Birds Star in the Winter Creation Garden

We know your evil dreams, cat.

The final roses were cut for the Sunday altar, and now they decorate Mrs. Wright's home (they live on our right). Mrs. Gardener may get another bunch, but that depends on the coming frost. In Arkansas we are singing "One Day More" from Les Miz.

The rose garden is where we toss the more appealing bird food. Sassy cannot stand seeing "her" food outside. Once she looked at me in shock when I tossed muffins out for the birds. She darted outside and brought one in.

The rose garden is also where cats stalk the birds, sitting under the limo or turning into a statue on the edge of the garden. "I am not here. You do not see me because I will not move until the right moment."

The backyard is fenced in, and cats have not tried to feed there. I set up four suet bags, two near our large window and two hanging from trees. Multiple feeders draw larger numbers of birds. So far, the ingrates have not shown up for suet - after I bought it for them at the meat market, ordered suet bags for them, had them intercepted by Mrs. I, bought another set, hung them for their sole benefit.

The other favorite food I bought was a 25 pound bag of black oil sunflower seeds. I scatter the seeds on the mulch in the future corn patch and vegetable garden. Birds will always be wary of a new place to feed, and they prefer their food to ours. But the birds have landed there regularly now, and we see large groups of them.

Moline is already so cold that our friend has set up her birdbath warmer, which attracts many birds looking for a place to drink and bathe. Their greatest need is to bathe and preen their feathers, so a warmed birdbath is a powerful magnet to birds.

Some are thinking, "I am not going to double my electric bill with a bird spa." The heater keeps the water just above freezing and shuts off when the bath runs dry - as it will. The colder the weather, the faster it gets splashed out. The cost is low, the return is great.


Birds love trees, bushes, and low-lying vegetation for the their winter feeding. They find a lot of insect life in bark and bushes, because God has designed insects to expose their prolific offspring above ground, hidden away but easily found by birds. The upside-down bird (nuthatch) is purpose-driven and built to look under bark for food. They also love suet.

If I manufactured a spray that never ran out, killed insects, and reduced weeds, everyone would make me a billionaire, yes? The starling does that for us - but are we thankful to God and the person who brought them to America? Starlings arrive in flocks and grub for insects in the soil, flip mulch for life hidden but moving, and eat weed seeds in abundance. Starlings have turned into enormous flocks that soar and glide in majestic mathematical patterns.


Starlings are piggish but they only want to be fruitful and multiply. If the Creation gardener provides many kinds of food, shelter, and perches, the other birds will also visit.

When a vast storm threatens an area, people rush to stores to empty them of bread, cereal, flashlights, batteries, and water. Last winter I finally ventured out after an ice storm to get groceries. I was there late, and the clerks told me how my fellow human-beings mobbed the store for food. The larger the storm, the emptier the shelves are.

Speaking of mobs, I found an article about crows using facial recognition software to identify human threats, remembering the faces and calling in pals to mob the threat.

Crows remember the faces of threatening humans and often react by scolding and bringing in others to mob the perceived miscreant, according to a new study published in the latest Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

Since the mob members also then indirectly learn about the threatening person, the findings demonstrate how just a single crow's bad experience with a particular human can spread information about this individual throughout entire crow communities.

The corvids (crows, ravens, starlings, blackbirds) are the smartest birds and the best staying alive in difficult circumstances, so we take them for granted and curse their abundance.

Grace Abundant in the Means of Grace
God gave us the Means of Grace--the invisible Word of preaching and teaching, the visible Word of the Sacraments--to His Creation, for one purpose. No one ever needs to wonder and speculate about how he is declared forgiven, given God's grace, and granted eternal salvation. Faith in Christ means receiving this grace, through these divine instruments.

Likewise, we have no reason to look for the Holy Spirit, because the Spirit is always active in the visible and invisible Word.

The great, wise, and holy men of God dismiss the Means of Grace. Why so many means? That abundance scandalizes them, but they never ask "Why so many once-in-a-lifetime giving campaigns?"

The intellectuals question infant baptism, either calling it a terrible Roman Catholic dogma or an ordinance easily ignored.

