Broadcasting from Facebook Tomorrow - Not Ustream

Ustream has been extremely uncooperative lately, making me think they want to dump the little guys like us.

Looking for alternatives, I found Facebook Live Video works. There are problems to work out, such as the camera conflict and quality of music, but it works for now.

This is my Facebook address -

https://www.facebook.com/gregjackson1966

The video will play from there. You may need a Facebook account, which is free.

I plan on getting a desktop box, which will not have the built-in camera problem that vexes me and probably messes with the sound too (a second video source, a second microphone).

More tomorrow.

Regarding cardinals’ request for clarification of ‘Amoris Laetitia,’ the Pope’s silence speaks volumes | Opinion | LifeSite

 Cardinal Burke loves his finery.

Regarding cardinals’ request for clarification of ‘Amoris Laetitia,’ the Pope’s silence speaks volumes | Opinion | LifeSite:

"Regarding cardinals’ request for clarification of ‘Amoris Laetitia,’ the Pope’s silence speaks volumes

Amoris Laetitia , Gerhard Müller , Pope Francis , Raymond Burke

November 16, 2016 (CatholicCulture) — We should not be surprised that the Pope has declined a request for clarification of Amoris Laetitia. Are faithful Catholics confused by that document? Absolutely. That is the Holy Father’s intent. The confusion is not a bug; it’s a feature.

The defenders of the papal document (and those defenders are becoming downright belligerent; see below) insist that the notorious 8th chapter is clear enough, and that the four cardinals who have raised questions about its meaning are merely being argumentative. But if that were the case, the Pontiff could have avoided this public embarrassment by answering the cardinals’ questions. He chose not to do so.

There are only two possible ways to interpret the Pope’s silence. Either he is being remarkably rude to the men who are his closest counselors, flatly refusing to answer their honest request, or he does not want to give a straight answer. Or both.

The one possibility that can be quickly excluded from our discussion is that the Pope believes the interpretation of Amoris Laetitia is already clear to the faithful. It is not. After two years of intense debate on the most controversial question involved — whether divorced and remarried Catholics may be admitted to Communion — intelligent and informed Catholics are still unsure as to what, exactly, Pope Francis has taught us."

'via Blog this'

Like the Murder Victim's Family Joining the Murderer in a Party To Celebrate the Not Guilty Verdict by the Court: Lutherans, Catholics Gather for Historic Service in Lund, Sweden - ELCA

Lutherans, Catholics gather for historic service in Lund, Sweden - ELCA: "  The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), ​joined Lutheran and Catholic leaders for a joint ecumenical commemoration of the Reformation on Oct. 31 in Lund, Sweden.

     Pope Francis; Munib Younan, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land and The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) president; and Martin Junge, LWF general secretary, led the historic service at the Lund Cathedral. About 500 worshipers attended the Common Prayer service.

     “With joy we have come to recognize that what unites us is far greater than what divides us,” said Younan, in his opening welcome.

     According to a LWF press release, Pope Francis told worshipers that “in the context of the commemoration of the Reformation of 1517, we have a new opportunity to accept a common path, one that has taken shape over the past 50 years in the ecumenical dialogue between The Lutheran World Federation and the Catholic Church.”"

'via Blog this'

 Another Jeske WELS-ELCA-LCMS Conference -
We Are Stronger Together.
That Which Unites Us - UOJ -
Is Greater Than That Which Divides Us -
The Chief Article.

Bishop James Heiser Contradicted Himself, Reformation, 2008 - In the True Spirit of the Pietistic, Rationalistic Synodical Conference

Pastors Steve Brockdorff and Rolf Preus posed with the
Right Reverend Bishop James Heiser for this
October 2008 issue of the Salem, Malone, Newsletter.
The totally UOJ Rolf Synod worshiped and studied
with the ELDONUTs until Pastor Paul Rydecki joined
from the Intrepid WELSians.
ID - Brockdorff has the Roman collar on the left,
Heiser has the lavender Roman shirt.
Preus has the Sears-Roebuck shirt, husky size.

