I pondered today the phrase 'Great minds think alike.' and how many times I've heard it. I realized that if the sentence is reordered in reverse the statement becomes a much more valid representation of what occurs. So I pose this question regarding the time when two people think of the same thing, with the two phrases together forming a special type of chiasmus called antimetabole:
Do like minds think great or great minds think alike?
I think the former, 'like minds think great' to be most true and a less arrogant phrase since it implies that the thought not the mind is what is great, great being the center of the chiasmus and thus receiving more emphasis. Certainly greatness is the message of this chiasmus. Thinking greatly will I suppose eventually convert a mind into a great mind.
Here is the antimetabole, broken down in it's format a,b,c,c,b,a
a) Do like
b) minds think
c) great or
c) great
b) minds think
a) alike?
So, how is that for some ponder gardening?
The beans I planted are about three inches tall and the peas are all sprouting. I don't remember if I posted or not but I planted the rest of a two year old packet of patipan squash and they all seem to be growing. We'll see how they do in the fall weather. Last night I collected the cilantro seeds for next year's crop. I'm also saving some zucchini seeds.
This morning while making Mickey Mouse waffles, my two year old kept asking for the chocolate tomato. I had about a hundred tomatoes out and my four year old was helping me pull the tops of to freeze them all. For the longest time I just didn't understand and she became more and more insistent and would not eat her waffles without the alleged chocolate tomato. Finally, I asked her which 'chocolate tomato' she wanted to eat with her waffle breakfast. She pointed strait at the dark purple heirloom tomato I picked up at a friend's house last night and said, "That one."
I explained that jam would be better on her waffle and the tomato wasn't for breakfast. I just ate it in a sandwich for lunch. While it didn't taste like chocolate it was delicious and I've save some of the seeds for next year.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Friday, August 21, 2009
Ponder Summer Harvest
The production of the garden has been excellent. With summer activities, family visiting, birthdays, holidays and just plain enjoying the summer. I’ll try and give a run down of how things went the last six weeks.
The green beans did good until it got hot and then they kind of withered. I learned I can plant them again in our area in July. I planted some on Monday. Not July but I’ll pretend the seeds don’t know.
The broccoli also did good until it was too hot. It was very tasty. I left the ones in front for some green foliage and although they look a little weedy, I liked the yellow flowers. Next year I’m going to try planting it sooner and more of it. It just didn’t seem like when it came on that there was enough.
The potatoes were green and pretty at the beginning of the gardening season. They looked like I knew what I was doing. I didn’t. They started to wilt and I learned that after wilting is when you pick them. I kept watering hoping that whatever was under there kept growing. Well, they didn’t grow much more and I have a few potatoes for each plant. I had planted them in the richest, softest dirt that was soft at least 18 inches and potatoes only grew in the first 5 inches of soil. There were also some small ones, about the size of a small bouncy ball. They are really bitter to eat. The larger ones are fine. I don’t know if it is the variety, how I grew them, watering, or what but they did not meet my expectations. So, next year I’ll try again and hope for a better harvest.
The beets have been a delight. I love the color and flavor. They taste like sugar and the kids like them too. We’ve had them cooked and pickled and more than once I’ve had to stop myself before turning purple from the inside out. I’ve pickled them with vinegar in a pot in the fridge and they taste fine. Just cook the beets, slice them and put them in a pot with ½ vinegar ½ water and sugar to taste. I made them twice the first time I followed a recipe, the second time I didn’t and put in maybe a quarter of the sugar and they are nice and sour. Yum yum, my mouth is watering now thinking of them in the fridge.
The squash went into heavy production and the neighbors and friends benefited. My wife got sick of cooking it. One day I grated and froze 16 freezer bags full. It was a lot of work and now what is left of the squash is starting to wilt on the counter because of no child free, non sleeping time to get it grated and frozen. To keep from feeling that it is an utter waste, I tell myself they’ll do good for the compost.
The squash leaves started with mildew and I pulled the plants attempting to stop the spread. Well, it spread anyway and now there are no more fresh zucchini, squash, pati pan, or eight ball squash to add to the problem pile on the counter. I planted a mound of pati pan on Monday though and we’ll see how they fare in the cooler months. I don’t expect much but thought it would be a good use for the rest of the two year old seeds.
The Romaine lettuce was an absolute hit. It was gone too fast. I’ve learned about successive planting now. I planted some that should be ready in a few weeks and I planted more on Monday. I planted them near the sidewalk and I hope that as we go into the cooler months the heat from the sidewalk will keep them warm and happy.
Tomatoes have been my late-arriving friend. I worried about them when it seemed like every friend, neighbor and my mother in law had a hundred tomatoes on the vine and I had green marbles. I started watering hoping that wasn’t the problem, fertilized and then the leaves curled. Some research tipped me to the thought that maybe they had too much water so I cut back and they sprang back. A few weeks later and we’re in full tomato season and one evening this week my wife and I boiled, pealed seeded and froze six freezer bags full. As my wife squeezed the tomatoes she caught the juice and seeds in a Tupperware jug. V-8 has nothing on my fresh tomato juice and it didn’t last long enough.
Tomato lessons learned: Tomatoes will be planted way earlier next year in front of the brick wall under the front window for warmth and early starting. Additional tomatoes will be planted later when it is naturally warm out in the yard and I’ll watch out for over-watering.
Carrots have been great and the kids love going and a king sized carrot, washing it and eating three bites. The rest gets saved and grated into pasta and today I had the wild idea just now (still thinking of those beets in the fridge) to slice some up and add them to my beet vinegar brine. My mother in law has picked carrots before and so I say, "Me Too, Me Too" and head to the garden with the kids to pick and slice carrots.
