Little mop, who made thee?

 

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She came ambulating along with mincing footfall across the breakfast table unannounced, beelining for nowhere in particular, a stirring ‘crumb’ of a creature. A little mop automaton, interrupting our conversation by her singular appearance.  Where had she come from?  The cereal box? Yikes!  The bouquet of blooming oregano? (hopefully!)  Where was she headed?  She didn’t know.  But her likeness to a miniature mop spared her from being squashed on the spot! 

What a marvel, this tiny creation.  How endlessly creative is our God.  I am reminded of this charming poem by William Blake:

Little lamb, who made thee?
   Does thou know who made thee,
Gave thee life, and bid thee feed
By the stream and o’er the mead;
Gave thee clothing of delight,
Softest clothing, woolly, bright;
Gave thee such a tender voice,
Making all the vales rejoice?

   Little lamb, who made thee?
   Does thou know who made thee?

   Little lamb, I’ll tell thee;
   Little lamb, I’ll tell thee:
He is callèd by thy name,
For He calls Himself a Lamb.
He is meek, and He is mild,
He became a little child.
I a child, and thou a lamb,
We are callèd by His name.
   Little lamb, God bless thee!
   Little lamb, God bless thee!
               –William Blake, 1789

And so, I blessed the little ‘mop’ by escorting her on her way outside.  Farewell little mop.

[If you should know what this creature really is, kindly do not tell me. I’m sure I should not like to know I have some creepy creature’s beguiling offspring running around my house just waiting to morph into some sleek centipede or earwig or something and infest my pantry!  For now, I’ll just marvel at the wonder of God’s design in such a little ‘mop’….]

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–LS

And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. Gen.1:25

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful:
The Lord God made them all.
–Cecil Alexander, 1848

Heat, Blessed Heat!

It brings the garden to life.  Nasturtiums tumble over themselves in  spontaneous flaming festoons…

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glorying in morning sun….

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This variation, a peachy cream, was a surprise!P1110737P1110738

Potatoes rush to bloom…

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And the zucchini is outgrowing our ability to consume it!  No sooner does one become a delicious meal of ‘Zucchini Wonder’, then another two are ready the next morning…We’ve got a backlog already and they’ve only just begun!  (If you live in the vicinity, don’t hesitate to come by and pick up a zucchini for dinner!)

[And if you don’t live nearby, please share a recipe!!!]

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All because of blessed heat!  Oh, I love it, when I can shed wool socks and sweaters and leave doors and windows wide, and dare to dip in water!P1110702at Inland Lake

These gi-normous bullfrog tadpoles love it too!  And they know where to find the warmest water.  So naturally, we had a swim together yesterday in a sheltered cove on Powell Lake.

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My sympathies to those of you who must endure searing steering wheels and cannot relate to heat being a blessed thing.  I was there once…  But for this season of life, I just can’t get enough of summer’s blessed heat and all the good things it brings!

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–LS

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Quintessential Summer Daze

What makes a summer’s day just right?

Sunshine and heat and a tandem ride to the beach for starters…

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…a tall cool McDonald’s strawberry mango smoothie to follow,  a refreshing shower and a nap out back from happy exhaustion in the dappled seclusion of the willow…

Upon waking, juicy cold sailboat slices of watermelon till thirst is quenched and tummies tight ( :

A broiled salmon steak fished from local waters for supper and then a quiet perusal of the garden in the balmy evening and some industrious compost turning  just because making dirt is so much fun!

And at close of day a glorious billowing sky of gold and silver clouds to the west and a full arc of brilliant rainbow to the east…tying up the day as if it were a custom gift from God to us.

All these make a summer’s day just right.  What more could I ask?

But then today dawned and I couldn’t resist a little hike to a favorite ‘perch’ on the side of Scout…

And I sat and wrote and read the morning away, lapping  up the luxurious warmth of another rare summer’s day…

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And  I took pictures…

P1110649P1110650P1110653…pictures of every summery thing that struck my fancy…Well, not everything, the bumper crop of crimson huckleberries hanging daintily by the roadside I didn’t think to photograph.  I plucked little tangy handfuls and ate them instead!

Flowers everywhere are celebrating summer…

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Some with great fanfare…

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Others lollygagging about…

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The most exquisite bears thorns… she is the blackberry’s forerunner.

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And at last, home to my own flowers.

My very own first Gerber Daisy… looking artificial were it not for the rumple of wind and weather…

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A quintessential summer’s day would be incomplete without the bumbling buzz of bees, hard at work while we play…

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Here’s hoping you too are enjoying the essence of summer where you are.  What makes a summer’s day just right for you?  Drop a comment in the box before you head back out the door to smell the roses!

–LS