The media stars reject the Means of Grace because they advocate themselves as the path to enlightenment, prosperity, and dreams fulfilled, using themselves as examples. Their approach is also called The Greater Fool theory, since a charlatan will attract greater foods who choose to believe the fraud until they run out of fools to join them. Ask Bernie Madoff, Robert Schuller, and Mark Driscoll. Their glittering careers end in lawsuits. Ask Ski for tips on that.

Fragile birds run from hawks. The clever blue jays know this and make hawk sounds to drive birds away from feeders. Crows do not fear hawks or owls. They mob them and drive them away from their nests.

But humans invite wolves into their lives, families, and congregations, saying, "Look, he is another sheep, just like us. He is humble and only wants to help."

We have started something new.
We will make the Gospel real, relevant, and relational.

All Saints Sunday, 2014. Matthew 5:1-10. The Beatitudes

Many times we lose our loved ones
before old age.

All Saints Sunday, 2014

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bethany-lutheran-worship

Bethany Lutheran Church, 10 AM Central Time

The Hymn # 371     Jesus Thy Blood                   4:6

The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual       

The Gospel              

Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed             p. 22

The Sermon Hymn # 463            For All the Saints                   4:31 

Blessed Are They...

The Communion Hymn #305            Soul, Adorn Thyself             4:23 

The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn # 657            Beautiful Savior            4:24  

KJV Revelation 7:2 And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, 3 Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. 4 And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred andforty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel. 5 Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand. 6 Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nepthalim were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand. 7 Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand. 8 Of the tribe of Zabulon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand. 9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; 10 And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. 11 And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, 12 Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen. 13 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? 14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. 16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. 17 For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

KJV Matthew 5:1 And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: 2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,

3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

ALL SAINTS' DAY

O almighty and everlasting God, who through Thine only-begotten and beloved Son, Jesus Christ, wilt sanctify all Thine elected and beloved: Give us grace to follow their faith, hope, and charity, that we together with them may obtain eternal life: through Thy Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

Blessed Are They...

Lenski:

The Beatitudes read like a Psalm; μακάριοι at once recalls the blessed of Ps. 1:1. “Blessed!” intoned again and again, sounds like bells of heaven, ringing down into this unblessed world from the cathedral spires of the kingdom inviting all men to enter. The word, like its opposite “woe,” is neither a wish regarding a coming condition, nor a description of a present condition, but a judgment pronounced upon the persons indicated, stating that they must be considered fortunate. The form is almost exclamatory: “O the blessedness of those who,” etc.! And it is Jesus who renders this judgment, which is, therefore, absolutely true although all the world may disagree. Each of the eight judgments is at once established by revealing in what the blessedness actually consists; and the eighth judgment is even doubled, and its blessedness is unveiled in two strong statements. All this blessedness is spiritual, each part of it coming from the great Messianic kingdom, true soul-blessedness, a rich possession now but with a glorious promise of still greater riches—the very opposite of the word’s happiness which is poisoned already in the bud and soon blasted forever. “Blessed” means joy for those concerned. But this is the heavenly way: the great gifts of the kingdom are ours, insuring a constant flow of joy, so that, even if for a moment we be sad and sorrowful, the joy will again well up in our hearts. John 15:11.

Lenski, R. C. H.: The Interpretation of St. Matthew's Gospel. Minneapolis, MN. : Augsburg Publishing House, 1961, S. 183.

We departed from the official Thrivent liturgical calendar to bring Reformation Sunday closer to Reformation Day. All Saints follows.

When the Reformation took place, only one holy day was celebrated - All Saints. There are various days for remembering those who died in the Lord. Germans mark the last Sunday in the Trinity season literally as Dead Sunday - Totensonntag. That was a very big service in Kitchener, Ontario. The church was full and we had another service at the church cemetery.

We just lost Gary Meyer, Senior.

Raymond Klatt, a regular worshiper with us, lost his wife Marie.

Earlier in the life of this congregation, we lost:

• Walter Boeckler, Norma's husband
• Gladys Meyer, my mother.
• Brenda Kiehler, our dear friend and church member.

