As I look out my window at the recently transplanted roses and plants in my newest garden spot, I can’t help but compare it to life. Sometimes you just get comfortable and established and it seems someone comes along and transplants you.

Change is the single constant in the universe. Sometimes it’s slight, other times it’s momentous. But no matter what shape or size it comes in, you can be guaranteed that it will find it’s way into your life.

As I reflect on my own life I see so many similarities to the recent changes in my back yard. Fences have been put in place during times when extra security was needed and taken down when that need diminished, new plants have been put in places where old ones have died or where it was barren before, new seeds are planted and encouraged to grow to maturity while other mature plants are transplanted for various reasons. It’s never apparent to these objects what the reason for their arrival, move or dismissal are, but as the cultivator and designer I know the reasons.

There’s a master cultivator and designer that weaves a web of perfection in my life. I need to trust Him more. Just as I work in incremental steps to make my yard be all I want it to be, so it is with my life. He simply wants me to be all that He knows I can be. Often that means a need for comfort to be replaced with challenge or hardship. Reflection shows that some of the biggest and hardest changes in my life have brought about the most beautiful and prosperous results. I just couldn’t see it at the time, nor did I understand the reasons for the change. Perhaps this is part of the meaning behind the saying to bloom where you’re planted.

This morning I was out planting my garden. I looked over and saw something that struck several thoughts in my head and heart. Inspired, I grabbed the camera.

Now the question is, what do you see?

If you’re anything like me you see beauty in this simple flower. The fact that is was a singular flower contributed to my attention being pulled to it. Having read a bit of the history of this specific type of flower there’s a certain amount of awe as well. It’s been around since the dinosaur age according to some specialists. It’s a hardy flower that manages to survive and thrive, and according to Robert Fulgham it deserves to bloom wherever it pops up given how long it’s worked to stay around. Funny how I always think of him and his books when I see any form of dandelion.

Just saying the word dandelion may have already altered you view of this picture. But wait, there’s more. What do you see now?

How amazing is that? Something with a focused and narrow perspective that was once beautiful and inviting becomes something quite different when you see more of the picture.

So here are a few things that hit me immediately:
1) Seeing more of the picture can greatly alter your perspective.
2) A narrow focus or view can greatly alter your perceptions and beliefs.
3) Even in the most unsightly and ugly, beauty can be found.
4) Company and environment have a huge influence.
5) Determination matters more than almost any other element.

Each of these is worthy of its own post. What hit you? What did you think of when you saw the images?

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It’s always nice when you can start a week with some momentum of positive energy from the weekend. Saturday was a really productive day for me this weekend. By 11:00 a.m. I had mowed the front lawn, trimmed the bushes, harvested the garden and pulled the weeds.

We took a break for lunch at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants. The kids weren’t sure they wanted to go anywhere until we told them we’d be hitting the movie theater after to watch the movie my daughter’s been begging to see for what feels like forever - Confessions of a Shopaholic. The lunch was great and the show was much better than I was expecting. In fact, I’d go see it again and even apologized to Cid for dragging my feet so much on taking her to it.

Then it was back home to process and store the garden goods. I pulled out the old canning stuff that’s been collecting dust since I left Idaho and got to work.

My extra effort in planting paid off with nice, big carrots to work with this season. It took much less time than last year and they were easier to work with. These were vacuumed packed like last spring’s crop as we found that worked really well for keeping “crunchy” carrots (according to my son). My vacuum packer is now over 11 years old and I’m afraid that we’ll have to purchase a new one soon, but it has sure paid its dues! I wish we’d had one of these when I grew up as it’s a great way to preserve your crops in addition to bottling.

We decided to pickle the beets this time as my hubby said it’s his favorite way to eat them. Admittedly, it took me a minute to remember how to do this even looking at my recipe card. Thankfully, I found it a lot like riding a bike and the knowledge came back soon enough.