The green beans did good until it got hot and then they kind of withered. I learned I can plant them again in our area in July. I planted some on Monday. Not July but I’ll pretend the seeds don’t know.
The broccoli also did good until it was too hot. It was very tasty. I left the ones in front for some green foliage and although they look a little weedy, I liked the yellow flowers. Next year I’m going to try planting it sooner and more of it. It just didn’t seem like when it came on that there was enough.
The potatoes were green and pretty at the beginning of the gardening season. They looked like I knew what I was doing. I didn’t. They started to wilt and I learned that after wilting is when you pick them. I kept watering hoping that whatever was under there kept growing. Well, they didn’t grow much more and I have a few potatoes for each plant. I had planted them in the richest, softest dirt that was soft at least 18 inches and potatoes only grew in the first 5 inches of soil. There were also some small ones, about the size of a small bouncy ball. They are really bitter to eat. The larger ones are fine. I don’t know if it is the variety, how I grew them, watering, or what but they did not meet my expectations. So, next year I’ll try again and hope for a better harvest.
The beets have been a delight. I love the color and flavor. They taste like sugar and the kids like them too. We’ve had them cooked and pickled and more than once I’ve had to stop myself before turning purple from the inside out. I’ve pickled them with vinegar in a pot in the fridge and they taste fine. Just cook the beets, slice them and put them in a pot with ½ vinegar ½ water and sugar to taste. I made them twice the first time I followed a recipe, the second time I didn’t and put in maybe a quarter of the sugar and they are nice and sour. Yum yum, my mouth is watering now thinking of them in the fridge.
The squash went into heavy production and the neighbors and friends benefited. My wife got sick of cooking it. One day I grated and froze 16 freezer bags full. It was a lot of work and now what is left of the squash is starting to wilt on the counter because of no child free, non sleeping time to get it grated and frozen. To keep from feeling that it is an utter waste, I tell myself they’ll do good for the compost.
The squash leaves started with mildew and I pulled the plants attempting to stop the spread. Well, it spread anyway and now there are no more fresh zucchini, squash, pati pan, or eight ball squash to add to the problem pile on the counter. I planted a mound of pati pan on Monday though and we’ll see how they fare in the cooler months. I don’t expect much but thought it would be a good use for the rest of the two year old seeds.
The Romaine lettuce was an absolute hit. It was gone too fast. I’ve learned about successive planting now. I planted some that should be ready in a few weeks and I planted more on Monday. I planted them near the sidewalk and I hope that as we go into the cooler months the heat from the sidewalk will keep them warm and happy.
Tomatoes have been my late-arriving friend. I worried about them when it seemed like every friend, neighbor and my mother in law had a hundred tomatoes on the vine and I had green marbles. I started watering hoping that wasn’t the problem, fertilized and then the leaves curled. Some research tipped me to the thought that maybe they had too much water so I cut back and they sprang back. A few weeks later and we’re in full tomato season and one evening this week my wife and I boiled, pealed seeded and froze six freezer bags full. As my wife squeezed the tomatoes she caught the juice and seeds in a Tupperware jug. V-8 has nothing on my fresh tomato juice and it didn’t last long enough.
Tomato lessons learned: Tomatoes will be planted way earlier next year in front of the brick wall under the front window for warmth and early starting. Additional tomatoes will be planted later when it is naturally warm out in the yard and I’ll watch out for over-watering.
Carrots have been great and the kids love going and a king sized carrot, washing it and eating three bites. The rest gets saved and grated into pasta and today I had the wild idea just now (still thinking of those beets in the fridge) to slice some up and add them to my beet vinegar brine. My mother in law has picked carrots before and so I say, "Me Too, Me Too" and head to the garden with the kids to pick and slice carrots.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Ponder Patriotism
While I don’t have much time to devote to this topic, it is something that I have certainly thought about while gardening and so will quickly write a few of my thoughts on patriotism before the kids wake up from a nap.
I love coming out of the house on a fresh morning and putting up the flag, which is what I did yesterday, July 4, 2009. Flag flying is certainly a patriotic gesture; however, I wouldn’t say that in every home with a flag there lives a patriot and that includes on the 4th of July. I’ve seen flags on homes where the flag is up every day. Some times there is also a second flag, one around the corner from us has the US Marines. I’m pretty sure that he is truly patriotic.
Yesterday there were flags on many houses all over. Flags I’ve never seen on houses before, flags that weren’t there on Memorial Day in May or Veterans Day last November or two months prior on September 11th. In the back yards of some of those houses yesterday were BBQ grills with hot dogs and hamburgers. But I really don’t know if all of those gestures were patriotic or if they were only celebratory, having a good time because it is a holiday. I don’t even know if they were commemorative or reflective. The thing I’ve thought about is all of those flags and how they weren’t there on Memorial Day intermingled with the same smell of BBQ. I wonder if these are truly patriotic people. I wonder if they would consider themselves patriotic.
In a neighborhood not far from us there is a street with many flags, three of them have lighted flags and pictures of soldiers. Although I’m not sure, I hazard to guess that these three neighbors have sons serving our country. I’m pretty sure they are truly patriotic.
For an immigrant to become a citizen of the United States they must pass a written exam. Most naturally born Americans would not pass this exam. One question that immigrants study is: Name the three branches of government. My fear is that the All-American answer to this question asked of a stadium full of people about to watch America ’s All-American pass time would be "Huh?" From the more educated maybe a question, "What, the government has branches?" Perhaps two or three would get it right. Are you one of them?
