Treasure Hunting

The sea does not reward those who are too anxious, too greedy, or too impatient. To dig for treasures shows not only impatience and greed, but lack of faith. Patience, patience, patience, is what the sea teaches.  Patience and faith.  One should lay empty, open, choice-less as a beach – waiting for a gift from the sea.”  - Anne Morrow Lindberg

Every year or two, my husband and I go visit our timeshare in Kauai.  Snorkeling is the big highlight for me, and I’ve been on an elusive search for a sea turtle for years. However, they’re playing a pretty good game of hide and seek, because I’ve swam beside hundreds of spectacular fish, but not one single turtle. One day, while just sitting on the beach, a giant sea turtle crawled out of the ocean and beached himself about 10 feet from me. The lifeguards soon cordoned off the area where it sunbathed, and I sat amazed at this furrowed, beguiling beauty, as well as my good fortune. I had searched with the focus of finding a turtle, and the turtle rewarded me with grace, and plunked himself right beside me.  He came to me, not in the way I had expected, but I sure couldn’t deny his presence! He had tagged me, I was “IT”!

Patience, oh how that word makes me…well…impatient! It involves letting go, and I’m as tenacious as they come when I focus on something. I do have some patience; in fact I look at the word as a bit relative.  I have patience with children, but not with myself.  I have patience with gardening, admiring each minute change, but not with sitting still or pacing my strength. I want to be thin, but the daily resolve needed to achieve the goal is tiresome. God has his hands very full teaching me discipline, and the process of letting go and releasing worries to Him is not often fully realized. He is my sea, and I am swimming through his beautiful kingdom impatiently digging for quick treasures while mired down in a kelp forest (which, I must say, though restrictive, can also be quite lovely).

Almost two years ago two of my grandsons, and their parents, moved from out of state to just down the road from me. Oh, the adventures the boys and I have!  We hunt and identify insects and birds, go on space adventures; create beautiful pieces of art and culinary masterpieces. We play together, swim together, laugh together, learn from each other, and love each other deeply. In fact here is an example of a treasure I received yesterday when six year old Ethan came to my house after school.  He was at the kitchen table and said excitedly, “Oh Grandma, I need to tell you what I learned in school today.” “If I just put the number six in my head and count all my fingers, I can count all the way to 16 without running out of fingers!” He walked out of the kitchen shaking his head and saying with amazed confidence, “I know everything”.  I can only imagine how wonderful it would be to have ALL my grandchildren living around me, like my grandparents did. To have grandchildren is a blessing beyond words, but to actually have them in your daily life, for me, is a piece of heaven.

My mother warned me when they came, “Lisa, remember they are not your children”.  She was right to warn me, because they do feel like mine, and I am as protective as a mama bear with them. 

There is a chance they may be moving to another state again, and I am in a tailspin.  My greedy arms want to grab them and hold them hostage, and yet…they are not mine. And even though they are their loving parent’s responsibilities, they are not truly theirs either.  They are God’s children, and He promises to take good care of them.  Living near my grandsons has been my biggest treasure, and I am having the hardest time relinquishing them to their creator. God whispers in my ear that He will not leave or forsake them when, (or, if) they are gone from this state, and He will watch over my grandsons and their development. I will mourn and ache for the daily treasures their lives have brought me, but I pray God will open up new opportunities for me as the busyness of their little lives potentially are moved on.

"God give me patience and faith.  Help me to have peace with my choice-less-ness.  Let your will be done with my grandchildren. Help me to learn a new rhythm. You have sought me and found me Lord, but YOU are “IT”."

 

Insect explorations

Ethan's Dragonfly. He learned the hard way to release after capture. He called me crying that his dragonfly died and the ants were eating it. Tough, tough, lesson.



Making Christmas decorations.

Remy loves to bake, and he can crack an egg decisively without any shells going into the bowl!

The boys are watching their cookies bake.  Wolf is with them, of course.  Wolf is a story doll that turns into Little Red Riding Hood, and her Grandma. The boys love Wolf best and he goes on a lot of adventures with us.