We all have others we remember and mourn, because they were dear to us, important in our lives, and members of the Christian Church.

The Beatitudes

As Lenski noted, the Beatitudes are revealed to us in a Psalm-like form. They are certainly poetic.  We often say there are eight Beatitudes, but there are nine "Blesseds." That reminds us of these blessings being nine-fold fruit of the Holy Trinity at work in our lives.

1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

2 But his delight is in the law [GJ - Torah, teaching] of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.

5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

6 For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

Matthew 5:4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

This verse. like the other Beatitudes, sounds wrong at first, but it is the essence of the Gospel.  That is the reason we teach such verses to children. I remember constructing some geometric shape in paper with a Beatitude on each side. We were to memorize them that way, and we did to some extent.

The classic passages of the Bible become part of our basic memory, and we return to them later.

This verse is central to our understand of the Christian faith, because we have losses throughout life. One of my friends lost his father when he was young. He mentions that often, about 50 years later.

My friends often mention their mothers and how much they miss them. Only one mother is left among my high school friends. She is 93. My friends mention my mother too, because of her influence on their lives. One said, "Your mother saved my life." Another one said, "My biggest disappointment is that I did not get to have your mother as my teacher in grade school."

Comfort comes from forgiveness and salvation. 

The purpose of the Christian Church is to teach the Gospel, to support it with complete and thorough teaching, and to sustain the faith created by nurturing souls with even more Gospel.

Literature and History

In world literature and history, the key issue is forgiveness and salvation. We just watched Les Miserbles (musical) which is remarkably good, not so much as a film, but in its concert form (with lyrics appearing on the screen).

The novel is about a man born into poverty, who served on galley ships for 16 years because he stole bread for his sister's child. Finally released, he stole from the bishop who took him in and fed him.

The turning point of the novel is the section which was featured in many reading books - The Bishop's Candlesticks. The bishop told the policemen that Jean Valjean was supposed to have even more. He was no thief at all, he said. So a man who lived a life without experiencing any mercy finds it in the bishop, who could have demanded justice.

The rest of the novel concerns the inspector who wants to find and jail Valjean forever, pure justice. Valjean has broken his parole and Javert has a right and a duty to find him. One is easily reminded of Saul persecuting the Christians.

Finally Javert finds his entire meaning of life thrown into turmoil when Valjean shows him mercy instead of justice (sparing Javert's life, without asking anything in return). 

Valjean confesses his sins and is ushered into eternal life.

Likewise, Paul showed no mercy, but the risen Christ appeared to him, taught him, and appointed him an apostle. Paul was all justice in the Law until he found mercy with Christ.

Luther also lived according to monastic law, trying to be more observant than anyone else. He learned from his spiritual advisor that he needed the Gospel and forgiveness, not more Law and guilt.

Both with Paul, Augustine, and Luther is this great emphasis upon God's grace, which came from their total reliance on Law earlier. All three knew their faith did not come from their intellect or will but from the power of God's grace.

Grace and Faith Differ

Some clergy think that emphasizing grace is somehow an antidote to justification by faith. But that is wrong. 

God's nature is to be gracious, but it is not our nature. God's grace plants faith in us through the Gospel, and we receive grace, making us more gracious. That graciousness is not ours but God's. This graciousness is energized by the Gospel Promises.

Gracious means being more patient, more forgiving, more compassionate, not expected thanks but feeling blessed by the chance to serve, to help, to comfort, to guide and teach.

Payback comes along later, such as when I heard, "Dad, you were right about..." 

Long ago I pointed out to a member that we would not engage in money-making projects because we should not compete with local business. Another reason is that people think by paying for overpriced objects they have fulfilled an obligation. Such gimmicks are the enemy of real stewardship, which is based on thankfulness for God's grace. The needs of God's work have always been met but gimmicks have not worked consistently, only short-term. 

Many of us have watched flashy ministries go into receivership because the gimmicks got tiresome. The flash masked an inner corruption that was bound to surface.

How Can Mourning Be Blessed?

There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition, and of unspeakable love.

Washington Irving Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/w/washington149294.html#dAFhQHxUzfAaFfxv.99

God created us to mourn. It is natural, and all people mourn. However, they mourn without a good effect if they have no faith in Christ.

