Jadon's Rain Prayer

Now that the majority of spring planting and transplanting is over, and it appears the last frost date came three weeks early (hallelujah!), I realized that it's time to begin summer planting. After filling 99 trays in the greenhouse and gradually transplanting their contents out to the garden, I realized I had some resistance to filling the trays again. Doesn't the work end?!

Of course not. We need to eat every day; why would I expect that there would be a plant that would grow for months without maintenance? (Actually, some do, like tomatoes and peppers, but plenty of others, like greens, need new plantings through the year.)

So I planted out the rest of the melon seedlings, all way, way overdue. They've been held over in the greenhouse since sprouting in mid-February, so bless them for still having leaves and not giving up the ghost. I said to Phil, "I think I might just chuck these," and he said, "Might as well plant them."

I said to my sister, several weeks later, "I think I'm going to just toss these," and she said, "You might as well plant them." So, with unanimous support, I planted those plants, and if they take, I'm thrilled. For now, I have good exercise for my hope muscles.

I started more melon seedlings, some new okra seedlings (yay!), and summer squash, too. My zucchinis grew to about 4" last year, then curled up and died. Was it a blight in the soil? I don't know, but I hope we do better this year.

As we prepared for Phil's parents' arrival, we took 100 pounds of seed potatoes out of the motor home where they've been waiting for their turn for planting. The potatoes I've been watering and loving in the greenhouse (again, holding them a good bit too long), have teeny green sprouts. The potatoes in the boxes, neglected and ignored, had enormous white sprouts. How counter-intuitive.

Phil finished tilling a few beds, and then helped me plant 60 bell pepper seedlings. I dug the holes and he popped them in the ground. It was the first transplanting he's done. "This is so fun! It beats plowing any day." Not all transplanting is quick and easy, but this was marvelous fun.

While Phil tilled, I took Phil's parents around the farm to see the progress we've made since last September. It was exciting to show all the new animals, the new plants, the new growth.

Phil also took a load of garbage to the dump. We had gone in early February, and while it grieves me to have a truck load of trash every three months, I don't know how to get away from it. Yet.

The boys also made a large pile of paper, and we lit a bonfire before the predicted rain. The fire was just about done when the winds picked up. I watered the embers and Jadon kept the hose from kinking, but embers blew all over. Jadon started to cry out in a loud voice, "Lord, we need rain. We need rain NOW!" It was such precious praying, spontaneous and heart-felt, and within a minute, the rain had started to fall.