One of our many space adventures. We have to all wear something white and wear strainers on our heads for our spacesuits. My bed is the spaceship, then we get out and go to various planets around the house.  My dark walk-in closet is "The Scary Black Hole", that we inadvertently get sucked into each trip.

 

 

Changes

Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassion's never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3: 22-23

It has been almost a year since I last wrote. A very tough year. A year where I have felt so dry of words my heart couldn't string a line of them together that felt in the least bit interesting, let alone uplifting. Less than one year after my father died, my mother fought and lost her battle with cancer.

Mom moved near me in Washington when my kids were in grade school and junior high. We shared a deep love of nature and gardening and our homes reflected it. Having spent several years in Japan before her husband retired from the Navy, she was influenced by their art and design. Together we formed her little back yard overlooking a wooded area of a golf course, into a small Japanese inspired garden. Her modest garden was deeply filtered by huge Douglas fir trees and we gave up the lawn to accept and then encourage the moss that preferred to grow there and created a pathway of pavers through the soft green earth. The camellia bush we planted when only a foot tall, bloomed brightly each year, and this dark green bush soon towered over seven feet, it's glossy dark leaves reflecting small glints of light. The nandina, ferns, hostas, hellebores, and Japanese skimmia, added diverse shades of green to her light dappled retreat.

White and pink blossoms from astilbe adding the gentle break of cadence from the garden's green chorus. Mom disliked variegated leaves, so nandina leaves were only tolerated because they maintained muted gradations of wine and green, and not the dreaded striped and speckled leaves she thought garish and harsh in other plant varieties that enjoyed or tolerated the shade. One year I gave her a coral barked maple, hoping its bright bark would be a light source in the winter's long wet and often gloomy days. She loved it, and although it never grew very large, it was one of her most prized specimen's, and she often commented wistfully, "I can't believe I have a coral barked maple".  As all gardeners do, she understood why my gifts of bags of manure and compost felt as good as receiving diamonds and riches.

 Through the years we giggled at the way we each groaned when our arthritic knees were forced to bend and straighten.  We both limped with both legs, and we poked fun at ourselves as we waddled back and forth, side by side. She short, me tall, making shadows like waving grass.

After mom left us, I decided to finally do something about my own knees.  They each had advanced arthritis and were grinding bone to bone, making my life so much smaller with their limitations. So, six months ago at the age of 55, I underwent bi-lateral knee replacements. More than one person have commented, "I can't decide whether you were incredibly brave, or incredibly stupid to have them both done at the same time."

 I don't know what I'll think a few years down the road, but right now, I'm under the feeling I was very stupid. Having both knees replaced at one time is more pain than I think we humans should ever have to endure. I'm also a scar former, inside and out, and the affects of surgery on my body felt like more than I could bare much of the time. I hurt, I miss my mom and dad, and I was scared (still am) what my future mobility would be like.

God is faithful. George Bernard Shaw wrote, "The best place to seek God is your garden, you can dig for Him there," and although the old atheist may not have meant his words to resonate with those who see God's fingerprint in nature, they have called my twitching shovel foot into action. I am digging again. My stiff newly-minted knees have been bending down to weed, and my right foot has been pushing down my dented iron shovel deep into the earth, moving plants, and removing the snares that seek to overtake new life. God is responding as He promised in Jeremiah 29:13, "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you." I will continue to dig.

All His Wonders!

My grandsons have arrived and my world is spinning at break neck speed! However, I must add it is also more vibrant, full and beautiful. A couple of years ago I bought a giant book on insects hoping for the day when my grandchildren would come and we could explore together. That book was meant for our home. Ethan (5), and Remington (3), who have recently moved to Olympia from San Diego, have taken hold of that book with such excitement and curiosity, I can barely keep up with their hunger to learn. As we explored outside for examples of the insects featured in the book, I quickly realized we needed lab supplies.  We now have a lab that includes specimen jars with magnifying lids, hand held magnifying glasses, a cool microscope that allows viewing from above and underneath, a butterfly net, tweezers, and my lap top for identification of mystery insects.

My grandson Devin in the lab, as he made the big trip to Grandma's on my birthday.

