To the parents of small children...

Wow!  It's a great day for "Guest Posts"!

To Parents of Small Children: Let Me Be the One Who Says It Out Loud

Guest Post

Here is a thought-provoking article written by my new friend David G.
I pray it stirs you as much as it did me!

An Open Apology | ravenfood

Is Safety an Enemy?

Photo by history.howstuffworks.com

I checked this book out from the public library today:

 

Now, it's no surprise to anyone who has even scanned this blog, that I would want to devour a book like this.  Just the very title encapsulates a life-dream of mine... an "item on the bucket list", if you will.  However, I wonder if my de facto familiarity with conventional modern housing construction -- as well as my fear of failure at such an intimidating goal -- represent significant obstacles to my getting serious about actually building such a home?  In other words...
Is safety an enemy?
Not safety as in, "don't run with scissors"; but safety as in, "I don't want to fail in a highly-embarrassing, financially devastating way, so it's safer not to try".
When/if the opportunity presents itself (whenever that may be), will I have the guts to try, to persist?
I hope so.  Safety schmafety.

Gardening, part 2

 
When last we left our intrepid gardeners, they were doing all the manual-labor/prep-type stuff.  You know — pulling up weeds and grass, building raised beds, shoveling manure. 

The sweaty stuff.

After all that, the little girls needed a "silly break":

Though we were not quite planned and ready to sow the seed and plant the "starts", we were able to get a "lovage" plant in the ground.  (Now, we have a strict "Rule #1" in our garden: everything must be edible.)  Having heard that celery (one of our favorite veggies) is a challenge to grow in the Flathead Valley, we decided to plant lovage as a celery alternative.  After it was planted, I chewed on a piece of the tube-like stalk, to see what we were in for.  It was supremely celery-y ("celery-ish"?) — so much so that I fear I'm the only one in the family with a palate for such a strong flavor.  No matter... it still complies with "Rule #1"!

We started to lay out how everything would look, taking into account that certain plants have their preferred "buddies" or companion plants that they like to grow up with.  The laying out is what took the longest, and while I was chomping at the bit to "just plant something" (!), my dear, thoughtful bride — the family "Garden Queen" — took the necessary time to make sure there was a place for everything, and everything in its place.

Then, on May 23rd, I woke up to this:

"Winter's Last Stand" (hopefully!)

Well, Winter's threat proved an empty one, and by the end of the day, it was all melted.

So, this afternoon, after a nearly perfect-weathered Sunday fellowship and potluck, we came back home to start digging and stuffing.  Here's what we have so far:

Clockwise from Left:
Nasturtium (edible) flowers, Lovage, various lettuces and (edible) flowers, Red Cabbage, Lavender, Rosemary, Garlic, Spinach, Sugar Snap Peas and Strawberries.


Still to come later: Tomatoes, Bush Beans, Cucumbers, Squash, Celery, Rhubarb, etc.

What are you planting this year?

Book of the Month -- "The Heavenly Man"

This book is next on my reading list, as it came highly recommended by some dear and trusted brothers in Christ.

Have you read it?  If so, what are your thoughts?

If you'd like to order it and read it with me, so we can talk about it, click on the link above.

May the Lord make us more like Himself, daily, as we submit our very lives to Him.

--Ric

Gardening, part 1

("Carrots" sign, by Sophia,age 6)

A couple of weekends ago, we started our first Montana gardening experience.  We marked off a 8' x 20' section of our "backyard"...

...plowed the ground and got rid of the grass and rocks...

 
...and built a couple of raised beds at one end.


Then, we went to our favorite local dairy, the Kalispell Kreamery, where we snagged a ton (literally!) of composted manure for $10.  (Most of our materials thus far had been salvaged for free, or next-to-nothin'.)  Here are a few pictures of the process:

(Of course, we had to stop and "see the girls"):

Then, we hauled the S#$% back home.  :-)

(Now, some of you may be thinking "HEY!  How come Ric's conspicuously absent from the working pix??"  Rest assured, I only stopped shoveling the stuff long enough to snap these pix, then it was "back on the chain gang".)


Finally, everything started to come together...

...and then it was time to take a cloud-watching break!

Planting will happen soon, as we have already amassed quite a set of "starts" in the house, which will be planted outside over the next few weeks.

We're learning as we go, and having a great time together.  It's no wonder so many of Jesus' parables have agrarian backdrops!