Continuing on with the game, before it starts someone would inevitably get up and sing the National Anthem. The crowd would rise and some hands would go to the heart. BUT, I wonder how many in the crowd would wonder why the rest of the anthem isn’t ever sung at baseball games. I wonder if they would even know the name of the song, the name of the man who was inspired to write it, and the reason why he was so inspired. If the home team wins and there are fireworks afterward, I wonder, would people thik the fireworks were celebratory for the winning team or a patriotic gesture that is now watered down to just being fanfare? Would they ever draw the connection between the song at the beginning and the fireworks at the end?
I compare those that waive a flag once or twice a year and consider themselves patriotic to those who claim to be religious and close to God but only make it to a worship service once or twice a year and maybe pray when they’re about to get in a car accident. Wake up! Get of your lazy BBQd bottoms! Patriotism isn’t BBQ or baseball or apple pie. If you’ve made it through the 4th of July without thinking of the sacrifices that went into forming this great nation, then I invite you to ponder. Being American doesn’t make you patriotic, patriotism makes you American.
I love coming out of the house on a fresh morning and putting up the flag, which is what I did yesterday, July 4, 2009. Flag flying is certainly a patriotic gesture; however, I wouldn’t say that in every home with a flag there lives a patriot and that includes on the 4th of July. I’ve seen flags on homes where the flag is up every day. Some times there is also a second flag, one around the corner from us has the US Marines. I’m pretty sure that he is truly patriotic.
Yesterday there were flags on many houses all over. Flags I’ve never seen on houses before, flags that weren’t there on Memorial Day in May or Veterans Day last November or two months prior on September 11th. In the back yards of some of those houses yesterday were BBQ grills with hot dogs and hamburgers. But I really don’t know if all of those gestures were patriotic or if they were only celebratory, having a good time because it is a holiday. I don’t even know if they were commemorative or reflective. The thing I’ve thought about is all of those flags and how they weren’t there on Memorial Day intermingled with the same smell of BBQ. I wonder if these are truly patriotic people. I wonder if they would consider themselves patriotic.
In a neighborhood not far from us there is a street with many flags, three of them have lighted flags and pictures of soldiers. Although I’m not sure, I hazard to guess that these three neighbors have sons serving our country. I’m pretty sure they are truly patriotic.
For an immigrant to become a citizen of the United States they must pass a written exam. Most naturally born Americans would not pass this exam. One question that immigrants study is: Name the three branches of government. My fear is that the All-American answer to this question asked of a stadium full of people about to watch America ’s All-American pass time would be "Huh?" From the more educated maybe a question, "What, the government has branches?" Perhaps two or three would get it right. Are you one of them?
Continuing on with the game, before it starts someone would inevitably get up and sing the National Anthem. The crowd would rise and some hands would go to the heart. BUT, I wonder how many in the crowd would wonder why the rest of the anthem isn’t ever sung at baseball games. I wonder if they would even know the name of the song, the name of the man who was inspired to write it, and the reason why he was so inspired. If the home team wins and there are fireworks afterward, I wonder, would people thik the fireworks were celebratory for the winning team or a patriotic gesture that is now watered down to just being fanfare? Would they ever draw the connection between the song at the beginning and the fireworks at the end?
I compare those that waive a flag once or twice a year and consider themselves patriotic to those who claim to be religious and close to God but only make it to a worship service once or twice a year and maybe pray when they’re about to get in a car accident. Wake up! Get of your lazy BBQd bottoms! Patriotism isn’t BBQ or baseball or apple pie. If you’ve made it through the 4th of July without thinking of the sacrifices that went into forming this great nation, then I invite you to ponder. Being American doesn’t make you patriotic, patriotism makes you American.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Ponder not much time to ponder
I haven't had much time to garden, to ponder while gardening or to blog about it. The nice thing is that this is the easy time of the year when all you have to do is water, pull a few weeds here and there, and EAT FRESH VEGGIES. Our squash is on!
Here is a picture from Sunday afternoon (June 14, 2009):
Here is a picture from Sunday afternoon (June 14, 2009):
Monday, June 8, 2009
Ponder Fresh Tomatoes
A gardening friend shared this tip with me. With tomato season around the corner, this is an excellent thing to keep in mind. Visit this link to learn how to keep tomatoes, either by storing stem down or taping the stem end air tight: Storing Tomatoes
The plan with all the tomatoes we're growing (8 tomato plants, 7 varieties) is for my wife to cook them into some of her sauces and freeze them. This way in the winter months all we'll have to do is boil the noodles and thaw the sauce and dinner is ready, made with summer fresh tomatoes. My plan is to pick the ripe tomatoes daily so that the passers by have less of a chance if we run into a sticky fingers problem (so far this hasn't been an issue but there aren't any shiny red tomatoes yet). Keeping the stems air tight will help preserve them until there are enough to make a large batch of sauce.
I planted some decorative gourds and the pumpkins on Saturday for our fall decorations and Halloween. My 4 year old had a blast. I broke open the 47 lb pumpkin from last year and he picked out the seeds while I dug and prepared mounds in the back yard. He then planted all the seeds. When I was done, he was not. He said I have more seeds and you need to dig right here. So I did.
I tasted the pumpkin raw and it was still sweet and delicious and smelled wonderful, just like the ones we ate in November. I put plastic wrap on it and put it in the fridge and gave some to our next door neighbor. I plan on cooking it tonight.
Here is a picture taken about an hour ago.
The plan with all the tomatoes we're growing (8 tomato plants, 7 varieties) is for my wife to cook them into some of her sauces and freeze them. This way in the winter months all we'll have to do is boil the noodles and thaw the sauce and dinner is ready, made with summer fresh tomatoes. My plan is to pick the ripe tomatoes daily so that the passers by have less of a chance if we run into a sticky fingers problem (so far this hasn't been an issue but there aren't any shiny red tomatoes yet). Keeping the stems air tight will help preserve them until there are enough to make a large batch of sauce.
