his death, nor that he has died in such a way. We should grieve that it was a necessary thing to do, and that he was not at all sorry for what he did. And let us keep in mind what Jesus said to those who would condemn another as in John 8:7 'He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone....'"

---

The quote my sister used quoted the Bible. I know that we want good to triumph and evil to be vanquished. The Bible does speak of this. But the message in the Bible is not primarily one of justice, but one of grace. The Bible is very very very clear, "There is no one righteous, not even one." "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity (the guilt) of us all."

Justice is that all of us deserve hell. No one deserves His grace.

But for the grace of God, there go I. Only fear has kept my feet from treading down some very bad paths. I thank God for that fear.

The beauty of it all is expressed so wonderfully in Romans 5, where Paul speaks of God's lavish redemption of us WHILE WE WERE YET SINNERS - while we were his enemies! By faith - given to those who believe freely by his grace - we are RECONCILED.

But we ought not rejoice that others are not, even when they have been so bold in their evil and so unjust.

Flooding on the Winooski River

While we were away on vacation, it apparently rained a lot and the water level of rivers and lakes in our area of the world was pretty incredible. Before we left, lake Champlain was at flood stage, 100.2 feet the day we left. Vivace had a field trip at the ECHO Center on the lake the morning we left, so we got a cool view of it. Very fun. By the time we returned, it was much higher than that, I think around 100.8 feet, so we checked out the Winooski River near us on the way home from the grocery store Monday the 25th and made mental note of what was and wasn't under water. Tuesday 4/26/11, the thunderstorms began, at roughly 6pm. They continued all night. And I mean pouring, raining, deluging rain. It probably could have been worse, but it went on . . . . and on . . . and on. It rained roughly 2.5".


We knew the rivers would be high as a result, what with all the rain, and the snowmelt from the mountains.... so we decided to go see just how high the Winooski was by driving around after I picked up Vivace from preschool. That was around 12:30 pm. I've heard of high waters, but this beat anything I'd ever seen. After school, we decided to drive out again to see what if anything had changed, and to show Patience who was now with us. Of course I didn't have my camera either time, but we could tell the waters had gone down about a foot from high water marks and wetness we could point out to her. So after some more rain (nowhere near as much) on Wednesday morning, I went for a drive again, this time with the camera, to see what I could see. Boy had the water receded, but still there was flooding, and I recorded it for good measure.

These first two pictures are of a farmstand we often visit, and where we pick strawberries and blueberries every year. I noted on the picture how high the water got. Just click on them to enlarge and see more clearly. Here in the pictures, the river is still flowing through the lower fields. This often floods. But to get up INTO the farmstand, that's some pretty big flooding, and that doesn't happen every year by any means. It must have been 4-5 FEET higher than what you see here.

This 3rd picture is of a road that often (always) floods when there's high water. But the day before this picture was taken, it was so under water you couldn't even tell where the road was. Period. The 2nd time we came by, w/Patience, when the water had begun to go down, you could tell where it was by the ripples as it flowed over and tumbled off the edge of the road. And of course now the road is open. Amazing difference, yet still flooded.

The last two pictures are basically evidence of where the fields were completely covered. I mean totally and completely under water, no sign of land.
Now all the water that drained out of the Winooski in that 18 + hours had to go somewhere, and that would be Lake Champlain. Talk about the Water Cycle God created in action such that you could touch see and feel it. And my pictures don't come close to touching on the damage and impact of the Tuesday night rains elsewhere in our region (like "flood days" where some local schools were closed due to rains etc), nor do they reflect the additional inch of rain that fell on Thursday, so stay tuned in upcoming days for more documenting of this past week's weather and water story....