During this process my daughter asked why we were doing this. We explained that you can’t eat everything from your garden when it’s ready because it will go bad, but we don’t want to waste it. These methods allowed us to enjoy the vegetables all year long. Her mouth fell to the floor and she said, “A whole year?!” we giggled as we informed her that all the carrots we’ve eaten since last year at this time were from that same batch we’d stored. It’s fun to see your kids start to get it.

Sunday was a nice day and I even refilled the cookie jar before bed!

There is so much to be said for seeing the rewards of your labors. It’s such a boost!

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At least that’s what they tell me. I was just reviewing my blog and noticed that this month marks the third new year of me blogging. The first year I shared a picture of my little boy on his new Christmas bike and a typical goals post. The second year I shared a kick start of recent accomplishments - which I’m sure was my way of trying to jump start my personal motivation to keep things moving. This year? Well, honestly I’ve been stuck in first gear since the new year found it’s way to my calendar. That doesn’t sound very much like third time’s a charm does it?

I’ve been sitting here this morning trying to define what’s been keeping me from feeling like I’m picking up positive speed so far this year. I don’t have the typical excuse of winter blues in the traditional sense of cold and snow. In fact, this morning I went out to take a picture of my neglected but growing garden for an upcoming class this weekend.

I say neglected because I haven’t done anything with it since October, no weeding, not even watering as we’ve had a wet winter here. Yet the cold tolerant plants continue to thrive and even make progress, even if it is slower. Then it hit me. You don’t have to be moving at full steam ahead to be making progress or succeeding.

Yes, there is what feels like an Everest list of projects I want to complete or get started. Focusing on them makes me feel like I’m failing or “stuck” but after contemplating my garden this morning I realized maybe I’m looking at the wrong thing. Maybe I need to spend my energies evaluating the concept of progress in general, no matter what speed. Maybe I’m in a winter garden season at the moment, a time when progress is slow and steady with less need to weed and water. There will be a season for higher maintenance as well as another for harvest and yet another for re-seeding. Funny how something as simple as a garden can help you find some answers in life.

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Have I mentioned that I love gardening?! These little guys are only 8 days old.

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I started my week this morning determined to make it a great and “get lots done” week. I woke up early, tackled the cabinets over my computer for gutter clutter, soaked the garden spot, cleaned the patio and was so grateful I spent those extra minutes late last night doing dishes and folding laundry so I could wake up with less to do and more boost!

I sat down at my computer around 9:30, caught up on blogs, e-mails and changed my desktop background to a fall theme. I couldn’t help but ponder on changes, I glanced at the calendar to be reminded of how much time has already passed and chuckled when I read “Autumn Begins” on today’s square. I’m so bad about stuff like this, I leave the official season change dates and winter solstice to my uber competent hubby. Then it occurred to me that I didn’t need a calendar to tell me this, something inside me already knew.

Some Arizonan’s would argue with this because of the more common complaint regarding the lack of season changes here. To their credit, we don’t get snow we just get various degrees of warmth and rain. But I know when the changes come, and I love it. Although I have to admit that before I really started tackling gardening here I didn’t notice as much either. Now it’s like an internal barometer that kicks in when I know it’s time to prep the garden plot again for seeds. This is my favorite time of year here. Tonight we’re planting our fall garden and I’m really looking forward to it!

On this note, Saturday Blake tackled the yard with a vengeance and Tay was hot on his heels. I love that this little guy loves helping in the yard and garden so much. I came home from a morning activity to hear all about how Tay mowed all but one or two swipes of the front yard on his own under daddy’s watchful eye, then moved right into tilling the garden. He was so proud of his blister on his thumb and his “strong muscles” from all that work. He gleefully shared his blister with anyone who would listen at church yesterday. Although we got a lot of weird stares we just smiled right alongside him.