I planted some decorative gourds and the pumpkins on Saturday for our fall decorations and Halloween. My 4 year old had a blast. I broke open the 47 lb pumpkin from last year and he picked out the seeds while I dug and prepared mounds in the back yard. He then planted all the seeds. When I was done, he was not. He said I have more seeds and you need to dig right here. So I did.
I tasted the pumpkin raw and it was still sweet and delicious and smelled wonderful, just like the ones we ate in November. I put plastic wrap on it and put it in the fridge and gave some to our next door neighbor. I plan on cooking it tonight.
Here is a picture taken about an hour ago.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
The Ponder Garden Today
Just a quick note and picture from today. The garden is doing good despite the water rations. I finally dared look at the water meter today and found (to the thirsty plant's glee) that we're not over our ration limit. Now, if this wind will just die down tonight they'll all get a good soak!
Doesn't that look so much better than grass!
Doesn't that look so much better than grass!
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Ponder the World at Four
Last night when it cooled down outside I turned on the porch light and as the heat of the day eased into night my four year old and I sat on the bench looking out at the garden. (This is the view from the bench.)
The neighbors were also out next door and they had a bag that in the darkening evening looked like a great big snail, one of his favorite things to find and play with in the garden. The conversation went something like this.
Me: I don’t like snails because they eat our food
Him: But they don’t go in our kitchen.
Me: No, our food that is outside growing on these plants and trees in our yard.
Him: And what about snails in other peoples yards?
Me: Well most other people grow grass and people don’t eat grass.
Him: Why?
Me: I don’t know.
To him, at four, it is completely normal to have a vegetable garden in the front yard. The next door neighbors with the grass he refers to as ‘the ones with a park in front of their house’. Interesting isn’t it. I still don’t know why people have to grow grass.
The neighbors were also out next door and they had a bag that in the darkening evening looked like a great big snail, one of his favorite things to find and play with in the garden. The conversation went something like this.
Me: I don’t like snails because they eat our food
Him: But they don’t go in our kitchen.
Me: No, our food that is outside growing on these plants and trees in our yard.
Him: And what about snails in other peoples yards?
Me: Well most other people grow grass and people don’t eat grass.
Him: Why?
Me: I don’t know.
To him, at four, it is completely normal to have a vegetable garden in the front yard. The next door neighbors with the grass he refers to as ‘the ones with a park in front of their house’. Interesting isn’t it. I still don’t know why people have to grow grass.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Ponder Late Pictures
Better late than never; here are some pictures of growth over the last month.
Raising kids too - 4/25/2009
From the corner of the driveway - 5/3/2009
Chard Harvest - 05/08/09 6:55 a.m. - 3.5 hours later (washed, chopped and blanched) it waits for winter in the freezer
Raising kids too - 4/25/2009
From the corner of the driveway - 5/3/2009
Chard Harvest - 05/08/09 6:55 a.m. - 3.5 hours later (washed, chopped and blanched) it waits for winter in the freezer
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Pondering Three Gardens
Sometimes while I work in the garden I ponder some of the things that are significant about life. Beautiful plants springing to live bring pleasure to the eye and satisfaction to the belly, they relax and uplift a gardener as he or she participates in cultivating the lives of plants. As I worked in my garden early one morning, it being my third garden, I began pondering the symbolism of the number three.
While a junior in high school my literature teacher introduced symbolism in writing. We started the class studying symbolism of all different types including Greek symbolism and religious symbolism and throughout the year while studying Shakespeare and other authors we focused on the symbols used by authors to convey their messages. We were given an interesting assignment, to find as many Greek symbols as we could in magazines, cut them out and make a one page collage. Art was never my thing, but I discovered I was quickly able to find many symbols and my page overflowed. Some of my classmate’s pages were nearly empty and now reflecting back on that some of it was probably due to a bunch of adolescents not finding the time or effort to do the assignment but some of it also had to do with the fact that there are people who just don’t see symbols around them.
The number three, especially in Christianity, is a symbol which carries significance and repeats many times in the gospel and in scripture. I will mention the three that I find most important. There are three members of the Godhead, God the Eternal Father, His Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost (see Matthew 28:19 and the First Article of Faith). In the resurrection there are three different glories as explained by Paul to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 15:40-42 “one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars”. The fall of Adam and then later the salvation from the fall took place in three gardens, sometimes referred to as the three gardens of the atonement or the three gardens of God and they are the Garden of Eden, the Garden of Gethsemane, and the Garden of the Empty Tomb.
The first of the three gardens was a beautiful garden planted Eastward in Eden. The first garden I planted at my in-laws was defiantly nothing compared to this garden. Many of God’s astonishingly beautiful creations are here for us to see but the Garden of Eden is not here. It is one creation that I imagine more astonishing than any of the natural wonders surrounding us today. Adam and Eve lived there in unashamed innocence, not yet knowing good or evil. They were tempted by Lucifer and Eve was beguiled and partook of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
Beguile is a big word, a word not commonly used today. The beguiling of Eve is a symbol repeated over and over in literature throughout history and is still prevalent today, especially in comedy where the woman falls prey to some plot. Some of that is taken too far to the extreme and woman is made to appear weaker, vulnerable and although it is not a word, I guess you could say beguileable. I have wondered how someone who lived in a perfect garden, someone who walked and talked with God, would have done something God said not to do. I would think that having God tell you something face to face would stick with you for a long time.
