GARDENING – Page 19 – Skelton Sketches

Consider the Lilies

Posted on June 24, 2010April 30, 2017 by lindaskelton

Just some quiet meditations inspired by this week’s blooms–
carefree and splendid by design– just like you and me.

…they neither toil nor spin, yet…even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these…

If God so clothes the grass of the field, how much more will He clothe you…

Don’t worry. Leave that to everybody else. You have a Father that knows what you need…

Be about the business of His Kingdom and He’ll see to the details.

And don’t be afraid, little flock, it’s your Father’s delight to give you the Kingdom!

Invest there; your heart will be where your treasure is. *

I so quickly stress over my want of ‘bloom’ as I perceive it should look, yet my Father is the Master Gardener and will see to it that I bear fruit as I yield to His pruning in humble trust and soak up His feeding and watering, eager to believe whatever He says.

This is His ‘Miracle Grow’ verse for me this week:

It is I who answer and look after you.
I am like an evergreen cypress;
from me comes your fruit.

Hosea 14:8 ESV

Wishing you His gracious Sonshine all your days!

–Linda

*[paraphrased and etc. by LDS from Luke 12]

The Glory of Fall

Posted on October 4, 2009April 30, 2017 by lindaskelton

We’re having a glorious fall day that makes my reluctance to leave summer behind feel silly.
The sun is shining through a crisp refreshing breeze. I’ve had a walk, a casual lazy day walk. Bear droppings are everywhere. Hazelnuts are all cleaned up—birds and bears no doubt have helped. I missed my helping this year. Came home to gather my pumpkins and gourds. I always love this part of fall. What will I find beneath the straggling vines this year? There was a bumper crop of volunteers in the compost pile this summer. One was a big pumpkin. Unfortunately a wandering bear had some fun with it before abandoning it on the lawn…

But I was very pleased with the armloads of mixed cousins I discovered. And the gargantuan ribbed zucchini to top them all!

It was a good summer for volunteers. Had a bumper crop of small red potatoes but the ones that grew in the abandoned compost area were giants!

Likewise the sprawling nasturtiums…

This was my favorite this year:

Well, but summer is over with its swimming and boating, gardens and travel. In exchange there will be cozy treks in wool and windbreaker and the ever essential earwarmer. But best of all the delights of fall is the fire to come home to at trails’ end.

Every season has its glories– God bless the season you are in with His bounty and His comforts–the best is yet to come!

Dandy!

Posted on March 10, 2009April 30, 2017 by lindaskelton

There are signs that the cycle of seasons has not gotten lost in a fog but is on its way. I found this little wonder near my herb garden bed poking through the half frozen topsoil in all its glory.
Thanks Nola!

My snowdrops are celebrating the lengthening days too!

The sun lured me out today to hike up Scout. It was a bit of a trick because it was quite cold and windy despite the sun’s brilliant invitation.
Along the way I spied the year’s first dandelion! It grows here predictably each Spring, the first of its kind, in the protection of the roadside drainage ditch. Not a glamorous spot or a particularly glamorous sight but a bright spot nonetheless. Blooming where it’s planted.

There’s not much new along this familiar trail today, but change is just around the corner! The buds are swelling lending a reddish cast to the alders’ branches. The sun is still bright in this wood, for now. This will soon be a very shady path. I’ve taken this photo in hopes of following spring’s progress here with my camera…

On the final ascent to the top of our little ‘Scout’ I found winter still hanging on. No wonder I was so cold!– it’s freezing up here still. Will these be the season’s last icicles?

Today wasn’t one for long meditations on the mountain… too shivery. Rather than retrace my steps I went down the other side of the mountain. Coming down a small ravine I was delighted with this contrast– a wall of dancing ferns above and beside me.

They had caught the afternoon sun and put it to good use.
Hard and cold as ice or dancing in carefree abandon– I guess it’s all a matter of where you stand in relation to the Sun.
If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with each other and the blood of Jesus washes us clean from all our sin…
“God is light, pure light. There’s not a trace of darkness in Him.”
I John 1:5 The Message
Wishing you the joy of His presence in your days…
-Linda