Sensing Nature’s Beauty in Sound, Scent, and Touch

Sensing Nature’s Beauty in Sound, Scent, and Touch

Cornell's birding resources includes this great blog, and I love how this teacher is taking her blind students out into the woodlands to touch, smell, hear the marvels of God.  And she is doing something that I have thought for years should be required education for the blind... she is teaching them to bird by knowing their calls.  Just another great way to be in the Gardens of God's making.  Next time you are in
your garden, close your eyes and see what you can sense.  With your eyes closed, thank God for your senses, and for all the things you can recognize with your senses only.  And if you need a new challenge, take your backyard birding to new heights by learning the calls of certain birds by recognizing their call. 
You can count on Cornell University's "BIRDING BY EAR" for that, available at most birding and book stores.  Or order it online.  Just another great way to love being in the garden.

The sounds of the Blue Jay are more challenging than
you might think.

Thank God for unique things

Time and again I am drawn to the living growing things of God's creation. From taking pictures of the tiny details in the throat of a Lily, to chasing birds along woodland trails, or by the ocean waves, I am never disappointed with the inspiration I find there.  God's amazing designs are complex and renewable. Today, we clipped the long strands of ivy which are hanging from the limbs of a dying tree. Long, long vines, about 20 feet long or more, some of them branching into several strands, are perfect for making wreaths or baskets.  That's inspiring. It will get my mind going, trying to make up my mind which I will actually do.
But I can't help but realize, that in all this, God made provision for his creation to live on.  The renewal found in the garden or by the sea is assurance that He wanted it that way. Some find it difficult to believe there is a God in control of all of it.  I find it more difficult to believe there is not.  I do believe God is nothing like our small minds can comprehend.  He is so much more supernatural.  Accidental interactions between man and environment just don't make sense to me. 
I can understand that if my husband continues to cut my favorite color violets with the lawn mower year after year, only the short ones survive and are selected by their environment to be the future of my baby blue violets.  But a seed of a tall one found it's way to a hiding place under mother's zigzag spiderwart.  It will be the future of the tall ones.  So there was a way made for the variety of this unique color to be able to survive.  But it didn't become a different plant.  It is still a violet, whether blue or purple, or tall or short, it didn't become a spiderwart.  Or something new all together.
Natural selection, and breeding are one thing, but a certain thing growing a new bone to be able to live in it's environment??? uhntuh.  That means no.  How very unusual would it be for an animal to just start growing bones because it needed them.  I can see that an animal that for some reason was born with a new neck bone had to seek out a place, where using that bone made living more possible (to eat leaves that were higher up for instance), and if it's genetics made each generation afterwards, that had a new bone grow, caused it tohave to look ever higher for food.  But never as some TV shows say that the higher food made the animal grow a bone to adapt. If only the extra boned animals survived because the food was high, then I can see that too. But not by accident. 
I don't see that the changes made by changes of genetics over the years, eliminate a sentient being knowing what was happening to his creation, or that He was the one who helped the longer necked animal find food and new environments in which to survive is somehow no longer believable.  In fact, I find it hard to believe that the accident of a genetic change and the accident of finding a new source of food actually occurred so often in history, that new species "evolved" at such a rapid pace as they presume would happen.  In other words, I don't think it was accidental when the plants and animals of the eons changed.