As we find specimens the boys are learning to check for similarities from the book's featured insects, counting legs, observing colors and body parts, and classifying accordingly. We have caught dragonflies, damselflies, various beetles, butterflies, moths, bees, worms, ants, and spiders. We are learning about camouflage, life cycles, feeding, mouth parts, and insect communication.

One day we even took our investigation to another level and made an ant brownie.  We made sure all the major body parts were there, counting, and checking for accuracy. The boys did a little communicating in ant talk as well.

When they arrive to our home Ethan will often want to read a bit more on an insect he has been thinking about.  He loves to sit beside me and read about them together and I love to share. In Psalm 8:1 it says, "O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!" "You have set your glory above the heavens." "From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise." What a wonderful way to celebrate and praise our creator by learning more about his wonders.  Children are wired to wonder about God's creation and what a pleasure it is to share in that wonder.  Psalm 9:1 says, "I will praise, O Lord with all my heart; I will tell of your wonders." "I will be glad and rejoice in you."  "I will praise to your name, O Most High." We are exploring and telling of God's wonders and we are impressed!

Remington is excited about his female cabbage butterfly.

Ethan's much loved dragonfly. He is painfully learning that releasing after investigating is the better choice.

This cute little Garden Sprite named Dylan was found on my birthday.

An Over-Flowing Heart

Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the Lord has been good to you. Psalm 116:7.

I have so much to share! First of all, our newest family member, Oliver Atticus Walter has finally arrived! He is a perfect in every way, and our family is just over the "Super" moon with excitement and thankfulness. Cast your eyes on this handsome lad:

I was privileged to help my daughter for a week when she came home from the hospital with Oliver on Mother's Day, no less. This was an especially touching event because 28 years earlier I had brought my daughter home from the hospital on Mother's Day.  Mother's Day cannot get any better than that! The joy of holding this snuggling, precious gift was like refreshing water percolating through dry pebbles. I felt joy trickle through me until I could do nothing more than cry out my thanks to our heavenly father for He has indeed been good to us.

While at my daughter's my granddaughter Greta and I reconnected in our joined love of gardening.  Greta is only three and a half but she loves the outdoors, digging in the soil and watering plants just as much as me!

I got a secret thrill when she would stand at the door and plea, "I need to go out and garden!" I won a  child's gardening set from Seattle's horticulturalist and TV personality, Cisco Morris, while there and Greta was so excited when I arrived home with new tools for her collection.  I also won a $25.00 gift certificate and was on the radio as I asked Cisco what could be going on with my declining roses on the south end of my rose garden. Alas, I even stumped our pro, because it would appear I'm doing everything right. He suggested I give up on the roses and plant something like red-twigged dogwood, ha! I'm not quite ready go call it quits, so I will give them one more summer to perk up and show me they remember their past glory days.              

I could hardly believe the changes in my own flower beds when I returned.  The new mulch has been just what my plants needed!  My two blueberry bushes are loaded full of green berries, signaling their acid loving approval over their cow manure and bark mulch blanket.  Leaves are vibrant and colorful, and flowers are blooming everywhere I look, with pink and lavender being the predominate colors.

Alliums are a tall and fun new addition this year.

These clematis blooms are making their first appearance after being planted three years ago!

The Azalea's give such a splendid show out my kitchen window.

This is the rainbow weigela I won at a garden show last year. I love its pink flowers.

My soul is indeed at rest, for the Lord has been good to me and I am blessed beyond my wildest dreams! A loved one is having success with a long-term struggle, we have new babies in our family, and my son and his family may be moving back to Washington from San Diego in the next few weeks. It seems the earth is responding in joyful celebration of colors and texture and my heart is tender and over-flowing with emotions and gratefulness. Great is your faithfulness O Lord, your works and grace are present, and I am blessed.

Nesting

"...A time to tear and a time to mend, A time to be silent and a time to speak". Ecclesiastes 5:2

Have you forgotten me? It's been almost two months since my last entry and as the days away from my blog grew longer, the feeling that I have anything relevant to add to a conversation seemed to grow.  For you see, I've been nesting. This has been a time where I've had to pair down my life to the very basics and rest around my little home in anticipation for the day when I could leave the nest with renewed energy, walk once more through my forest trail to the beach, and work in my flower beds fighting the good fight with the weeds and the critters once more. 