Those who die in Christ - in faith - have their sins forgiven, so they enter eternal life with the righteousness of Christ.

That gives us a different perspective, which is easier as time grows shorter. We see more in the light of eternity. I see the changes in my friends as they try to get rid of things instead of accumulating them. They look back and appreciate the blessings of past, which is a good feeling.

The initial stages of grief are painful, but there is healing with each step. We never stop missing someone. Often the feelings are intense or rush upon us like a train wreck. But each step brings less pain and more appreciation.

In time, the loss itself energizes us. We wrote up the loss of our daughters and continue to give away that book. It unites us with those who have lost a member of the family or friend. Sometimes it is passed on to someone suffering from acute and unresolved grief.

Naturally it changed our attitude about everything. Threats did not mean much when the greatest treasures (on earth) were gone. Temporary gains meant nothing compared to eternal truths.

Not from The Onion Satire Website - But from The CORE - Conflict Resolution

Who has caused more conflict than The CORE?

Who pushed their over-funded and under-supervised carbuncle on Green Bay, one block from a real urban ministry?

Who excommunicated a St. Peter's member for telling the truth about plagiarism when Glende lied about it?

Who sued the husband of their former staffer for telling the truth about abuse, porn, and drinking on the job?

Who received massive funding while Glende was urging his Savoy debacle to quietly close the doors?

Creation - The Watch Found on the Trail

The Henry Graves Super-Complication Watch may sell for $17 million.

The Anglican clergyman William Paley argued for intelligent design by comparing a stone found on a path outside to a watch found in the same place. The stone could have arrived by chance, but the watch is quite different. See M. Behe, Darwin's Black Box, p. 211.

The watch above is going on the auction block at the ultimate watch, with 24 complications, designed to be far more complex than the one ordered by Packard (luxury car maker) with only 16 complications.

If I understand it correctly, a complication in a watch is an added luxury, such as a timer, stopwatch, and moon phases. If one of those fails, the rest still work, I imagine.

William Paley argued from the watch found on the trail.

However, the complications in a plant cell are fatal for the cell when one function fails - and there are many functions of great complexity.

Imagine if you will, a rose seed. Roses start out as seeds unless one is rooting the canes in a glass of water.

The rose seed is complex on its own, but the plant it forms has many different cells carrying out different functions. As the rose grows, assuming no grafting, the cells must form roots, leaves, stems, flowers, prickles, and hips. Rosehips are the fruit of roses and contain the seeds, not unlike apples, which come from the same large family.

Each individual complexity shows design beyond our capacity to explain it. The root tip cells know how to attract fungi to give it food, by offering carbon credits to the fungus. The rose flower attracts pollinating critters to fertilize the seed.

The larger functions astound us, but the microscopic ones should stun us. Here is one plant cell, revealing many different mechanical and chemical functions operating all at once.

This pole bean has many different cells -
stem, skin, seeds, and flowers - for starters.

Some of my bean pods were old and over the hill this fall, so I dropped them into the mulch to be absorbed by soil creatures and turned into new plants later. A pile of old bean pods can become a tomato plant in time - through decomposition, but humans cannot take a pot of beans and make tomato soup from them.

Psalm 104 King James Version (KJV)

104 Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty.

2 Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain:

3 Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind:

4 Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire:

5 Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever.

6 Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a garment: the waters stood above the mountains.

7 At thy rebuke they fled; at the voice of thy thunder they hasted away.

8 They go up by the mountains; they go down by the valleys unto the place which thou hast founded for them.

9 Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over; that they turn not again to cover the earth.

10 He sendeth the springs into the valleys, which run among the hills.

11 They give drink to every beast of the field: the wild asses quench their thirst.

12 By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation, which sing among the branches.

13 He watereth the hills from his chambers: the earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works.

14 He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth;

15 And wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man's heart.

16 The trees of the Lord are full of sap; the cedars of Lebanon, which he hath planted;

17 Where the birds make their nests: as for the stork, the fir trees are her house.

18 The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats; and the rocks for the conies.

19 He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down.

20 Thou makest darkness, and it is night: wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth.

21 The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their meat from God.

22 The sun ariseth, they gather themselves together, and lay them down in their dens.

23 Man goeth forth unto his work and to his labour until the evening.

24 O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.

25 So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts.

26 There go the ships: there is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein.

27 These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their meat in due season.

28 That thou givest them they gather: thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good.

29 Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust.