I find myself among the crowd of people who believe that Adam and Eve spent a long time in the garden before the fall. This could have been years, decades or centuries because they had bodies that did not yet know corruption or death since it had not yet entered into the world, death being a consequence of the fall. It is certain that Adam and Eve were in the garden long enough for Adam to name all of the animals. Since I don’t even know all the names of the animals I have to believe that it wasn’t just a weekend stay. They were there for a while and it was long enough for Lucifer to come up with a way to trick Eve into eating that fruit. If Genesis it to be believed, it was Lucifer who subtly brought up the topic asking Eve “Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?”
Eve then replies, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.” Lucifer, the serpent, responds with a lie mixed with truth, “Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:1-5)
The lie was telling her that she wouldn’t die; the rest of it was truth and Eve wanted wisdom and she also wanted to be like God, the Father of us all. With Eve’s partaking of the fruit, the fall of mankind began and death and pain entered into the world. With the knowledge of good and evil, Eve, feeling the spiritual pain of guilt for the first time, must have been devastated. Partaking of the fruit was a one way ticket out of the garden. Here again the Biblical record provides little detail as to what happened between the time that Eve partook of the fruit and the time that Adam partook of the fruit. All we know is that there was a time between the time that Eve partook and that Adam partook.
How interesting it would be to know exactly what happened then. One scripture I enjoy applies here, “Adam fell that men might be; and men are that they might have joy” (2 Nephi 2:25). This makes perfect sense thinking that Eve partook first. Adam also needed a one way ticket out of the garden otherwise mankind wouldn’t, as the verse says, ‘be’.
Adam and Eve, evicted from the Eden, moved into a world thousands of years from the events in the two gardens that would be the key to overcoming the two types of death, or separation, that were introduced because of the fall, spiritual death and physical death, the first the separation from God because of sin and the second the separation of the body from the spirit.
This Easter morning I reflect on the events of the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus Christ prayed for all mankind and took upon himself the sins of the world. He prayed just past the third watch. This second garden was not nearly as beautiful as the first; however, the result of what occurred there is more beautiful than anything the eye can see. Spiritual death can be triumphed because of that special part of the atonement.
Christ was then betrayed, tried, and hung on a cross for three hours. During those three hours he re-lived the painful agony of Gethsemane and when it was all done, He, the only one who had power to do so, commended His spirit to the Father on a grey and terrible Friday afternoon.
On Sunday morning, the third day
(Friday = 1, Saturday = 2, Sunday = 3), Christ triumphed over death and walked out of the tomb into the third garden, the Garden of the Empty Tomb. I have spent a lot of time explaining the events in the first garden and not nearly enough time on the second and third gardens. For further reading I will point you to a talk given by Bruce R. McConkie titled “The Purifying Power of Gethsemane”.
Angels heralded the birth of a babe in Bethlehem and an angel announced His triumph over death in a garden with words worthy of a good ponder, He is risen (Mark 16:6). The Master Gardener, cultivator and nurturer of our souls, the one who provides living water so that our souls do not wither and die, triumphed over sin and physical death, the consequences of one garden, in two gardens. Gardening and the number three certainly hold a great deal of significance.
While a junior in high school my literature teacher introduced symbolism in writing. We started the class studying symbolism of all different types including Greek symbolism and religious symbolism and throughout the year while studying Shakespeare and other authors we focused on the symbols used by authors to convey their messages. We were given an interesting assignment, to find as many Greek symbols as we could in magazines, cut them out and make a one page collage. Art was never my thing, but I discovered I was quickly able to find many symbols and my page overflowed. Some of my classmate’s pages were nearly empty and now reflecting back on that some of it was probably due to a bunch of adolescents not finding the time or effort to do the assignment but some of it also had to do with the fact that there are people who just don’t see symbols around them.
The number three, especially in Christianity, is a symbol which carries significance and repeats many times in the gospel and in scripture. I will mention the three that I find most important. There are three members of the Godhead, God the Eternal Father, His Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost (see Matthew 28:19 and the First Article of Faith). In the resurrection there are three different glories as explained by Paul to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 15:40-42 “one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars”. The fall of Adam and then later the salvation from the fall took place in three gardens, sometimes referred to as the three gardens of the atonement or the three gardens of God and they are the Garden of Eden, the Garden of Gethsemane, and the Garden of the Empty Tomb.
The first of the three gardens was a beautiful garden planted Eastward in Eden. The first garden I planted at my in-laws was defiantly nothing compared to this garden. Many of God’s astonishingly beautiful creations are here for us to see but the Garden of Eden is not here. It is one creation that I imagine more astonishing than any of the natural wonders surrounding us today. Adam and Eve lived there in unashamed innocence, not yet knowing good or evil. They were tempted by Lucifer and Eve was beguiled and partook of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
Beguile is a big word, a word not commonly used today. The beguiling of Eve is a symbol repeated over and over in literature throughout history and is still prevalent today, especially in comedy where the woman falls prey to some plot. Some of that is taken too far to the extreme and woman is made to appear weaker, vulnerable and although it is not a word, I guess you could say beguileable. I have wondered how someone who lived in a perfect garden, someone who walked and talked with God, would have done something God said not to do. I would think that having God tell you something face to face would stick with you for a long time.
I find myself among the crowd of people who believe that Adam and Eve spent a long time in the garden before the fall. This could have been years, decades or centuries because they had bodies that did not yet know corruption or death since it had not yet entered into the world, death being a consequence of the fall. It is certain that Adam and Eve were in the garden long enough for Adam to name all of the animals. Since I don’t even know all the names of the animals I have to believe that it wasn’t just a weekend stay. They were there for a while and it was long enough for Lucifer to come up with a way to trick Eve into eating that fruit. If Genesis it to be believed, it was Lucifer who subtly brought up the topic asking Eve “Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?”
