September Rain

September 30, 2016September 30, 2016 ~ Beth ~ Leave a comment

I’m hurrying to finish my errands on a gray and rainy day, wishing I had brought an umbrella. I’m focusing on the heavy clouds and the moisture seeping uncomfortably into my shoes. I almost missed it. But the tiny flash of color caught my eye as I passed and I turned back to look. And there, out of the blue, in the last place a country girl expects to capture the essence of autumn, there’s this single leaf, liquid golden-yellow against a city sidewalk wet with September rain.

Before you know it, I’m running back to my car for my camera, ignoring the great drops splashing on my head as I lean in to capture this one small, brilliant taste of fall—and suddenly grateful for the rain that saturates the colors and makes it shine. Even in the rain, He gives good gifts, if only we have our eyes open to see—and sometimes they’re all that much better because of it.

“…Rejoice in the LORD your God, for he has given you the autumn rains because he is faithful…” (Joel 2:23)

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Ten Things To Do When Overrun With Pumpkins

September 22, 2016March 20, 2018 ~ Beth ~ Leave a comment

And I return, with the second in my series of “Ten Things to Do With Over-Abundant Vegetables” posts. I didn’t necessarily set out to make this a series, but last year’s post on cucumbers ended up being a popular one—and even I referenced back to it when I needed to refresh my memory this summer. So, here we go again—and this time pumpkins get to take the stage!

Last year we got so many pumpkins, I gave some away, allowed others to freeze in their role as porch decorations instead of rushing them inside to save them, and even threw away the last couple that spoiled before I could get to them. That was after I had frozen I don’t know how many quarts of roasted pumpkin for future baking projects.

I scaled back on the number of pumpkin hills this year, but the ones I did plant are already promising to produce abundantly. And then, when I cleaned out our freezer last week, I discovered 20 quarts of frozen roasted pumpkin. People, I did this is a whole year later, and I promise that I actually did use some throughout the year. Whoa.

So it looks like I’ll be making a lot of pumpkin things in my kitchen in the coming weeks—and I thought maybe you’d like to join in on the fun? The list that follows includes some of my personal tried and true favorites. (It does assume, though, that you know about the tried and true classics, like pumpkin pie (Libby’s forever!!!) and pumpkin bread.)

Give thanks for your blessings.
Make the cupcakes that are usually my birthday cake.
Make these pumpkin muffins with cream cheese filling, or these without.
Make pumpkin pecan backed steel cut oatmeal for breakfast. Pro tip: surprisingly, this dish, like pumpkin pie, is better cold so it’s great for making the night before. Also, it’s especially amazing topped with a dollop of Greek yogurt and a drizzle of maple or agave syrup.
Make sweet pumpkin scones or savory.
Try pumpkin in your pasta.
Try your hand at a homemade pumpkin spice latte! My friend Erica has an awesome recipe here.
Carve out the inside of a giant pumpkin and fill it with apple cider for a fun punch bowl for an autumn party.
Fall decorations, of course. I love the look of white pumpkins in rooms where I don’t necessarily want to add the color orange, but do want to add a touch of fall! Take note for your garden next year: this little heirloom variety is easy to grow and produces enough to decorate your whole house and share some with your friends! (Spoken with the voice of experience!)
You know how they say that the old time settlers used to use all of the pig except the squeal? Well, you can use all of the pumpkin except the skin. Roast the seeds, and then recycle the stem to make these.
Bonus for you: my favorite Cinderella pumpkin seeds can be found here.

In Spite of the Cosmos

September 17, 2016September 17, 2016 ~ Beth ~ 4 Comments

The theme of my flower garden this year was, officially, low cost and low maintenance. Low maintenance, because I knew I’d have less time than ever with a newborn this summer, and low cost, because why spend money on something I might not even have time to take care of?

A few days before our third daughter was born, I thinned out all the baby cosmos plants that had self-seeded from the year before. Then I filled in the holes with miscellaneous flower seeds leftover from previous years. And then I abandoned it to grow, hoping the emerging seedlings would somehow trump the inevitable emerging weeds without any help from me, and that when I came out of the fog that is life for the first month or so after a baby is born, there would be a garden full of flowers. It’s not exactly my recommended method of flower gardening, but I figured it still might be better than nothing.

A month or so later, when I remembered again that I had a flower garden and went to see what had become of it, I was surprised to find that the flowers had actually triumphed over the weeds.

The only problem was—the conqueror had been the cosmos, and the weeds were not the only victims to languish in it’s shadow. I looked in vain for the calendula, foxgloves and cone flowers, and finally located a few pale lupines. Deep beneath the jungle of feathery giants, were some sickly zinnia plants.

Oops.

Obviously I had not thinned the volunteer cosmos quite as well as I should have. So much for my idea of a mixed flower garden. Sigh.

Well, anyway, I was just happy to still have some flowers growing on a year I didn’t have much time to invest in caring for them.

Then, one day in August I glanced out my kitchen window and noticed something glowing brilliantly coral in the midst of all the pink. I hadn’t planted any coral colored cosmos. I don’t think there’s even such a thing. I went out straightaway to investigate.That’s when I discovered that the pale zinnias I had dismissed as failures hadn’t languished in the shadow of the cosmos after all, but had pushed through sturdily and bloomed. And they weren’t even stunted. They were magnificent!And so, the moral of the story is:

When it feels like the entire cosmos, er, universe is against you, don’t shrivel up and languish like a calendula. Don’t wither away like a halfhearted cone flower or foxglove. Be a zinnia. Dig your roots in deep into Christ, push your way through the overwhelming obstacles, and grow.

It’s a beautiful thing.

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For Your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” (Romans 8:35-37)

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Here, 1475 Feet Above the Ocean

September 13, 2016September 13, 2016 ~ Beth ~ 1 Comment

To the many photos that have been snapped by countless tourists, I will add yet two more. But you know—it’s hard not to agree with them that it’s inspiring to view the humble beginnings of something great.

“Here 1475 feet above the ocean the mighty Mississippi begins to flow on its winding way 2552 miles to the gulf of Mexico…”“All streams run to the sea, but the sea is not full; to the place where the streams flow, there they flow again.” (Ecclesiastes 1:7)

Blooming Butterflies

September 2, 2016September 3, 2016 ~ Beth ~ 4 Comments

Last weekend, we went to the zoo.

Papa was excited about the big snakes in the rain forest exhibit.

The oldest daughter was in awe of the coral reef tank and the lovely little sea horses.

The middle daughter loved the playful monkeys swinging on their ropes, exclaiming excitedly when she first spotted them: “I find a monkey, Mama, I find a monkey!”

The littlest daughter was just thrilled to be out of her car seat after the long drive.

But I loved the butterfly house best of all.

Unlike most of the animal exhibits, which required you to observe them through glass or behind fences, the hoop house containing the butterflies was completely interactive. They were free to flutter all around us and even land on us if they wished as we wandered along little pathways through a maze of wonderfully fragrant flowers—and short of actually touching them, we could get as close to them as we wanted, too.

There were butterflies of every shape, pattern, size and color, from all over the world, each one a miniature piece of exquisite fluttering artwork.

IMG_6459-1 There’s something wonderful about kneeling beneath the sweetly scented white trumpets of nicotiana to show your wide-eyed two-year-old a blue Doris Longwing straight from the Amazon jungle, slowly opening and closing its stunning wings—and be reminded in yet another new and exotic way of what a beautiful world our Creator has made.

“All this also comes from the LORD Almighty, whose plan is wonderful, whose wisdom is magnificent.” (Isaiah 28:29)