30 Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth.

31 The glory of the Lord shall endure for ever: the Lord shall rejoice in his works.

32 He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth: he toucheth the hills, and they smoke.

33 I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.

34 My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the Lord.

35 Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless thou the Lord, O my soul. Praise ye the Lord.

Gardens for Children Keep Them Away from the Rough Crowd

The rough crowd will make the wrong impression
if baby watches too much TV. The solution? - gardening.

We are going to have an overflow garden this spring. Our helper asked about using rose canes to start his own roses. I visited a home in Midland where a retired couple rooted rose canes in water and planted them, so they could have more of the roses they liked the best. They had 100 - 200 roses in their yard.

Another way is to order seed by the pound instead of the packet. That provides enough seed for every purpose and plenty to spare. When ordering in bulk, the cost difference between 1/2 pound and a pound is slight. That is why they bring in colored packets of 10 seeds at a time to Lowe's, Home Depot, and other home and garden spots. They are minting money.

Sure, he makes a lot of money,
but is this a good way to spend his life?

I buy seed packets willingly - only when they go on sale - at a dime a packet. That is a good way to experiment with new varieties late in the season. Ordering packets by mail is a double-theft, since the distributors add so much for shipping. They will send them fast for even more money, which is pretty strange, since a lot of seed can be mailed Priority for $5 a box.

Those like me--who buy 25 pound bags of black oil sunflower seeds for the birds squirrels--know that seed can be very cheap. In fact, the seed that volunteers from feeding will produce quite a few new sunflowers in the spring, germinating at the right time. No doubt squirrels plant them - just to be sure - while eating more than their share.

A large bag of giant, striped sunflower seeds will produce a nine-foot tall wall of sunflowers. That can be used to box in a play area for kids, so they can hide. Children like to go inside and call out to their parents. "Can you see me?" Parents - "No, where are you?" Laughter.

The giant disks can be harvested for roasting the seeds. Parents - make a circle with your arms. That is how big a sunflower head can be, if giant, striped sunflowers are planted. The seeds are much bigger. The stems are almost wooden. The leaves are enormous, and the seedheads gigantic.

Pole beans and edible pod peas can be grown up in tepee fashion, with a straw floor. Children go inside the door and pick beans or peas hanging from the structure. All it takes is a tall pole in the ground, a wire border fence for the perimeter, and string up to the top of the pole. If I could build that, anyone can.

A bird trapeze is a lot of fun, year around. Birds love to perch near food, but often farther away from human observation. Once again, I built my own, even though I am allergic to such projects. I screwed in s-hooks in the eaves, hung two chains, and stretched a small metal rod between the chains. Birds landed and swung there all the time (New Ulm) after feeding from the outside ledge. I scattered sunflower seeds on the ledge all winter. The more brutal the winter, the more popular my offerings.
The birds soon became used to us watching from the picture window, a short distance away.

Children like to grow food they enjoy eating, and having their own garden will make many vegetables more appealing to them. They may not like tomatoes that much, but cherry tomatoes are sweeter, easy to grow, and easy to eat outside. A green pepper growing outside is far more appealing that one wrinkling up in the fridge.

"Would you like some green pepper, Billie?" Answer - "No!"

"Stay out of the green peppers in the garden, Billie." Response - "Can I have just one?"

Mrs. I and Little Ichabod always liked raw beans, so we never cooked them. They ate them all the time. We all edible pod peas in the spring until they became loathsome to us. We gave them away to friends, which meant we had even more peas growing. The  pet rabbits ate extra growth, and that meant even more peas.

Weeds were sown among the good crops -
no doubt about it.

Berries are great fun for everyone. All creatures large and small love them all. Initially the creatures seem to get the best ones, but soon there are plenty for everyone. Some raspberry canes bear twice a summer, and they love to spread through root systems.