I began my adventure with an severely abscessed molar which needed a root canal and a course of antibiotics. Once that was managed, I began taking care of my daughter who was sick with the swine flu while in her early ninth month of pregnancy, poor sweet girl. The final two days there I began getting tired and the evening I returned, well, I just hunkered down and got sick. An infection was diagnosed and I began new antibiotics. Several beautiful sunny days were expected so I thought, "Hey, I'm on antibiotics and should get better in a day or so, so I guess I'll order 10 yards of mulch consisting of 1/2 steer manure and 1/2 ground bark"...my fever obviously was beginning to make irrational thoughts seem brilliant.  I began weeding the winter weeds away and worked for two days with a fever that kept climbing higher until I knew that there was no way that huge pile of mulch in my driveway was going to be moved by me.

My husband began the work without me as my fever climbed to 103. I hired my friend's teenage son for a few hours one day, but my husband labored for three days bringing the mulch to the back yard flower beds.  I don't know which was more painful watching my husband who hates yard work do the work I love on those three gorgeous, sunny days, or actually being sick.

My hubby worked long and hard and in the end he felt victorious and proud of himself and I...so very thankful.  My high fever and its gnarly side-kicks rested on me for almost two weeks and I received three straight days of antibiotic shots,and another run of antibiotics. I'm still gathering speed and have a bit more stamina to gather but I am definitely on the mend!

Whilst, in the midst of my illness new additions in my little nest were keeping me entertained. Check out my oyster mushroom garden!

And now I must introduce to you a new man in my life.  I can't seem to settle on his name, but have been given some excellent suggestions. In fact, I would love any suggestions from you, then perhaps I could finally put a name to this glorious man who for now resides in my kitchen but who will soon be in my garden.  I planted his hair and am in hopes of it falling down around his handsome face.

Well, that's it for me! I look forward to sharing more tidbits regarding my little piece of earth as I begin once more to venture out and investigate things like, "Why are the roses and tulips on the right side of the front flower bed considerably smaller, even though they were given the same soil amendments as those on the left and equal amount of sun?" Hmm...this is a question that needs an answer and may require a fair amount of sleuthing... is it insects, a virus in the soil, wascally wabbits, moles??? Does my soil need antibiotics too? Any suggestions?

The Assurance of Spring

So much has happened since my last entry!  We have welcomed a new member to our family, our first great-grandchild, Adalyn. She is as perfectly sweet as any baby could be and her beauty has no bounds, as seen by the picture just hours after her birth:

Our grandson, Oliver, has a bit more growing to do but will be joining us in just a few more weeks. What fun! Tiny little babies filled with promise.   New life, from darkness to light these precious bundles are ushered in, and the world is more joyful because they are here.

Changes are happening around my little piece of earth as well.  My witch hazel burst into bloom almost a month ago and its ribbon-like blossoms spill out like yellow confetti, celebrating the closing weeks of winter.



Some of my roses are starting to leaf out, and many of them never did lose all their leaves over the winter. I'm conflicted whether I'm late in pruning them back, or if I should wait a few more weeks. The temperatures are still getting in the low thirties, and in fact it was snowing again today. The wind was spitting large, wet flakes sidewards against my windows, making it look like white suds as they slipped down. What do you think, should I prune now or wait?

The rabbits are going to be my nemesis this year, I can see already. Broken rose branches litter the ground with neat little 45 degree angle cuts that I now know signal the presence of "Wascally Wabbits"! I've been on-line trying to find a humane way to encourage them to go back into the forest and leave my roses alone.  The tulips are making their way through the crusty hard earth and if the rabbits start eating them, who knows what I will do to the "wabbits" in my seething and frenzied Elmer Fudd mode!



I love seeing all the assurances that spring is indeed around the corner. The tiny unborn pink blossoms of the cherry trees nearby give secret glimpses of the beautiful splendor that will unfurl in a few weeks.  Tulip trees are looking promising as their buds exhale and expand larger each day and my irises are starting to lose their pale anemic winter look and are becoming tinged with green.