I seek the new and God knows it-

  I always love finding new things for my garden, and the lawn and garden stores are making that possible this year.  I have heard of Lenten Rose, but never saw them in the garden centers before. I am so pleased that I could add them to my plants this season.  Hope I do well at keeping them through the summer and winter.  The blooms on mine,which are green with blushes of purple, bloom along a long stem. In the same pot is supposed to be a peach one as well. Almost everyday I go look for a bloom vine coming from the peach one.  So far only leaves.  Oh well.
Each time I go out to the place where my Lenten Rose pot is tucked into the filtered light of the trees, I visit one of my other favorites.  This one was a gift from God.  I used to go to the mountain sides to take pictures of this one. It is a protected wild flower.  Trying to transplant them is almost impossible, and is illegal.  But appearantly God transplanted one for me in the mass of my vinca vines.  It first appeared when the Vinca was still short and getting established.  Jimmy accidentally cut it off trying to weed around it and we feared it would not come back. But the following year it did. This year we watched often for it to emerge somewhere in the tall Vinca, but feared the overgrowth would prevent it from appearing. Alas one day, Jimmy proudly announced he had found it.  I carefully pulled back the long vines and opened up a place for it to thrive, but was saddened when that evening I found it drooping from the heat of the sun.  A limb that had broken in a wind storm left a large area for sun to concentrate on this shade loving jewel.  I knew I had seen them along the road sides where they were exposed to sun, and where water would dry up quickly, so I was a little surprised that it was limp. But I watered it, and found a plant spike that had a ring at the top which gently supported the bloom on it's spindly stem, and watched in relief as it perked up.  It now stands like a gem, and I check it often to be sure it is not being choked out by the vines. What is this gem?  It is called Trillium.  Another green petaled flower. Actually, I guess the green is it's leaves and the dard red/wine center is the flower, but the way they grow so close together make it look as if the whole thing is a flower. Also it is unusual in that it has only 3 petals.  The only other flower I can think of right now that I have which has 3 petals is the Spiderwart.

Trillium found its way back through the thick ivy and Vinca vines. Hurray!

I can't wait to find out what other wonderful new thing God will add to my gardens. I just love seeing his eye for diversity and design. 
Thank you Lord for being a wonderful designer of all things beautiful, living and growing...AMEN

Morning sun shining through the petals reveals the lovely veining and degrees
of colors.

Hoping this gem grows more stems this year.
God gave it, so I am asking God to bless it.

Easter, and God in Contol

It is Easter, and I find myself wondering just how close the time is for Christ to come again.  The dogwoods bloomed early this year, as did the azaleas, so my yard is once again looking a bit blah.  It is no matter as long as there is green grass for hiding eggs, and lots of lovely neighborhood children in colorful clothes out searching for them.  We had our first strong storm, and the hail bashed some of the blooms that have not faded, but I was thankful that I had staked the Peonies well, so their heavy pods ready to bloom did not fall over and break their stems.  The clematis has climbed nearly to the top of the arbor at the mailbox.  And the Shamrock almost totally sprang back up just to face the sun. 
Some of the container gardens have way too much rainwater standing in them, so I have to continue to tilt them to pour it off, but the precious Trillium that I staked so it's gangly stalk would not fall prey to the vines, is quite content since the earth drank some of the deluge that settled about it.
I changed into work clothes and began to water the things the wind and sun had managed to dry out front, even though I thought I might have made it through the day without working the garden at all. But no. 
My neighbor who injured his head is some better, but could not stay at the rehab center, but was returned to the hospital.  My father-in-law was able to return to the nursing home, but he is still a little in need of totally getting rid of all that ailed him.  The stroke has left him half the man he was however, and that is likely to remain with no remedy unless God intervenes.
My water heater was finally replaced thanks to the fact that my son used his few off hours, and at some personal expense was late to supper at home a night or two, for which his wife did not let him live down.  But I must admit, I see him so little that I begrudge that bit of time I got to spend with him, even though we never are able to get him around unless we need his help.  So SAD.
It is life and it continues to challenge us, and remind us how much we need our Dear Lord.  The day is a bit cool, the sun is delightful, the clouds are skipping by in the gentle winds, it feels for a few moments like all is well with my soul.
Lately, I seek this awareness.  That everything is well with my soul. No matter the struggles of life, or the fears for the future, I have a great deal of peace that a real and loving God is in control.
Happy Easter to all who might wander here.  God bless you and your families.  I pray for the salvation of any who are lost.  May every seeker hear quite loudly the voice of God calling them, "come home."
Lord bring souls to the body of Christ today and everyday. Us our words and works if it is possible and according to thy will. Amen.