Heiser:

How much error can be tolerated in the Church? How much false doctrine?” This was one of the questions posed to me by a pastor of the ACLC during our recent meeting at Reformation LutheranChurch in Hillsboro, Oregon. 

I have to admit, the question took my breath away for a moment. I’ve gotten used to listening to wavering ‘Lutheran’ pastors ask that sort of question (although usually such people will speak in terms of “wrestling” with some new false teaching, or defend their doctrinal ambivalence with code words such as “toleration” and talking about “gray areas” of Scripture). So, this question, especially coming up where and when it did, set me back for a second.

“None,” I replied, thankful that every pastor in the room understood that this was the right— indeed the only—answer God’s Word allows. 

Our forefathers in the faith concluded the Book of Concord (1580) with the pledge: “Therefore in the sight of God and of all Christendom, to those now living and those who shall come after us, we wish to testify that the above declaration, concerning all the controverted articles presented and explained, and no other, is our faith, doctrine, and confession, in which we also will appear, by God’s grace, with unterrified hearts before the judgment-seat of Jesus Christ, and for it will give an account. We also will neither speak nor write, privately or publicly, anything contrary to this declaration, but, by the help of God’s grace, intend to abide thereby. After mature deliberation we have, in God’s fear and with the invocation of His name, attached our signatures with our own hands.” (Jacobs, p. 671)

***
GJ - My question remains - why did Heiser realize the error of UOJ when he read Thy Strong Word - and sold it on his website, 2000 AD, and yet form a union with the thoroughly UOJ Rolf Synod.

Another UOJ fanatic, Rolf's brother, the late Klemet Preus, was president of Higher Things when Heiser spoke there in 2004 (see the Salem newsletter). As I mentioned before, Higher Things remains firmly in the grip of UOJ.

This is why I object to Lutheran nitwits running around having big debates about trivia while ignoring the Chief Article - Justification by Faith - which most Protestants seem to understand and believe from hearing the Word of God  and studying the Book of Concord.

Was the pivot to Justification by Faith simply to capture the Rydecki church property?

The Great Book Exchange Today - Facilitated by This Blog Nobody Reads

 "I didn't get a book yet!"

This either happened today or is in the process of being fulfilled.

One member had boxes of great Lutheran books. Two readers who love the great classics - but are short of them - got one box each.

One of those readers sent a set of Lenski to the other reader, because of the offer of a free Lenski set, which was accepted.

A third reader missed out on Lenski but was sent a number of my books in print, whcih he wanted. They were part of the boxes of free books donated by our member.

A reader in Utah, Missouri Synod, was sent three copies each of Introduction to the Christian Faith and Making Disciples. Earlier she received the big set of Luther's Sermons, 7 volumes, including Postils, which are hard to find at the moment.

One of our members had 50 new copies of The Lutheran Hymnal, and Mr. Lenski Magnet's congregation will receive those.

Regular listeners sent a Luther quotation book in German. My wife and I can both read German, but we decided to give it to our German cousin, the widow of Army veteran Peter Ellenberger, who recently died. Christina inscribed it. We traveled to the South Bend, Indiana area twice to see them and have a service of Holy Communion.

Members and non-members send gifts so that books can be shipped to those who want them, whether they are relatively rare Lutheran books or books I have written. Some of this goes on all the time, but this happened all at once this time.

We don't carry dog t-shirts.
Contact Paul McCain at Concordia Publishing House.

Breaking News! - President-Elect Trump Will Move His Family Into Government Subsidized Housing, With Some Upgrades at His Expense

Essential Authors and Books for Lutherans - Printed Books

 If you want to know the best edition of Pilgrim's Progress, 
a work of art - this is one example -
email me. Good editions are abundant.

When Morn, the rosy fingered child of Dawn, arose, Sassy took me out for a walk. Instead of welcoming sun, we found dark thunder-clouds, wind to knock my Tilley hat off, and a damp chill. Autumn? We have several more weeks of unusually warm weather ahead.

