Trees and leaves – Page 6 – Skelton Sketches

Anticipation

Posted on May 22, 2013April 30, 2017 by lindaskelton

Much of the joy of spring is in the anticipation that sprouting things bring…

Life springs up everywhere bringing hope of great beauty and fruitfulness to come..

strawberries!

plums…

apples…

…a pair of pears

and of course, cherries…

It is a time too of watching for the ‘foxes’ that can spoil the vineyard just when it is in fullest bloom. Stealthy deer munch unseen on tender cherry leaves. Caterpillars creep with devastating steadiness. Slugs search out emerging seedlings. Grass threatens to choke out the strawberry patch…

There is great hope and great hazard in the springtime, but flowers dance and birds sing blissfully unconcerned… even while the gardener makes her rounds to secure their well-being…

This is the delight of spring—this confident anticipation of good things to come.

–LS

“For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God….And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies…” Rom.8:19-23

‘And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body…’ I Cor.15:37-8

“Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.” I Cor.15:49

We dug the hole…

Posted on May 2, 2013April 29, 2017 by lindaskelton

We chose the spot
We dug the hole

We laid the maples in the ground
To have and hold

As autumn falls
To winters sleep
We pray that somehow in the spring
The roots grow deep

And many years from now
Long after we are gone
These trees will spread their branches out
And bless the dawn…

[Lyrics by Andrew Peterson]

This is the story of parenting, symbolically played out this spring in our front yard as we planted my fledgling maple tree, raised in hope, from a stray seed…

Take a moment to enjoy Andrew Peterson’s sentimental reflection in ‘Planting Trees’. Have a tissue handy.

Blessings on you in your tree planting…

–LS

Starting with Seeds…

Posted on April 18, 2013April 30, 2017 by lindaskelton

Then God said, “Look! I have given you every seed-bearing plant throughout the earth…” Gen.1:29

[Maple tree in bloom]

And that’s how this cherry tree came to be all on its own in my flower garden (and former compost pile!):

Then there is horsetail with its spores and incorrigible rhizomes ever spreading and sprouting… But this is an exotic specimen, don’t you think?!

Speaking of seeds… it’s that time again (even a little late?!), to get the tomato seeds planted, but first for the pots. I discovered this super simple, no frills, no saving/storing/cleaning pots method:

Got Newspaper?

Choose the size and shape of your pot from any old jar or can. I chose a cute square jar this year. I love it that it never rolls away while I’m working with it!

Now roll it up in a lengthwise sheet of paper folded in on the long edges to fit your jar, with an inch or two to spare at the bottom…

Secure it with tape.

Upend your jar/can and fold in the bottom ends…

And Voila!

Your very own pot for starting seeds!

Huddle your clever pots in a waterproof container. Add potting soil and seeds. Label with permanent marker and water liberally from the bottom…And one day there will be seedlings ready for transplanting out of these compostable pots. Works like a charm. No pots to clean. No muss, and just a little fun fuss.

Meanwhile, I love the plants that just pop up and bloom unannounced when their time to shine comes—among the first to brave the chill of spring—forget-me-nots and yellow alyssum.

And that’s what’s happening at my house!

–LS