Eve then replies, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.” Lucifer, the serpent, responds with a lie mixed with truth, “Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:1-5)
The lie was telling her that she wouldn’t die; the rest of it was truth and Eve wanted wisdom and she also wanted to be like God, the Father of us all. With Eve’s partaking of the fruit, the fall of mankind began and death and pain entered into the world. With the knowledge of good and evil, Eve, feeling the spiritual pain of guilt for the first time, must have been devastated. Partaking of the fruit was a one way ticket out of the garden. Here again the Biblical record provides little detail as to what happened between the time that Eve partook of the fruit and the time that Adam partook of the fruit. All we know is that there was a time between the time that Eve partook and that Adam partook.
How interesting it would be to know exactly what happened then. One scripture I enjoy applies here, “Adam fell that men might be; and men are that they might have joy” (2 Nephi 2:25). This makes perfect sense thinking that Eve partook first. Adam also needed a one way ticket out of the garden otherwise mankind wouldn’t, as the verse says, ‘be’.
Adam and Eve, evicted from the Eden, moved into a world thousands of years from the events in the two gardens that would be the key to overcoming the two types of death, or separation, that were introduced because of the fall, spiritual death and physical death, the first the separation from God because of sin and the second the separation of the body from the spirit.
This Easter morning I reflect on the events of the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus Christ prayed for all mankind and took upon himself the sins of the world. He prayed just past the third watch. This second garden was not nearly as beautiful as the first; however, the result of what occurred there is more beautiful than anything the eye can see. Spiritual death can be triumphed because of that special part of the atonement.
Christ was then betrayed, tried, and hung on a cross for three hours. During those three hours he re-lived the painful agony of Gethsemane and when it was all done, He, the only one who had power to do so, commended His spirit to the Father on a grey and terrible Friday afternoon.
On Sunday morning, the third day
(Friday = 1, Saturday = 2, Sunday = 3), Christ triumphed over death and walked out of the tomb into the third garden, the Garden of the Empty Tomb. I have spent a lot of time explaining the events in the first garden and not nearly enough time on the second and third gardens. For further reading I will point you to a talk given by Bruce R. McConkie titled “The Purifying Power of Gethsemane”.
Angels heralded the birth of a babe in Bethlehem and an angel announced His triumph over death in a garden with words worthy of a good ponder, He is risen (Mark 16:6). The Master Gardener, cultivator and nurturer of our souls, the one who provides living water so that our souls do not wither and die, triumphed over sin and physical death, the consequences of one garden, in two gardens. Gardening and the number three certainly hold a great deal of significance.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Ponder More Planting
3/27/2009 – On Friday evening I did some more planting in the part of the garden that is sort of shaped like the state of Florida. One cabbage at the tip with rows of carrots spreading north followed by plantings of kale, collards, ruby red beets and romaine lettuce. I also inter planted a Persian herb that tastes kind of like water crest between the potato plants and near the squash.
Spacing things out in a more visually appealing manner so that it looks landscaped rather than strait rows seems to take more space than I had originally thought. I have a feeling that next year’s landscape garden is already going to be better as I start to see how things come together. One editable beauty that I am certain that will be a recurring favorite is chard, Swiss and rainbow. The deep red, vibrant orange, bright pink and stunning yellow stems contrasted with dark (and mouth watering) green are a must for my flower beds from now on.
Spacing things out in a more visually appealing manner so that it looks landscaped rather than strait rows seems to take more space than I had originally thought. I have a feeling that next year’s landscape garden is already going to be better as I start to see how things come together. One editable beauty that I am certain that will be a recurring favorite is chard, Swiss and rainbow. The deep red, vibrant orange, bright pink and stunning yellow stems contrasted with dark (and mouth watering) green are a must for my flower beds from now on.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
White House Lawn Becomes a Garden
Here is one change in Washington that gardeners everywhere will like, Michelle Obama has decided to plant a garden in the South lawn of the White House.
Here is a link to the White House Blog:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/09/03/20/Spring-Gardening/
Here is a link to the White House garden planting layout
http://www.whitehouse.gov/assets/documents/garden_layout.pdf
Here is a link to a CNN story with more details, including the interesting fact that the Obama family is the first family to plant a garden at the White House since Eleanor Roosevelt planted a Victory Garden during World War II.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/03/20/white.house.garden/?iref=mpstoryview
I also liked the part about the swing set being added for the Obama girls. Sign me up for a federally funded swing set and gardener too! I don't think there will be any forthcoming pictures of the president pulling weeds on Saturdays.
Here is a link to the White House Blog:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/09/03/20/Spring-Gardening/
Here is a link to the White House garden planting layout
http://www.whitehouse.gov/assets/documents/garden_layout.pdf
Here is a link to a CNN story with more details, including the interesting fact that the Obama family is the first family to plant a garden at the White House since Eleanor Roosevelt planted a Victory Garden during World War II.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/03/20/white.house.garden/?iref=mpstoryview
I also liked the part about the swing set being added for the Obama girls. Sign me up for a federally funded swing set and gardener too! I don't think there will be any forthcoming pictures of the president pulling weeds on Saturdays.
Ponder Planting Log
One of the purposes of my blog is to log when and where things are planted so that next year I can look back and learn from my mistakes.
3/7/2009 – I planted most of the potatoes in the front yard. The potatoes came from starts that I bought with the hope that they would do better and grow bigger than if I had used potatoes from the store. They’re planted in the softest part of the dirt in the front yard that has much more of the mulch from last year mixed in. The soil is tilled about 20 inches there because I mounded it up so there should be plenty of air space for the potatoes to grow. Potatoes can be planted here (Sunwest zone 14 or 15, we’re right on the border) in February so I’m a little late getting them planted.