Several have asked about best books and authors often overlooked, so this is my list, starting with the best reads of all.

Roland Bainton remains my favorite church historian.

Absolutely Essential Short List - For Being Well Read

1. The KJV and related books about it.
2. Luther's Sermons - The Lenker set is great, and CPH had an upgrade with the postils included. Everything was wrapped up in preaching, the Preaching Office, for Luther. 
3. The Book of Concord is the best one-volume commentary on the Bible. I like Tappert for readability. Luther's Large Catechism is overlooked and under-read. Melanchthon's passage on Justification by Faith in the Apology is unknown, unread, and uncited among the fake-conservative Lutherans of today.
4. Luther's Galatians Lectures are extolled by the Book of Concord as the best detailed explanation of Justification by Faith.
5. Pilgrim's Progess - Animated, Children's version, full-sized, and various movies. Those who have trouble with the book at first should get involved in the popular versions. The full version is really an allegorical commentary on the Bible. Bunyan's most read book, after the Bible, was Luther's Galatians Lectures.

Passavant

Second Tier Books - But Not Second-Rate - Best Of

• Luther's Genesis Commentary
• Luther's 1 and 2 Peter Commentary
• Luther's Sermons on the Gospel of John
• Luther's Romans Commentary
• Lenski New Testament Commentaries
• Chemniz Examination of the Council of Trent - a great way to learn the fine points of Biblical studies, theology, and humorous commentary. Any Chemnitz work is great, but this is the best - if most expensive - start.

Overlooked and Underappreciated by Their Descendants - Look for Works about Them Too

1. Krauth - Conservative Reformation. General Council.
2. Schmauk - Confessional Principle. General Council.
3. Jacobs - Doctrinal Outline. General Synod.
4. Reu - Difficult to find his works, but they are around the used market and the reprint market. Iowa Synod genius. He was a bit liberal at first but later wrote on Luther and inerrancy.
5. Life and Letters of Passavant - Passavant was a unique, faithful leader who continued as a great friend of the Augustana Synod and all charitable Christian projects - hospitals, missions, etc. The Lutheran magazine of ELCA has borrowed the name of their periodical from his own independent effort. 
6. Ludwig Fuerbringer's two little books on the early days of the LCMS are very good. 
7. Zion on the Mississippi may be the only non-mythological books the Stephan sex cult's trip to America and its weird, abusive, Pietistic and rationalistic origins. Each time I bought this volume, the cost was $10, used.

Show Me the Monet! Monet Painting Sells for Record $81.4 Million at Christie’s - Bloomberg

Monet Painting Sells for Record $81.4 Million at Christie’s - Bloomberg:

"Claude Monet’s grain stack painting fetched a record $81.4 million in New York on Wednesday after a 14-minute bidding war.
The 1891 canvas, “Meule,” was offered at Christie’s Impressionist and modern art sale. Estimated at $45 million, it was sold without a guarantee by an anonymous American collector, according to the auction house.
The work last appeared at auction in 1999, when it sold for $11.9 million. The seller acquired it privately in 2002."

'via Blog this'

Do the Babtists Have More Lutherans Than the Lutherans Do?

When Sassy walks me every morning, I have time to think about doctrinal topics. The morning walk is the longest and often the most eventful. People have time to talk and to pet Sassy. Yesterday we saw a minor accident where a woman drove her plastic GM car into a pickup truck. The car's alleged bumper was smashed up. The pickup was undamaged.

I wake up at about 5 AM, drink coffee, and read various news blogs. No Lutheran blogs are left worth reading or mocking - they are too boring to mention.

I insist on some daylight to start the walk, so I have time to get one post done. Today will be the satis est of the Augsburg Confession. Everyone agrees with this, I am sure. ELCA accepts the Augsburg Confession but is not keen on the Book of Concord.

The Augsburg Confession is short, so WELS-LCMS leaders can get through the AC before passing out into their bowls of popcorn and peanuts at the local bar.

