One Wild and Precious Life

Life in the Garden

This was a great weekend.  I love my quiet little life here on the Plateau with my parish, my books, my pets, and God's creation all around me.  I guess lots of people would say that my life is pretty small, but it feels just right to me.

I spent a good deal of time in the veggie garden on Friday and Saturday; as usual, the perennial beds go begging.  I started out with this:

Yeah, I know -- it looks pretty bad.  Okay, really bad.  It wasn't too bad when I went away on vacation the end of June, but by the time I got back late in July, it was already overgrown, and the heat and discouragement got to me.  But as I said the other day, the temperatures are really moderating around here, and it was really great gardening weather over the weekend.  So after only an hour, things looked like this:

Not nearly perfect, I know, but so much better!  And no, I didn't make the tomatoes appear this weekend -- they were already there, just not in the last shot.  Back against the fance, you can now see the rosemary, which has grown to huge proportions (I wasn't even sure it would winter over up here), thyme, and the wispier growth is asparagus.  The nearer bed is my strawberry bed, which is in need of some renovation and mulch.  I'm always amazed at how it just propagates itself, though, with minimum upkeep.  And even now this scene looks better yet, as more of the path is completely weeded and mulched with several layers of newspaper and then a thick layer of wood chips.

Now, you'll need to look very closely at the next two pictures, to see what I saw when I got ready to walk the dogs this evening:

The first is the two fawns who live in our woods, grazing at the back of the yard; the second is one of them munching apples in my driveway in the gorgeous afternoon light.  You can see by the raised ears that I've been spotted -- my next quick shot didn't even catch a glimpse of disappearing white tail!  I love these deer -- the doe has raised her two fawns in close proximity to my yard, and they're often seen from the church (you can see the side French doors of the church at the back of the photo).  It always feels like a blessing when they come to eat the apples that fall from my trees; I know as a gardener they are supposed to be my rivals (and they did eat over my garden fence and devoured my green beans while I was away) -- but it's an honor to be host to such gentle, timid, beautiful creatures.  I can scarcely believe that in about a month it will be deer hunting season, and men will take to the woods with their guns to kill these babes and their mother.  I do hope they'll be safe in my woods, but nobody can always keep the scavenging hunters off their property.  Grrrr.  It's one thing when it's the locals, especially the "hills and hollers" folk who need venison for their family's winter sustenance; it's another when it's big men in their camoflage, making sport of killing these beautiful critters.

I pray that my deer will be safe and sound out behind my house.  The difference in the pictures, incidentally, is that the first was taken through my dining room window, and the flash went off; the second was taken as I crept through my side yard, trying to get a clear shot (with my camera only, of course!) of these sweet children.  May you all be blessed with such beauty in your lives.

Ah, one last mention, since I included "books" in my categories:  I'm currently reading Kenneth C. Davis' "American's Hidden History" for my study group.  Very interesting little-known background on the settling and earliest years of our nation.  Even though I knew about Fort Duquesne in Pittsburgh, it never really soaked into my mind that the French were in Pennsylvania!  This book contains lots of stuff we never got in the history books.  I'm really glad our study group is doing it, because it's not one I'd read on my own -- I'm not much of a history buff, except biblical history.  I just finished an unabridged audio version of Ken Follett's "Pillars of the Earth," and I'm excited to hear that there's a sequel out, or soon to be out.  It was fabulous.  And then I read "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini (author of "The Kite Runner").  It was chilling and fascinating and absolutely enthralling.  And now I'm reading "Middlesex" by Jeffrey Eugenides.  These last two were lent to me by a parishioner who keeps up with recent fiction, and I'm so grateful.  I've been reading and writing lots more lately; maybe that's why I seem to have less time for blogging.  I'm only coming to learn in my later years that I really can't do and have it all -- there are only so many hours in the day!

Fall on the Plateau

My sweet friend Fran asks me how my workshop on "Women of the Bible" went:  except for not having enough time, it went really well.  I've been asked to do a followup, perhaps in Lent, for the Episcopal Church Women, which I will do with great pleasure.  I'm sorry, but an hour or so just isn't enough time to cover the material at all.  But I do love the planning and preparation.  I love creating a sacred space and an atmosphere that's conducive to both learning and meditation.  I spent time the night before, setting up a table with books and resources, as well as one with candles, icons, and figures of women.  I'm never sure if I have enough material, but I always have too much.  I'm sure I'll get better at estimating time frames as I do more of these days.  I also love setting the tone for the day, both with "props" and decorative elements, but also by the pace and quality of my language and demeanor.  These retreats and quiet days are a developing love, and I hope to have the opportunity to do more and more of them, both in my parish and for outside groups, as well.  I'm preparing an Advent quiet day for my parish (I will also advertise it to the wider community, though there are usually few "outside" takers) on "Thy Kingdom Come."  We'll examine Christian and Biblical concepts of the Kingdom of Heaven.  I'm excited about it, and have already started my outline.  That will be some time in December.

Fran also asks if fall has arrived on the Plateau, and the answer is a definite yes!  Our colors aren't really colored yet -- that comes in a couple of weeks.  But the color palette has shifted from greens and flowers to yellows and browns and beautiful goldenrod.  The nights are cool, and there's heavy dew and often a bit of fog early mornings now -- my feet are soaked from walking across the grass, before my morning run ever begins.  The days are also cool enough for some serious gardening, and I'm clearing out the jungle that my veggie garden has become this summer.  After hours spent this week, wheelbarrows full of tall grass and other weeds have gone back to the discard pile, and those same wheelbarrows full of mulch (remember all that chipped wood I received when my trees were taken down?) have been layered atop a thick pad of newspapers in the paths.  Soon I'll be planting my winter garden, which I'll cultivate under row cover fabric through the dark days of winter.  I have hours and hours of work left, though, to get that garden ready for winter.  I'm seriously thinking of reducing the size by about a third, though that will require the removal of at least one raised bed and somehow reducing the fence, as well.