3/7/2009 – I also planted four broccoli spots and two cabbage spots in the flower bed in front of the potatoes right by the sidewalk. Both of these are from seeds so we’ll se how fast they sprout.
3/12/2009 – I transplanted the two tomatoes that some how survived the kids dumping the seeds I started in the dining room window in January. We’ll see how they do. I have never grown tomatoes from seed before and had them produce much. I think both of them are beefsteak. I plan on planting two or four more tomato plants. After loosing most of last year’s crop to my son throwing green tomatoes over the fence at the back neighbor’s dogs, I want this year’s tomato crop to be huge. They’ll be growing in the front yard so my son will need to find something else to throw at the dogs in the back yard.
3/13/2009 - In the front yard in the section between the neighbor's pine and the pedestrian sign I planted our soon to be okra fence. I am looking forward to having those tall plants separate the neighbors kids and balls from my veggies. I also planted climbing peas, two I had started indoors, the rest from seeds. They will be climbing on tree branches from the tree I cut down in the back yard. I planted dill, beets, cabbage, oregano, radishes, two spots of lavender, patipan squash and early yellow squash.
As of today, 3/21/2009 the radishes are already out. My broccoli and cabbage from 3/7 are sprouting. The apricot tree is in full bloom and the cherry tree in the back yard is just starting. This is the second year for both trees so I don’t know if there will be much fruit. I can say one thing for sure, the cherry blossoms smell like a delicious blend of cherries and spring time.
3/7/2009 – I planted most of the potatoes in the front yard. The potatoes came from starts that I bought with the hope that they would do better and grow bigger than if I had used potatoes from the store. They’re planted in the softest part of the dirt in the front yard that has much more of the mulch from last year mixed in. The soil is tilled about 20 inches there because I mounded it up so there should be plenty of air space for the potatoes to grow. Potatoes can be planted here (Sunwest zone 14 or 15, we’re right on the border) in February so I’m a little late getting them planted.
3/7/2009 – I also planted four broccoli spots and two cabbage spots in the flower bed in front of the potatoes right by the sidewalk. Both of these are from seeds so we’ll se how fast they sprout.
3/12/2009 – I transplanted the two tomatoes that some how survived the kids dumping the seeds I started in the dining room window in January. We’ll see how they do. I have never grown tomatoes from seed before and had them produce much. I think both of them are beefsteak. I plan on planting two or four more tomato plants. After loosing most of last year’s crop to my son throwing green tomatoes over the fence at the back neighbor’s dogs, I want this year’s tomato crop to be huge. They’ll be growing in the front yard so my son will need to find something else to throw at the dogs in the back yard.
3/13/2009 - In the front yard in the section between the neighbor's pine and the pedestrian sign I planted our soon to be okra fence. I am looking forward to having those tall plants separate the neighbors kids and balls from my veggies. I also planted climbing peas, two I had started indoors, the rest from seeds. They will be climbing on tree branches from the tree I cut down in the back yard. I planted dill, beets, cabbage, oregano, radishes, two spots of lavender, patipan squash and early yellow squash.
As of today, 3/21/2009 the radishes are already out. My broccoli and cabbage from 3/7 are sprouting. The apricot tree is in full bloom and the cherry tree in the back yard is just starting. This is the second year for both trees so I don’t know if there will be much fruit. I can say one thing for sure, the cherry blossoms smell like a delicious blend of cherries and spring time.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
2/28/2009 Ponder Sprinklers
Confession. I wrote this post about what I did on Saturday 2/28 but was waiting to load the pictures I took of the sprinkler system when I did it. Lesson learned, I will not wait for pictures to post. Here is what I wrote about that day:
This Friday afternoon and Saturday (2/27-2/28/2009) I worked on the front yard. My biggest accomplishment was the sprinklers. There were two stations of sprinklers. One of them I repaired and the other one was so bad and because of how I plan to have flower beds I completely replaced it. I also decided to add a third station for all of the flower beds. This meant running the pipe under the sidewalk and if you have never done this before the trick is to use ¾ inch pipe and put it on the end of your hose. No attachment needed. You might get a little wet but the hole will be done in minutes.
After all the digging for the trenches I looked at the line coming from the house and saw there was a splice in the pipe exactly where I planned to add the new station. Seems I’m not the first person to think of using a separate station for the water beds. When I went to cut at the splice and install the new valve I realized I was one T short for what I wanted to do so I called it quits on that for this week. I also spread 12 bags of steer manure on the yard and roto tilled it in so it was a day well spent.
One of my neighbors came over and I told him about how I learned how to do sprinkler systems working alongside my dad for a few summers when I was a teenager. After he left I remembered the most memorable sprinkler system at Cove Fort for Byron Hinckley, brother of Gordon B. Hinckley, 15th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Anyone traveling through the I-70 to I-15 junction or past it should make the time to stop and see this old fort and hear the story of the early settlers who lived and worked there. More information about Cove Fort is available here. So there you have it, I worked on the sprinkleres and 'pondered' about Cove Fort.
This Friday afternoon and Saturday (2/27-2/28/2009) I worked on the front yard. My biggest accomplishment was the sprinklers. There were two stations of sprinklers. One of them I repaired and the other one was so bad and because of how I plan to have flower beds I completely replaced it. I also decided to add a third station for all of the flower beds. This meant running the pipe under the sidewalk and if you have never done this before the trick is to use ¾ inch pipe and put it on the end of your hose. No attachment needed. You might get a little wet but the hole will be done in minutes.
After all the digging for the trenches I looked at the line coming from the house and saw there was a splice in the pipe exactly where I planned to add the new station. Seems I’m not the first person to think of using a separate station for the water beds. When I went to cut at the splice and install the new valve I realized I was one T short for what I wanted to do so I called it quits on that for this week. I also spread 12 bags of steer manure on the yard and roto tilled it in so it was a day well spent.