How spoiled I feel to never have to worry that Jesus will provide a way for life to continue. Leaves return each spring, flowers bloom, the air warms, babies are born, and we always have an opportunity for a relationship with our creator while on earth. He is waiting for us, pulling for us, waiting for us to call on Him and offering us new life, new hope, new strength, new growth, and a life filled with promise.

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." James 1:17



SNOWMAGEDDON!

Our mild Northwest winter was given a sudden shake-up which brought substantial changes to the landscape and homes of tens of thousands of people. We had been coasting along with such a temperate winter, my tree mallow, perennial bachelor buttons, and a few rose bushes never lost their leaves and were even attempting to flower. We found ourselves yearning for a little snow, and I personally was just about to fall spread-eagle on any wayward, drifting snowflake and wildly start making a snow angel, no matter what the neighbors thought. Whispers of change hit the weather reports and we were given a head's-up that snow was on the horizon and in a big way. The first couple of days a light snow fell and the trails and roads around us were a manageable slush. I was reveling in the quiet stillness of the falling snow and filled with thankfulness for the silent beauty the snow created as it filled all the tiny crevices in the leaves and fir needles, accenting the green and covering the branches and ground with a light carpet of sparkle.

..."And then it happened, woo-hoo!",as the old techno song's lyrics come to mind.  We woke up to a huge snow-dump that brought some weighty changes to our surroundings. The picture below is our front yard.

The picture below is of a friend in my area's front yard.

Now, those of you from colder climates are probably, scoffing over these pictures, as no big deal.  However,we coastal Northwesters are not at all conditioned to this, and once more, neither are our trees. Nature has a way of pruning its branches by falling off in wind, ice, or storm and our pruning had begun.  As two more days of heavy snow fell, we then woke up to an ice storm and no electricity.  Branches of trees littered the ground and everything looked like a sugary glazed dessert. The first picture is of a friend's front window after a branch entered their living room.  Electricity in my neighborhood was out for about two and half days, but many almost two weeks later are still waiting for their power.  Wind storms have followed up, making our electricity spotty at best and clearing out even more of our area's tree branches which were weakened earlier.

My young little yard trees are still pliable and not really big enough to suffer, it was the large Douglas Firs across the road from our back fence, that I kept eyeing suspiciously and prayed would stay put.

Our little town looked like a war zone. Trees and branches littered the ground and utility workers from seven states have come to the rescue.  The sound of chain saws still fill the air and chipper-shredder trucks are blocking many lanes as they attempt to clear the roadways.  Some grocery stores were giving food away the first few days from their darkened powerless buildings. Don and I closed up the bedrooms, and snuggled in front of our battery back-up little gas fireplace with flashlights and candles, our rations were getting low, but that only tickled my creativity.

 Now, I'm a fidgety kind of person who when I have to be inside, spends a fair amount of time at the windows like a cat dreaming of high adventure.  Actually, my mom has lovingly described me as, " A dog who is tough to keep under the porch". Ha!  A week before the storm, I had developed some tendinitis in my hand that kept me housebound with some pain issues, then the storms hit and I paced the house with restlessness.  Don and I played Parcheesi and read, but when I didn't think I could handle it much longer, we heard a knock at the door.  Our neighbor was there, inviting all the people in the cul-de-sac to come to her house with whatever ration we had left in our cupboard for a pot-luck of plenty. We eagerly accepted and had a wonderful time! We all laughed and shared our adventures without electricity and bonded together like never before. 

I began hearing story after story of kindnesses from strangers during this time, and families without electronic distractions that came together listening to each other, and loving through games of strategy and chance, group story times, and long talks. Jesus says in  John 13:34, "A new command I give you: Love one another, as I have loved you, so must you love one another".  I think God must have been more than a little pleased as he saw life slowing down for some, and hearts being brought closer together in spite of logistical challenges.

Some people can bend and sway to challenges like my young trees, accepting life as it is.  Others may be like my little coral-barked maple whose salmony color glowed even brighter as the cold increased. Many of us need a little trimming done and we learn to sit still while troubled areas are removed, or honed so our life skills are more affective. 

And for those who are feeling overwhelmed, God speaks to us in Isaiah 40: 28-31, "The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.  He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.  Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagle's; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."  May your heart be filled with hope during the storms that will come your way.