Tag Archives: nature

Meditating on the World in a Springtime Wood

On a damp springtime morning here in the Ozarks as the soft grey humidity-laden breeze plows through a greening wood, it’s easy to lose oneself to the allure of this renewal of warmth beneath a verdant canopy. Birds are busy in their never-ending pursuit of twigs, pieces of string, and whatever other oddments they choose with which to build new homes for the hatchlings they are sure to inherit soon. They sing merrily as they pursue their tasks, adding new melodies to the gala of spring.

Birds and other creatures ever play their roles in the eternal drama of nature as warm days set in to grace the Ozark woodlands and hills. Last year’s broods already know how to go about gathering foliage and I’m sure the little hen birds are busy telling their mates exactly how to build the nest. After all, she will be the one setting in it. Of all the wild birds round here, the little wrens are among my favorites. I did a post a couple of years ago about a mama wren that halted my construction of a little cabin I built in the woods until her fledglings could fly.

I live in a pretty old farmhouse here in the Missouri Ozarks. That’s suitable – a pretty old house for a pretty old geezer with a couple of pretty old dogs. Nothing pretty in the aesthetic sense, except for my old girl Dusty; at least I think she’s still a pretty girl. Getting ornery though in her old age. That may be something contagious that can cross species, because I could swear I feel ornery once in a while myself. Maybe it’s just due to grandkids running amok with their eyeballs glued to cell phones or some such. Maybe orneryness is just something that comes with the turf of getting old. But then, there are other things happening in the wide world around us these days that add to the sour mood.

Speaking of getting old, it just stands to reason that over the years, we pick up on lots of stuff, at least if we walk through this journey with our eyes open. That’s a profound concept for a lot of people – sitting in front of a television and allowing some corporate news organization to pump your brain full of some politically motivated propaganda is not walking with open eyes. I just read some statistics on how American rates of literacy compares to other nations, especially China and Russia, and it’s pretty remarkable how our educational system has failed us over the years as everyone else’s have improved their lot. Americans are rapidly becoming among the least educated people in the world. If one indeed has his eyes open, it can easily be seen – political slogans longer than bumper stickers are too confusing for most of us anymore. Lack of education and/or critical thinking skills provides fertile ground for propaganda.

Reason and intellectual curiosity are relics of the past in MAGA America, and the liberal side is just as bad. It seems that no one is willing to consider any side of an argument that conflicts with their own – that might require some degree of empathy for our fellow human beings and we don’t do empathy anymore. At least most folks don’t. Hatred, selfishness, and racism are about as rampant as I’ve ever seen them. Wars are being waged all around the world, and I’m fairly certain the USA is getting ready to see some tough times right here in the land of the free.

Earthquakes, volcanoes, and storms, the likes of which we’ve rarely seen are beating this old rock we call home. There are floods almost everywhere, landslides, sinkholes, and earthquakes in places where they’ve not occurred before – at least in our time. To be able to appreciate the significance of events that are happening I think it is imperative that we avail ourselves of the abundance of information in our society. The internet has opened up volumes of information and to ignore it and all of the other sources of knowledge is walking with your eyes closed. Fox News isn’t going to tell you everything you need to know, nor is CNN, MSNBC, nor any of the other corporate media. Thanks to the internet, though, we have ample other sources, it’s just a task to sift through the garbage out there and find real information. I’ve found that the best way for me to find truth is to bounce “news” stories against what the Bible says. Jesus said He was the Way and the TRUTH, and I believe Him, so if what we hear and see comports with what He taught, it’s certain to be the truth.

For instance, He spoke against murder and persecution of the innocent, so if there’s some propaganda story attempting to justify the murder of Palestinian children, you automatically know the story is false and coming from evil sources. This can be a problem for many who have spent years feeding at the media trough and buying into everything the mass media puts out, but you have to start somewhere. Jesus spoke of forgiveness, so when you see a program that tries to get your dander up against some or other happening in the world, they almost always play on your emotions to try and make you angry or hate, say illegal aliens, but the Bible says not to turn away an alien [Malachi 3:5]; “And I will come near you for judgment; I will be a swift witness against sorcerers, against adulterers, against perjurers, against those who exploit wage earners and widows and orphans, and against those who turn away an alien—
Because they do not fear Me,” says the Lord of hosts.

The lands we live on do not belong to us – the Lord has merely given us stewardship of things and places that belong to Him. Psalm 24:1: “The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein.” He fully expects us – His people – to share what we have with the less fortunate. The worldly folks who control the media would have us at each other’s throats fighting over something that doesn’t even belong to us, but those same wealthy people who promote such don’t realize that what they have doesn’t belong to them either. If it did, they could take it with them when they depart this life, but they can’t. One day, much to their chagrin, they will find out what the true believers already know from reading the Bible. If you stop and think about it, eternity is an unimaginably long time, and this episode of events we call life is so temporary as to be like the grass of the fields, and the only reason we are here is to have opportunity to choose where we want to spend forever – in a dark, lonely, and terrifying place, or in paradise with the Father and the Lamb. That’s what it all boils down to.