Here’s hoping the rest of the week will keep up the current level/pace of productivity for me. Maybe I was just waiting for “the change.” *giggle, giggle, snort*

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We had a busy weekend at my house. We spent most of Saturday in the yard. It was time to harvest the winter garden and replant, and the palm trees were ready for another trim too. I wanted to share pictures, but by the time we were in it I was far too muddy and messy to grab the camera let alone use it. But I have some before and after shots of some garden spots:

The three rows of produce you can see in the first photo included carrots, spinach and green onions. The half row of green onion filled two gallon bags when cleaned and cut. While I’m sure I’ll never get through them all, I’m sure some neighbors will be happy to receive some spoils. *wink* The spinach was wonderful to enjoy fresh while it lasted and these two rows of carrots gave us 6 gallons of work to pull, top, peel and slice. I couldn’t have done it without the family’s help. My son (who is still calling days ‘weeks’) exclaimed happily while we were washing and topping the pile, “This is a GREAT week!” Which translated, roughly means “I’m having a great time today!” I had to agree as to me there is nothing better than spending quality time working or playing together as a family. There is still the final phase of storage waiting for me with the carrots, but the hard part is done.

My little garden spot is finally getting to the point where something can grow in this harsh Arizona ground. It’s a lot of work! And it gives me greater appreciation for my pioneer ancestors who had to put so much into the development of land to grow things and become productive. Within a few more plantings I expect things will be almost right as roots continue to break up the hard soil underneath and I continue to feed the top soil with needed nutrients and fertilizer. But work is good and I’m grateful for the lessons it’s helping me teach my family.

Blake toiled long and hard with a volunteer palm that decided to take root right next to the corner of the house. It was growing so quickly that we had to cut it down. Hats off to him doing it the old fashioned way with nothing more than a handsaw. That was hard work! The middle section has popped up in the past couple of days which we’re speculating may be because the outside is drying so much faster but we really have no idea.

And here’s the last of the pictures I have to share of my small flower bed behind the house. The pictures are only about 4 weeks or so apart. I love this time of year when so much is in bloom here and so pretty to look at.

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[blenza_autolink ww]

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I had great hopes of getting work done both outside and inside yesterday. Somehow, the hours seem to shorten when you get into a project and consequently the entire day for me yesterday was spent in my yard. I’m not sad though. It’s always a wonderful feeling to get your hands busy and see the fruits of your labors at the end of the day.

Pictures never do justice to the amount of sweat and work that go into so many things in our lives. And it never ceases to amaze me how something that looks like such a small amount of work is so deceiving. When I began in my yard, the goal was to get the garden bordered with flowers, some of the workable bed tilled and ready for new seed and above all get the weeds under control.

I stopped for flowers on the drive home from taking my son to school. Then finished the one online project that had to be done and went outside. In the hour and a half I had before returning to pick him up I managed to get through the weeds in the front of the garden and a few of the flowers planted. In fact, the picture at the start of this article was taken just as I left to pick him up. After lunch it was harder to keep going because it was getting hot. But he had a friend come over to play and that kept me outside and going. I made it through the rest of the garden, planted the planter boxes and even got through the rose bed. I hate weeds.

Although it may not look like much, it was the product of many sore muscles and a very good night’s sleep. All in all, a healthy day’s work. *smile*

Today I’m hoping for a quieter inside day and some time to catch up on weekend blog reading and computer projects. They’re easier on the hands and back.

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Gardening Homemaker Sharing

I couldn’t do this in Idaho, not this time of year anyway.

My 5 year old son was so delighted to help me pick and shell the peas that he kept exclaiming what a good farmer he was. He’d pop as many in his mouth as he’d drop in the bowl and that delights me given that he once threw up a bite of carrots just to prove to me how much hated them.

I love the helping stage he’s in and especially helping with garden and yard stuff. I grew up with that element and I’m grateful to have it to any degree in my kid’s lives. It’s wonderful for kids to plant a seed, help it grow, keep the weeds from it and then enjoy the fruits of their labors. In our world today there are so few accomplishments that we can see and touch. I love teaching my kids the important lessons gardening can provide and I love that I have kids who enjoy learning them.

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