One of my neighbors came over and I told him about how I learned how to do sprinkler systems working alongside my dad for a few summers when I was a teenager. After he left I remembered the most memorable sprinkler system at Cove Fort for Byron Hinckley, brother of Gordon B. Hinckley, 15th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Anyone traveling through the I-70 to I-15 junction or past it should make the time to stop and see this old fort and hear the story of the early settlers who lived and worked there. More information about Cove Fort is available here. So there you have it, I worked on the sprinkleres and 'pondered' about Cove Fort.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Some other pictures of plants today
A look at a flower bed
Some beautiful swiss chard
Spring Raindrops
I dug up the sprinkler system last week
And many fruitless mulberry roots
This morning I woke up bright and early to the pitter patter of rain. I stayed in bed. I woke up later to more rain. I stayed in bed. I woke up again to pitter patter patter patter. Happy Washington's Birthday (observed) everyone, my plan for fixing the sprinkler system and getting some seeds in the ground was rained out. Everything is mud, so I decided I could take some pictures of the mud and dream about what will happen in the front yard with a few more sunny days.
To start off, here is a picture of grandma in the front yard when we bought the house. A week or so after we moved in the next door neighbor was mowing his lawn. When he was done I asked him if I could borrow his lawn mower to mow the weeds in the yard. He enthusiastically let me use his mower. When I was done he told me he had lived there eight years and no one had done a thing to the yard in that time. As you can see we started with not a blank slate but a slate that needed clearing.Items removed: the weeks, the dead grass, the out of control bush at the corner of the house and the biggest weed of all, the fruitless mulberry tree that had sent its roots all over the yard including into the sewer.
This is the front yard today. The fruitless mulberry tree has been replaced with a dwarf lemon tree, an avocado tree I started from a seed, and an apricot tree.
I'm looking forward to how it takes shape. I'm planning circular planting beds around each of the trees with row plantings along the borders. I'm looking forward to the fun.
Monday, February 9, 2009
My Third Garden
This is the third year I have planted a garden. In 2007 I planted a garden at my in-law’s and had some success with squash, suzhini and green beans. I from my failures I learned about plant placement and soil amending with compost and manure.
In 2008 I planted my second garden in the back yard of the house we moved into in Concord, CA at the end of 2007. I selected the sunniest spot in the back yard, tilled, amended and waited anxiously for my harvest. I did and enjoyed a fairly good harvest of my newest favorite squash, patipan squash. The other squash did not do good compared to my 2007 garden and I only had a few tomatoes while my in-laws had enough for 10 families. I planted some cucumbers in the back yard and had too many growing so I transplanted them into the front yard and there they did extremely well. I also planted some pumpkin seeds in the front yard on a whim out of a pumpkin that was left over from my in-law’s garden the year before. I didn’t think year old pumpkin seeds left in the pumpkin would grow but grow they did and we had many pumpkins in the front yard, the biggest of which was 47.5 pounds. Lesson learned from garden #2, things grow better in the sunnier front yard.
Now, 2009, I begin my third garden and it will be in the front yard. I researched landscape gardening and plan on creating something that is appealing to the eye and the summer vegetable loving palate. I hope to document my experience here. I’ve thought about what to call this blog and as I’ve been thinking about it I realize that I am generally doing some sort of thinking while gardening, either about what I’m doing or other things that have gone on.
From www.merriam-webster.com, “Ponder implies a careful weighing of a problem or, often, prolonged inconclusive thinking about a matter (pondered the course of action). Meditate implies a definite focusing of one's thoughts on something so as to understand it deeply (meditated on the meaning of life). Muse suggests a more or less focused daydreaming as in remembrance (mused upon childhood joys). Ruminate implies going over the same matter in one's thoughts again and again but suggests little of either purposive thinking or rapt absorption (ruminated on past disappointments).”
So I begin my first blog, Ponder Gardening.
In 2008 I planted my second garden in the back yard of the house we moved into in Concord, CA at the end of 2007. I selected the sunniest spot in the back yard, tilled, amended and waited anxiously for my harvest. I did and enjoyed a fairly good harvest of my newest favorite squash, patipan squash. The other squash did not do good compared to my 2007 garden and I only had a few tomatoes while my in-laws had enough for 10 families. I planted some cucumbers in the back yard and had too many growing so I transplanted them into the front yard and there they did extremely well. I also planted some pumpkin seeds in the front yard on a whim out of a pumpkin that was left over from my in-law’s garden the year before. I didn’t think year old pumpkin seeds left in the pumpkin would grow but grow they did and we had many pumpkins in the front yard, the biggest of which was 47.5 pounds. Lesson learned from garden #2, things grow better in the sunnier front yard.
Now, 2009, I begin my third garden and it will be in the front yard. I researched landscape gardening and plan on creating something that is appealing to the eye and the summer vegetable loving palate. I hope to document my experience here. I’ve thought about what to call this blog and as I’ve been thinking about it I realize that I am generally doing some sort of thinking while gardening, either about what I’m doing or other things that have gone on.
From www.merriam-webster.com, “Ponder implies a careful weighing of a problem or, often, prolonged inconclusive thinking about a matter (pondered the course of action). Meditate implies a definite focusing of one's thoughts on something so as to understand it deeply (meditated on the meaning of life). Muse suggests a more or less focused daydreaming as in remembrance (mused upon childhood joys). Ruminate implies going over the same matter in one's thoughts again and again but suggests little of either purposive thinking or rapt absorption (ruminated on past disappointments).”
So I begin my first blog, Ponder Gardening.
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