So while I sit out in the woods watching and listening to God’s creation – the birds, the squirrels, and enjoy the little slice of Heaven upon which the Lord has blessed me to live, I contemplate things like the sad condition of the world. I think about those lost souls who are currently – and so temporarily in control of – and hoarding for themselves – the great resources and wealth of the earth and wonder what it will take to get people, common people like myself, to see that the things that they are being told about the goings on in the world are falsehoods and the world is slipping, inexorably into an abyss from which it will not – cannot – escape without Divine guidance. And for us servants of Christ, that Divine guidance involves putting away hatred and anger we have all been encouraged to foment in our consciousness – by the very mouths of Satan. We have some time left to practice things like love, charity, and forgiveness which are the traits of the chosen and faithful.

Now it looks like it’s going to rain here in the hills; these are harmless clouds of springtime and not the dark and ominous clouds swirling over an evil world – no, this will be a refreshing, cool spring shower.

May the blessing of the Almighty Father find and keep us.

Image result for Crosses On Hill

MK

A Peaceful and Wholesome Distraction

A thought went through my mind this morning and aside from revealing that there is some activity happening between these wrinkled old fuzzy ears that don’t work all that well, I decided to write a post about normal life here in the country for a change. Been too much discussion on the problems in the world lately and I have to admit I’ve been caught up in it. If you’ve been seeing my posts lately, I’m sure you’ll agree.

For one thing, the oppressors of this world probably enjoy seeing all of us folks stewing over the problems they create for us, so I doubt they’d enjoy a lighter spirited post that might lift folks’ mood somewhat, but there is life outside the Ukraine and Palestine. That doesn’t mean we should stop praying for those folks though.

Here in the Ozarks, where God has specially blessed our world. Instead of war, droughts, heat waves, volcanoes, landslides, and floods, we’ve been blessed, at least for this year. We’re getting plenty of rain but not too much, and that’s sort of unusual in mid-July. So, let’s talk garden…

Squash plants enjoying a rainy July

My garden has gone ballistic this year, there are tomatoes bigger than softballs, and my peas are going nuts. I grow southern field peas, specifically a variety called brown crowders – my favorite. You can cook up a “mess” of those little guys and throw in a chopped onion and a few pods of sliced okra with about three slices of cut-up bacon and some beef stock, and in a couple of hours you’ll have a bowl of peas that have caused men to propose marriage over. Oh, I have to wait a week or so for my okra to catch up – it’s just now starting to bloom.

First okra blooms are getting started – my daughter says they are her favorite flower

I’ve had friends when I lived south of Dallas who were of Czech descent, and they grew turnip greens, but they only kept the turnips and threw the greens out to the cows. I was aghast when I saw the farmer and his wife throwing perfectly good (and delectable) greens over the fence. I told them those greens were among the most wonderful foods this side of Heaven, and insisted they cook a pot of them up and try them – of course with the turnips included, which only adds to the delightful taste. They cooked some, and to my shock, they didn’t seem to like them as much as just the turnips alone. That set me to wondering what other weirdness had been bred into folks of Eastern European descent, but I guess to each his own.

My turnip greens have matured, and the row needs to be replanted, they grow fast and will make new batches until heavy frost, so I try to keep some in progress. Only problem is that we get kind of burned out on them and let them grow to maturity when they get tough with a bit stronger taste – still delicious, but the new fresh ones are best, we call them tender greens, actually better when they are very young before the turnips start growing. I had a friend when I was in the Navy who said that if God had made anything better than turnip greens, He kept it for Himself, and if that’s true, Heaven’s going to have some primo food!

A lot of folks think I have some kind of green thumb, but I really don’t. I don’t use almanacs – which may or may not help I don’t know, but I do say a prayer for God’s blessing on my garden when I start planting and I usually have a decent crop – just a small backyard garden, but it keeps us in fresh produce through the summer and I even have enough to make several trips a month with cucumbers, tomatoes and squash for the local food bank. I don’t take any brown crowders though. Not because I’m greedy, but it’s just that people this far north don’t grow field peas, although they do good here, so nobody is used to eating them and maybe it’s an acquired taste or something.

Some immature brown crowder peas – green here – they turn brown when they are shelled out and cooked.

As always, I’ve planted way more cucumbers than we need, but there are folks who can use them. This year I planted a strain called munchers, they didn’t come up as fast as I thought they should have, so I replanted the same row with another variety and, you guessed it, the munchers took longer and so came up with the other ones so now I have a crowded cucumber fence, but it’s all good.

Squash are doing their normal thing, but those pesky squash bugs are bad here. I usually get one or two good pickings of zucchini before the bugs get them. The yellow crooked neck squashes seem to last a little longer. There are a few things you can do to battle those bugs, but I just don’t have time.

Baby yellow squash – they grow fast – tomorrow these will be ready for a skillet.

If you haven’t tried growing a garden, I suggest you give it a shot. Of course, most of the folks who read these posts live in cities and aren’t able to enjoy gardening. Maybe y’all can enjoy reading about it anyways. It’s a therapeutic exercise and very enjoyable. Plus, you get the added benefit of fresh produce through the summer. In fact, there are varieties of squash that keep well on into the winter.

God bless all – try and keep a positive outlook in this old world of trouble and watch those radishes grow if you can.

MK