It has been a crazy busy time, with the fall schedule resuming at church (I've taken on a Sunday adult forum and an Inquirer's class for new members, in addition to the usual responsibilities) and schedules picking up for the other organizations I'm involved with (I'm board president of the local domestic violence/sexual assault intervention and prevention agency, as well as board president of our adult literacy program).  I've got a clergy conference coming up next week, and meetings are back to full speed ahead.

I've also gone through months of sturm und drang with computer woes, ever since my desktop computer crashed in April or May of this month, and I inherited a wonderful notebook computer from our church treasurer, who is such a dear.  I think I've finally got all those problems smoothed out, but my Palm Treo, which was highly convenient when it worked -- though it seldom worked right, and was always full of bugs and glitches -- has been retired in favor of a v-cast Verizon phone and an i-touch for my calendar, contacts, and notes.  I loved having it all stored on one device, but I wasn't willing to change providers so that I could get the iphone.  Sooner or later I'll even learn to put music and books on the ipod, but that's a challenge for another season, I think.

My sister-in-law died 2 weeks ago.  She was the wife of my last remaining living brother, and it has broken my heart.  Ramona and I were not particularly close, though I always loved her (nobody could not love Ramona, she was a sweet, sweet soul) -- so the depth of my sadness has come as a surprise to me.  Coming so soon after my "sentimental journey" back to Indiana, her passing touched a very tender place in me, and I wish I'd been a better sister-in-law (guilt and grief are inextricably intertwined for me).  I went to Indiana to officiate at her funeral, and it was a great honor to do this for her, and for my family.  My brother, her husband, is a wreck, but his 3 adult children and two very competent daughters-in-law will take the very best of care of him.  If there's any silver lining to losing Ramona, it's that I've remembered how very dear my brother Paul has been, and what a good brother he was to me during some really hard parts of my life.

I'm still working on my book (did I mention that I'm writing a book?), though it's slow going.  This is the first time I've seriously set myself to the task of writing a book, and I'm in a bit of a muddle in the middle.  But I do keep showing up and writing, and figure it will sort itself out, eventually.

I've become quite regular at two morning practices that are crucial for me to feel good about life:  my daily run, and my morning pages.  There's something about getting out with the dogs and getting out of breath that casts a glow on the day for me.  I know that if I spend that brief half-hour moving my body, it will be a good day, regardless of what else happens.  I'm running pretty consistently six days a week now -- Sunday morning is just too full of preparations for services and classes, etc.  And morning pages are written daily -- almost without fail.  They open up the creative way in which I approach all of life, not just my writing.  They feel deep-down good to do.  Now if I could just get better about yoga, and about writing daily on this book project, it would be great.

I've lost 14 pounds since my vacation this summer, primarily because I've quite drinking altogether at home.  My activity level has also increased (see previous paragraph), and I've really tried to eat more fruits and veggies.  I've also been drinking lots of milk since I found a source of fresh, raw, whole milk.  Yum -- I don't know when I've ever had something so good.

Today I baked whole  wheat bread in my bread machine.  Yum again.

Tonight I've been a good citizen and watched the presidential debate -- ho, hum.  Remind me that I wouldn't have missed a thing if I'd turned it off and read a good book.

Women of the Bible

Tomorrow, Friday, is supposed to be my day off.  Usually I guard that day like the precious treasure that it is.  There's nothing like that expanse of empty hours to open up my heart, my spirit, and my creativity.  I love having hours to write in my journal, to read, to work in my studio, to garden.  It's like opening a new notebook to a blank page -- I can write anything I want on the page of my day off!

But tomorrow will be different: tomorrow I'm doing one of my favorite things.  I'm speaking to a group called Churchwomen United, which is a community-wide group of women from various denominations, at their annual "retreat."  I put the word in quotes, because it's a program that will last from registration at 9:30 a.m. until the conclusion of lunch at about 12:30 p.m.  That's not my idea of a retreat, but that's what they're calling it, and I'm thrilled to be speaking to them, even if only for about an hour.

My idea of a retreat is at least a full day, usually more, in which a series of meditations is given around a central theme, with lots of time in between the meditations for private reflection, prayer, journaling, and perhaps some individual work with a spiritual director.  It's the extended amount of time and the removal from one's usual environment along with the private reflection time, that makes for a true retreat.  Be that as it may, I'm still excited and delighted.

The theme they requested was "Women of the Bible."  I wasn't sure how to present this theme in order to make it appropriate spiritual material for a retreat, rather than a dry, fact-based speech -- but I had several months to think about it.  I finally decided that my approach would be to emphasize finding the woman or women that each participant could identify with most, to use as a spiritual guide, a role model, or an icon through which God could be more clearly seen.  I'll give a presentation of about 45 minutes, small group or individual time for reflection, and about 20 minutes to wrap up and pray before lunch.  They actually requested to meet in small groups -- talk about a bunch of extroverts!

I've long loved some of the women in the Bible -- Sarah, because she laughed at God;  Hagar in her exile and despair; Mary the mother of Jesus in her radical and courage to defy tradition and bear God's new dream for the world; Mary Magdalene in her love for the Lord, her willingness to witness the crucifixion, and the devotion that led her to return to the garden to dress Jesus' body for burial.  Oh, I love these biblical women, and I hope I can convey some of that love to the ladies I'll be speaking to tomorrow.

Tonight I set up the space and arranged all my materials; it feels like rain, and I don't want to be schlepping things back and forth in bad weather tomorrow morning.  I'll soon be off to bed for a fresh start tomorrow -- wish me luck!  I'll report back about how it went.