We do, in fact, have a working garden!! As you can see it's a real ugly, unkempt, one (more on that in a bit), but God has blessed our efforts and the harvest is coming in!
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| That is one weedy looking garden!! |
It has been very hot, very wet, and very humid here in NE Indiana this summer (95F/35C with 90ish %RH) and for the first time in many years, the green beans will likely have a poor showing. We thought the tomatoes would never start turning red, but they seem to be coming on quickly now and we'll have a good tomato year. Broccoli did well. Peppers, zucchini, summer squash, cucumbers, and egg plant are doing very well. Beets and sweet potatoes seem to be doing fine. Cabbage was a total loss as was the brussel sprouts. Today is the start of canning season for us, so we are "off to the races"!
We have had some hard times this summer, too, in a couple of ways.
On August 5th De's Mom fell in her apartment. She shattered her shoulder joint, broke her knee cap, some bones in one hand, and maybe her hip. Her lifelong heavy smoking habit had left her frail, and her kidneys, heart, and lungs could not tolerate the shock of her injuries. On August 10th, early in the morning, she went to be with Jesus. De and her other daughter were with her when she died. Family, Church, and friends all pulled together to get us through this difficult time, and we held her funeral on the 14th.
To complicate matters a bit more, I seem to have developed a new 'thing' over the last few months. The preliminary diagnosis is lupus, but we may not know for sure until November, which is the earliest available rheumatologist appointment. I have the usual bone-crushing fatigue, joint and muscle pain, and funky rash across my nose and cheeks that comes and goes, as well as some balance, speech, and cognitive issues. (No stroke - they checked.) I use a cane pretty much full-time now for balance, when I'm not in the house. (Thus the shoddy looking garden. Harder to swing my beefy weed whacker when you need to use it to balance some, too. It can be done, but it's slooowww.)
Even with all that, we are still blessed. The outpouring of caring we received when Mom B. passed was amazing. Everyone has been great in accommodating me and my new limitations - well beyond what they need to. I'm getting along OK with prayers, rest, and ibuprofen in equal abundance, and I'm praying for a cancellation that allows me to see the rheumatologist soon. By God's grace I can do most of what I need to do (including the garden) and some of what I want to do. He provides for what I can't do. And we have some really good tasting bell peppers and tomatoes!!
Col. 1:9-12,
Mark
