Back To Eden

Carlin treated me with a latte and a snack

One of my favorite magazines is The Mother Earth News. I love the gardening tips, the natural remedies to conquering bugs in the garden, the reciepes for natural health care and growing herbs. I love reading about making your home energy efficient and learning about solar panels. I like reading stories about people that "live off the grid' and how they learned to live with less and still have more. I don't really know why I get fascinated with those stories because a lot of it was the way of life when I was growing up. I know that makes it sound like I am old and from the old school. I don't think I am either of those but....I grew up with gardening, Every virtous Amish women had a large garden. We hung up the laundry on the clothes line to dry in every kind of weather except rain, it won't dry in the rain you no. We canned LOTS and LOTS of fruits and pickles and meat and ketchup and pizza sauce and soups. We picked bushels of peas until our backs ached and we begged to stop. We husked 100's of ears of corn and then froze the veggies for winter eating. Green beans and tomatoes and taters and lettuce and radishes and asparagus and rhubarb all had there places in Moms garden. We hoed and tilled and pulled weeds and got hot and sweaty every single summer! Not because it was the IN thing to do, not because it was some new fad and we were "going green". It was the way of life. Now it's the cool thing to do! How neat is that. You grow up with good working values and later it becomes the thing that "COOL" people do.




I found it amusing several years ago when I saw a magazine with then, First Lady Mrs. Obama out in the White House garden. They of course were encouraging folks to grow gardens, after all Mrs. President worked in hers. At least that was the message I got. Interestingly enough she had dress boots and gloves on, neither of which I would find as proper attire to work in my garden. Actually, I do wear gloves sometimes, when I am pulling weeds.

Same with hanging up laundry to dry instead of using the dryer. Its the new rage. Save electricity, go green! Wow. Its all old faithful tips that our grandparents did because there was no other way to do it.I find it a little amusing!

Mckenzie loving the slide

 I think its sad though how that in all this "going green" rage people get a very earthy mentality. Recently "Earth Day" was celebrated. It seems to me that more honor is given to "Mother Earth" then is actually right and proper. I don't know why they want to be so earthy and not recognize God. I mean this earth could give us nothing if God hadn't first created it all. So I think it makes more sense to thank God for this beautiful earth that He gave us and do our best to be good stewards.

And I still love to garden! I think I don't have the diligent passion that I did at some seasons in my life and I think that is because Jonathan used to be fun to work with in the garden and I miss him a  lot. I know though that when I get out there and walk behind the tiller and get the feel of dirt between my toes ( I only work in the garden in my barefeet ) and up to my ankles, the passion will be back. I'll be eager to pick the first strawberries and peas and all the other goodies that a garden produces. The boys are not always as eager to eat those fresh veggies as I am. They still get more excited about fresh chocolate chip cookies then they do about rhubarb pie. They think peas are a lot of bother because you pick a bucketful and end up with a little bowl full to eat, and the peas from Food Loin are just as good. Oh well, they still help when I ask them to.

My little flock of chickens

One thing I have noticed a lot in magazines is that they praise the idea of letting chickens graze the garden. They eat bugs and they fertilize as they go. Sounds like a perfect plan until the beautiful red tomatoes are hanging on the vine! My anger was kindled more then once last year at the chickens in the garden! They did however really help me out when my potatoes were covered with potato bugs. I cut back on the chicken feed and then invited them into the garden and I put table scraps in the tater rows. Those chickens walked up and down the rows until the bugs were all eaten or else they were to scared to be seen. It worked perfect! But they loved eating tomatoes too and then I was not happy!

There is a new method of gardening that is also the "In" thing. It is called Back to Eden. You are supposed to cover the garden in the fall with bark chips and then make your rows and plant your seeds in that and not till it under. I'm fascinated at watching some folks do it but getting the chips and mulching the whole garden is about as much work as just tilling and weeding. It is fun to read about it and it seems to make sense so I hope it isvery successful for everyone that does it.

I also have an air purifier that is called "Eden Pure". There must be something about "Eden" that we want. The "Eden" before sin came. When the air was pure and the Lord came to walk and talk with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day. When working in the garden was pure delight, no weeds and sweat, just something fun to do. Sin changed it all and now we have thorns and thistles, bugs and disease that eat up our plants.

But because of Jesus and His great love and sacrifice we have the glorious hope of freedom from this earth and its toil and pain. We can look forward to that new life in Heaven!
       Get Ready.... That Day is COMING!