Last Saturday, for the first time in several months, I enjoyed a day playing outside. Bad or cold weather, scheduling problems, and a few bouts of just plain laziness have come in various combinations to keep me otherwise occupied. However, Saturday was clear and warm and I didn’t feel lazy, so, even though I did have some “to do” items, I ignored them and indulged myself.

I cut the grass (actually, mostly weeds at this point – but it still looked good when I finished). That was after I pumped up two lawn mower tires that were flat from just sitting there a couple of months.

I cut down the dead stalks of the angel trumpet in the flowerbed by the back door – and could see the new shoots coming up around the base of the plant. The purple verbena was blooming and had already invaded territory reserved for the coneflowers, coreopsis and liriope. So, a good whacking was completed and its normal borders were re-established.

The remnant of the fall crop of greens was still in the raised beds so I started clearing them out. The mustard and turnips had long since faded and were yellow with age and covered with insect chewed holes. I had left several carrots after an earlier harvest, but now found only holes in the dirt where they had been. Since the bed is covered with netting, I assume it wasn’t rabbits from above, but moles from below that got them.

The most interesting beds still contained combinations of “microgreens”, mixed greens and various kinds of lettuce that were planted in the fall. You can see from the picture that one plant had gone to seed (or bolted as it’s sometime called). Once it’s been neglected long enough to do that, it’s not any good to eat. I’m not sure it’s lettuce but that’s what the seed pack said.

I’m also not sure what the other picture shows. It looks like radishes but they smelled like a root (dirt) with no pungent radish smell. (Maybe someone can give us an idea of what type of plant it was). I wasn’t brave enough to taste it since I didn’t know what it was. Rather than going to seed, those plants had apparently “gone to root”, and were probably beyond the good eating stage too.

It was a great day, and on Sunday, I told Sharon I was wonderfully sore and stiff from the first good bit of exercise in a while.

The story above has several possibilities for devotional topics: The mower tires went flat when neglected. The angel trumpet stalks died but the shoots showed new life and God’s promise that the seasons will change until the end of time. The verbena can be invasive and overwhelm other plants around it, so it needs a good whacking now and then. The carrots were covered with netting but still had something attack them from an unexpected direction. The lettuce (?) bolted and was now unfruitful because I didn’t pay attention. The radishes (?) had taken root in a big way when left alone to grow unchecked.

I may develop those someday, but today I just want to thank the Lord, and praise Him for the work He allows us to do, and the fruits of our labor that we enjoy as blessings from Him. And sometimes, those can be as simple as being stiff and sore from doing something we love.

“Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God forever and ever. Amen.”  Revelation 7:12