Wild berries like gooseberries will grow well on their own. I have bright, red wild strawberries still producing in our backyard now, on November 8th - thanks to water and mulch.

I will try domestic strawberries on straw bales in the spring. I did not like the experience of growing them on soil. They fed the ants more than anyone else.

Gardening is a great way to find out how all of God's creatures work together. Creation gardening means learning how the overlooked and despised (weeds, insects, spiders, fungi, earthworms) make our lives better and healthier.

Don't let baby join the KISS Army.

Hybrid Tea Roses versus Knockout Roses

Knockout roses bloom faster than anyone can imagine.

Knockout Roses are a popular variety of shrub roses. I see them all over this area, and most of them are neglected - the American approach to roses.

All roses need mulching and pruning. They do not need spraying and fertilizing. Total neglect means they are under-watered (with no mulch to hold water in the soil) and under-fed, with no organic material to rot into the soil. Since cutting new roses will make them bloom (John 15:1-10), letting them back in the sun means they will be increasingly unsightly, even after a good rain.

Hybrid tea roses are the second main group of roses, although there are many more. I joined the American Rose Society so I could keep up with the latest plants being offered. January is the time when gardeners get to plan and buy in advance, so I wanted to be ready.

Knockout roses bloom profusely and do not get blackspot, the fungus that attacks rose leaves and leaves the plant weak and ugly. The buds and blooms are smaller, but their profusion makes up for this. I have the original magenta Knockout rose, which is still producing roses in early November. The pink version is not so prolific but has kinder stems - fewer prickles. The white Knockouts did not really grow stronger until late in the season. They are five-petal roses with tiny buds, the hardest to cut for vases since the blooms do better on the bush than in an arrangement.

Hybrid tea roses have many advantages over shrub roses. Hybrid tea blooms are larger with various advantages in color and fragrance, though few roses have everything in abundance. Usually one key characteristic is slighted - aroma, immunity from disease, foliage, or frequency of blooms.

The Knockouts make me impatient for the hybrid tea roses to bloom. The hybrid tea buds form much more slowly and open at a glacial pace. The five sepals enclosing the bud have to be open for the bud to complete its blooming after being cut. That also seems to take forever after cutting Knockouts like crazy and having even more to share. Harvesting a bud too soon means a bud will be sitting in a vase, but no bloom will form.

My best bud story was this one. Our neighbors love roses - and who doesn't. Mrs. Right (who lives ot the right of us) loves to get them. She was coming home when I was pruning. I had a long-developing bud at the top of a rose bush, one that kept aiming at seven feet all summer. I cut one long-stemmed bud, knowing the sepals were fully open. I gave to her to take into the house. She was not impressed. I said, "Give it some time and you will have a beautiful bloom."

She told Mrs. I later, "I didn't think much of that rose, but it bloomed in the vase, just like your husband said it would." A bud like that will open up over a period of days and stay beautiful for many days more as it continues to open up. Hybrid team blooms are normally very large and showy. If the buds are especially large, the blooms will be extremely large.

I have two hybrid tea buds (rescued from the frost) slowly opening in the vase, next to some Knockouts we cut for the altar on Sunday. These have thin petals, so they look like colored tissue paper as they open.

The Double Delight rose, a hybrid tea, has the color and the fragrance.

Reader Enjoys Sassy, Gardening, and Theology Posts

Lena

Enjoyed the latest Sassy-Sue post on cues and signals. Our Lena is much the same, always 'reading' us, our voices or actions. She likes to be one step ahead of what we do, clearing the path for us and keeping us safe.

She got a bit confused by the time change last week. Woke up at 4am instead of 5 and wanted to go out. Disappeared for a bit, then showed up with a great big rabbit, killed and partially gutted for our pleasure.

Here she is above, with a recipe idea, and also a shot of her very gentle and kindly brother Jakob. As you can imagine, our home place is pretty secure from cats, skunks, racoons and all other assorted intruders.

Jakob

Thanks for the entertaining/informative posts, whether dogs or gardens or theology!