My little "surprise present from God"

As I've shared before, somehow, someway, I got this gardening gene (both my parents were 'geneless' here) and I've always loved to grow things and watch them as they progressed. My grandmothers always kept this love, even though they had to scale it down as they got older, one having lived on a farm and the other having a big garden in the country.

After Mario and I came back to the lower forty-eight, from Alaska, and rented our first home, I went out and bought tomato plants that were teeny tiny and nurtured them. I asked Mario to please go water them one day and he came back sheepishly and said that something went wrong. He had never had plants before and so he turned the hose on jet spray and flattened out every one of them like he was on one of his Army field missions, even uprooting a couple. Some brave, extra hardy ones managed to hang in there and we had plenty of tomatoes in the end.

I have a very hard time thinning out plants, too, hence my carrots are way too close together and I "thin" the tomatoes by trying to plant the ones that I take/thin out (crazy me...I try to save everything and everybody).

So, God is very aware of my love for His creation and it seems that He had a special present for me this year. So, one day recently, when my step/heart daughter Kelly asked me if I had planted anything in the back, near the woods, I said, "Nothing other than the watermelon and dill and one tomato plant in the area your dad dug up to transplant the thorn less black raspberries that are going nuts in the front"...this is called a run on and on and on sentence, btw.

So I went back to check it out and this is what I found, to my delight:

I thought about taking pictures after weeding around them, but then this is the way my gift came and I first saw it in its glory:

Since I can't write God a 'thank you letter', so I just said extra thank-filled prayers at Mass last night.

I actually consider this tomato plant a gift too, it came back from seed that fell last year...have some dill like that as well as a few other tomatoes. These little freebies get me all excited too...am I easily entertained ?

In this view of the garden, if this picture will enlarge or you have a magnifying glass, and look to the far back and slightly to the left, you can see my beautiful white daisy 'gift'. The veggies and all are now even bigger in the garden and that path where you see the stool and the weeds, sorely needs to be cleared. Michael, who is no friend of weed pulling, said that he thought they looked fine and even cute (he used cute to try to win me over) and that we should just leave them there!! I had to break it to him that they will propagate worse than rabbits and sneak back in amidst all the veggies and marigolds. Do you remember that I always plant marigolds between my tomatoes because they keep away the nematodes (root eating stinkers...er...bugs)?? Plus, they look so pretty too.

By the way, the famous Pyola is doing its thing and the bugs are staying away!

Now, normally, even I don't do this, but this weed you see here had such pretty little purple flowers that I couldn't pull it, although I did pull the non flowering ones just like it!

Some fun facts:

Did you know that Wood Frogs freeze during the winter and thaw again in the spring to begin breeding.

(Actually Michael pretty much freezes me out during the winter, so I can empathize a bit here. He said that when he lived in Colorado and it was snowing, he still had the window fan going full speed at night!!!)

Many species of butterflies fly south for the winter, just like birds do. Monarch butterflies spend their winters in Mexico where they live in communes.

(Lucky dogs...wonder if being called dogs is an insult to the dogs or the butterflies?...sounds like a fun time.)

Many garden Insects (such as ladybugs), hide in a nice warm bed of mulch and around the roots of trees, grass & shrubs until the weather gets better.

(Now, THIS is what I probably need to do in the winter time around here...move over ladybugs, got any room for me?!!)

A few chuckles for Tickled on Tuesday:

"Gardening is a way of showing that you believe in tomorrow."

"Compost, because a rind is a terrible thing to waste"

"A slug is just a snail with a housing problem !"

I enjoy watching people eat fruit. In fact, I sometimes give it away when people visit (oranges especially). I never thought of the legal ramifications of my generosity until recently though, when a lawyer friend visited me.
"You shouldn't give this away so easily" he said. "It's possible a stranger would visit you and partake of your generosity, then later sue you for damages."
"What do you suggest I do?" I asked, quite concerned about the possibility of facing a lawsuit.
"I'd recommend you precede your fruit giving by the following statement" he said, before inhaling a large breath and beginning his discourse.
"Know all men by these presents that I hereby give, grant, bargain, sell, release, convey, transfer, and quitclaim all my right, title, interest, benefit, and use whatever in, of and concerning this chattel, otherwise known as an orange or citrus orantium, together with all the appurtenances thereto of skin, pulp, pip, rind, seeds, and juice, to have and to hold the said orange together with its skin, pulp, pip, rind, seeds, and juice for his own use and behoof, to himself and his heirs in fee simple forever, free from a liens, encumbrances, easements, limitations, restraints, or conditions whatsoever, any and all prior deeds, transfers or other documents whatsoever, not or anywhere made to the contrary notwithstanding, with full power to bite, cut, suck, or otherwise eat the said orange or give away the same, with or without its skin, pulp, pip, rind, seeds or juice.'

A friend, who is not a good cook, recently told me, "I read recipes the same way I read science fiction. I get to the end and think, 'Well, that's not going to happen!'"

The man passed out in a dead faint as he came out of his front door onto the porch. Someone called 911. When the paramedics arrived, they helped him regain consciousness and asked if he knew what caused him to faint. "It was enough to make anybody faint," he said. "My son asked me for the keys to the garage, and instead of driving the car out, he came out with the lawn mower."

A man is walking down a country road when he spots a farmer standing in the middle of a huge field of grass, doing absolutely nothing. The man, curious to find out what's happening, walks all the way out to the farmer and asks him, "Excuse me farmer, could you tell me what you are you doing?"
"I'm trying to win a Nobel Prize," the farmer replies.
"A Nobel Prize?" asks the man, puzzled. "How?"
"Well, I heard they give the Nobel Prize to people who are out standing in their field."

Mr. Smith was terribly overweight, so his doctor placed him on a strict diet.
"I want you to eat regularly for 2 days, then skip a day, and repeat this procedure for 2 weeks. The next time I see you, you'll have lost at least 5 pounds," his doctor promised.
When Mr. Smith returned he shocked the doctor by having lost nearly 20 pounds.
"Why, that's amazing!" the doctor said, "Did you follow my instructions?"
Mr. Smith nodded. "I'll tell you though, I thought I was going to drop dead that 3rd day."
"Why, from hunger?" asked the doctor.
"No, from skipping."

~~~~Heavenly Father, for the many blessings and gifts all around that we sometimes still fail to see, I thank You.