2017 Garden Update

My garden isn't up to snuff this year. Right now I have five or six, sad little plants and lots of weeds. I didn't even turn over the dirt this year, instead I'm using the same rows from last summer. I keep telling myself I'm going to plant more, but that probably won't actually happen. That said, my sisters will be happy to hear that one of the three plants I did put in produces mini pumpkins.

Despite my lack of care there are a few plants that are surviving from last year. Most remarkably are the strawberries which aren't just alive, but thriving. Since I haven't had much success when I actually try to grow them, finding red gems tucked between green leaves was a pleasant surprise this spring. (Something else that will make my sisters happy.) Now if I can just get to them before the ants or birds.

70F with hail last week, 100+ this week

Speaking of animals stealing food, did you know rabbits love banana pepper plants? We have some wild bunnies running around and the poor pepper seems to be their favorite snack. Not quite sure what I'm going to do about that yet. If you have any suggestions, I am all ears. In the meantime, I hope the bipolar weather doesn't stress the plants too much. (What's with that by the way?) This week's challenge, can this neglectant gardener help the plants survive this hot spell, or are they gonna end up burning to a crisp?

A Thought from Work

  I manage student’s employees, but my office is removed from their physical location. Recently some work I assigned wasn't completed. I have spent most of a work week trying to obtain a status update so I could communicate what still needed to be done. All week the sheet marking their progress was not updated. Friday, I finally had enough and had to go down into their space myself to figure out what was going on. Once I understood where things stood I took a rather stern tone with them and reset expectations. 
     As I was walking downstairs to enter their work space myself I realized this is what Jesus did. God communicated from on high, made His plan clear, but because we couldn't get the job done He came down and took care of things Himself. In the time between giving His instructions, and His coming, He provided some sternly worded messages when Israel ignored their project. (Although, I would argue their punishment was much harsher then the point system we use with our students.) And in the midst of holding them accountable for their actions God always forgave, reset the goal, and promised something even better. 
     Which led me to this question; how often am I like my students who don't always understand the reason behind things, but just see our processes as tedious and mundane? How often in that ignorance do I say, "no, I have a more efficient way", to God? 

Food for Thought

I was going to write something about how spring is the herald to summer and brings with it thoughts of vacation, swimming pools, heat, and fun. Which is all true in a blustery sort of way, but I'm afraid that thought has been derailed by chocolate cake.

I can be quite emphatic about what is and is not a breakfast food. Cereal, eggs, bacon, pancakes and waffles all qualify. Quesadilla's are not (sorry, but it just ain't a breakfast burrito), leftover hamburgers aren't (gag) , pizza however is universally acceptable. That's not to say you can't eat other foods for breakfast, you can, but that doesn't automatically define it as "breakfast food".

Which leaves me wondering about cake. Ever since I read the Outsiders chocolate cake has been an acceptable thing to break ones fast with, especially if accompanied by a fried egg. But do I consider it a breakfast food? If I look at my criteria, my answer would have to be no. It's a food I enjoy eating for breakfast, often to celebrate the holidays or vacation, but categorically it remains firmly in the dessert family.

I've had several conversations with friends recently about stereotypes. This morning I realized people are like food, we put them into groups and categorized them in different ways. But just because a label has stuck doesn't mean that's the only box a person fits in. To put it in context of my breakfast choice, people are like chocolate cake, too complex to be defined by a single attribute. The more you get to know someone, the more you see their intriguing facets.

That's my deep for thinking for the week. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go finish my breakfast 'cause as my grandpa used to say "Life is short, so eat dessert first."