Victory of the Lamb, blessed by WELS,
where court appearances for a DUI are
resume enhancers.

The problem is - WELS-LCMS repudiate the Gospel, the Chief Article. They patted each other on their scaly heads and said, "Thank God we teach justification without faith and universal salvation without faith."

Some of the readers have already reviewed Article VII above and are saying, "But the Babtists reject the sacraments as such and only consider them ordinances with effect." That is true, but the Babtists still teach Justification by Faith, the Chief Article, even if their seminary professors flow along with the same mainline drift of apostasy so well established in the LCMS, ELS, WELS, and micro-mini groups.

I am willing to argue that most laity in the "conservative" Lutheran groups are loyal to the Chief Article, by default, simply because it takes quite a bit of brain-washing (or a paucity of brains) to fall for Universal Justification without faith.

Alcoholism is often denounced for the destructive effect it has on the body, mind, spirit, family, and and soul. But nothing keeps leaders in line better than an absence of thought, a neglect of study, and a dedication to Demon Rum. They are one in the spirits.

Splintering Pietists - Victims of Their Own Shunning Rules
One could counter that the conservative Lutherans are not Lutheran at all. Each one has a set of contradictory rules on shunning, which is really their chief article, the master and prince, the judge of all articles.

The Great Walther's example was repeated when ELDONA's bishop began by following a molester of young people, boys in this case. Like Stephan, the LCS bishop was arrested by the police. Although the ELDONUTs teach that it is "unScriptural" to not be in their group, they forget that Bishop Heiser went back to the LCMS and stuck to Missouri like velcro for the longest time. Upon leaving the LCMS with the property of Salem Lutheran Church in Malone, Texas, Heiser failed to convert his parents (who joined Steve Spencer's WELS congregation) and his own brother, who is Lutheran Brethren  - nevertheless communing in WELS.

If one presses the shun button with so much vigor and Enthusiasm, should not the same bell tolling for others toll also for him?

The larger groups are just as confusing. When Missouri, WELS, and the ELS shun, they shun for life. They do not simply shun the object of their wrath - they shun their target, the spouse, the children, and those unto the fourth and fifth generation. But at the same time, they cuddle with ELCA, find no fault with ELCA, and obey's Thrivent-ELCA's rules for carrying out their many joint ministry projects.

These same greedy leaders, even when sober, see the wrongs perpetrated by ELCA, but they have no issue with Mark Jeske's Thrivent-ELCA projects and continue to promote them with pious glee.

The recent election revealed how tone-deaf the national leadership is, I am told. Even the Left is scolding the Left, which is rare indeed. The denominations, large and small, anticipated this attitude by turning a deaf ear and blind eyes to their membership:

1. Rewarding their fellow drunks and adulterers.
2. Rejecting anyone faithful to the Word.
3. Clawing millions into their pockets in the name of mission, but really in the name of salaries and benefits.
4. Wrecking congregations to get even.
5. Publishing false doctrine by the hundredweight, suppressing and ignoring Luther, their putative doctrinal star.

Places To Buy Roses

Local gardening shops may be good for roses. I used them for late season bargains in the past. If you want specific roses, buying bare root roses from the Internet is the way to go. Some of then also offer potted roses as well - something I have not had shipped to me, but they can be found. No one should fear bare root roses. They are easy to start and grow.

Regan Nursery - They have the best, most organized, illustrated list of roses. Browse fragrant varieties, colors, etc. They provide a run-down with photos of the characteristics of each rose. These California roses came to me bare root, rather beat up, heated on a long trip, so I soaked them in rainwater a long time and pruned them top and bottom. No other roses started growing so fast - and they lasted well too.

Jackson and Perkins - They are the biggest and have the latest award winners.

Edmunds - They have more varieties.

Weeks - They are wholesale. I bought twenty $5 roses from them via Gurney's offer. They all grew very well.

Antique Rose Emporium - Olde roses are featured, and they have the best record for being hardy and fragrant.

