Down On the Farm

I just LOVE Spring! It's my absolute favorite time of year! The flowers are blooming, the trees are budding. Everything is green again.... coming back to life after the dreadful winter months. We get back out in the yard, sprucing up the flower beds, adding little touches of the beautiful colors of the season. And for some of us, we get our gardens planted. We did that several weeks ago, and thankfully, it's coming up nicely now.

We planted squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, ceyenne peppers, bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, banana peppers (Can you tell we like peppers?), roma beans, speckled butterbeans, corn, watermelon, cantaloupe, and peanuts. Now that everything's planted, I absolutely LOVE watching it grow! I try to go out every day (or atleast every couple of days) to monitor... or rather, to "marvel" at how much they've grown since the last time I was out there.


This is the first time I've planted peanuts, so I'm tickled to pieces at what a "pretty" plant they are. I was so excited last weekend, when I saw that they were breaking the ground. Now, they're coming up rather quickly, thanks to some much-needed rain the good Lord sent us last weekend.

It never ceases to amaze me at how something as simple as "planting a garden" can tell the story of Jesus, if we look at it just right. Let me explain...

We all know about the death, burial, and resurrection of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Right? Well, my garden tells about all three. First of all, think about where a seed comes from. In all reality, that seed came from the "death" of that particular vegetable (or fruit), because once the vegetable or fruit was picked from the plant, there was no more "life" flowing in it; so therefore, it was "dead". (In this, I am reminded of Jesus' death. God's Word tells us that He bled and died for our sins.)

You can take that seed and "bury" it in the ground, where it remains for a certain amount of time. (This reminds me of Jesus' burial. His body was placed in a tomb, where it stayed until the 3rd day.)

Then, one day soon, the ground begins to break and there appears a sprout coming forth. It's a miracle! That "dead" seed we planted is now "alive" again! (To me, it's a reminder of how Jesus broke the chains of death, when He arose from the tomb.)

I get goose bumps, just thinking about my garden portraying the resurrection story, right before my eyes! What precious blessings God gives to us in the little things of life! Unfortunately, we often miss these blessings, because we don't take the time to see them with spiritual eyes. All too often, we choose only to see with our earthly eyes. That's an area in which we all need to be more watchful.

Anyway, like my garden, my "little darlings" are growing pretty fast, too! (That would be my chickens, for those who don't know.) The boys (Bingo and Colonel) are getting along, despite everyone's warnings about raising them together. And my girls (Oprah, Violet, Daisy, Rose, Lily, Dahlia, Petunia, and Pansy) are laying better than ever! We're averaging about 6 or 7 eggs per day now.


I so enjoy watching them, especially in the evenings, when I let them out for an hour or so before dusk. They each have their own unique personality, and it's sometimes hilarious, how they interact with one another... and other creatures of nature.


Take Abby, for instance. She somehow knows how much I love the garden, so she's stepped up to bat, taking on the role of *Garden Security*.
She faithfully patrols the rows, keeping the chickens away from our harvest-to-be. I didn't ask her to do it. She simply volunteered for the position. And the chickens "mind" her very well!


Speaking of the chickens' different personalities... Miss Rose seems to think she's an acrobat. She walks the tight-rope back and forth, over and over again. (Okay, so it's not really a tight-rope... it's actually a piece of galvanized conduit, that I placed in their "play-yard" for them to sit on. So far, Rose is the only one I've seen on it, and like I said, she doesn't SIT on it... she walks it... back and forth, over and over again. (I hope she isn't planning to leave me and join the circus!)

Steve built a really nice hen-house for them. I've "remodeled" it for them twice already, and Lord willing, I plan to do so again tomorrow. I look at other hen-houses online and if there's an improvement I can make for them, I want to try to do so. As the old saying goes... "If the ladies are happy, then we're ALL happy." LOL

Well, I suppose that's enough "news" for now. It's late and I need a few winks before a busy, busy day tomorrow (today, now).

God bless!

P.S. Here's a quick slideshow, so you can see each of my feathered friends. Aren't they sweet?

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