Direct Gardening - DG has a wide variety of plants. They are the place for Mr. Lincoln for $8. Their plants tend to be tiny, such as the Rugosa rose twigs I bought, but one took off and is still a bargain for the total $6 price for six. I am very happy with their Cat Mint I bought for almost nothing. Their clearance sales are worth considering.

Another approach is to google "search _____" with the type filled in. That is how I found Seven Sisters rose for a classmate.

All the vendors stand behind their produce when the plant fails to grow. That will happen with bare root roses.

Soaking in rainwater or stored water, plus pruning, will solve most problems.

Ichabod the Glory Has Departed - Five Million Views

Somebody - stop Ichabod.

I am not sure how to report 5,000,000 views. The blog statistics have varied greatly in the last few months, from rather slow - about 2,000 views per day - to riotous levels, 33,000 on one day. They go down and back up again, too.

I assume that Internet software and possible hacking attempts have raised the numbers to the stratosphere. However, the number was almost 5 million anyway, so that is enough for me.

Four million views in 2015.

Three million views in 2014.

Two million views in 2013.

 Tell me more.

Symon Scheiwe‎ to Confessional Lutheran Fellowship

comments by Rolf Preus, missing the point.  The question is on why WELS is not in fellowship with LCMS.  How did "shunning" become a Lutheran idea?


Rolf Preus The speaker is from ELDoNA, Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of North America. I became familiar with the ELDoNA some years back. They have taken a very strong stand against the doctrine of "objective justification," the teaching that God, for Christ's sake, has justified the whole world. "Subjection justification" is the teaching that the only way anyone can receive justification is through faith alone. Both the LCMS and the WELS teach both objective and subjective justification. A WELS pastor who was kicked out of the WELS for denying objective justification joined ELDoNA and soon afterward ELDoNA publicly attacked this doctrine. While there are many sincere people associated with ELDoNA, I would urge confessional Lutherans to avoid them on account of their false doctrine concerning justification.

[Confidential to Rolf - Please read the definition of the Chief Article in the Book of Concord. Thanks.]

ELDONA and the Rolf Synod -
Rolfians went back to the ELS.

ELDONA was silent for a decade on justification,
in fellowship with the Rolf Synod,
and suddenly against OJ and SJ.

Reading Some Quotations by the Notorious, Evil Wilhelm Loehe

I inherited the Wilhelm Loehe book from a member. Here are the basics -

The Word Remains - Selected Writings on the Church Year and the Christian Life, Wilhelm Loehe. Emmanuel Press.

Paperback, 140 pp., 8″ x 5″, 2016
ISBN 978-1-934329-12-5

From the back cover: Johann Konrad Wilhelm Löhe (1808-1872) was a parish pastor for thirty-five years in the German village of Neuendettelsau. While he was known there as an exceptional preacher, liturgist, teacher, and Seelsorger, his work and influence also extended far beyond his own congregation. Löhe had a keen interest in mission work and was instrumental in sending missionaries to North America and other continents. In addition, his desire to carry out Christian labors of love for those closer to home—caring for the body as well as the soul—led him to found an institute in Neuendettelsau to train deaconesses to perform acts of physical mercy.

This collection of excerpts comes from Löhe’s extensive writing on mission, pastoral theology, history, and liturgy. Originally published in German in 2008, The Word Remains is the English translation of a delightful book that gathers his profound wisdom into one small volume, making it well suited for devotional reading. In these pages, Löhe articulates the confessional Lutheran understanding of the church year, the Word of God, and matters related to the Christian life: faith, prayer, fellowship, worship, creation, and hope. In addition, the biography by Hans Kreßel and the appended essay by John T. Pless give insight into Löhe’s life, the context in which he lived, and his lasting influence.

$15.00

---

I have to caution all readers. Loehe is evil, because Christian News says so. And Pastor Otten is against Loehe and his followers because CFW Walther - aka The Great Walther - was Loehe's opponent (except when asking for property and money).

The bill of indictment is included in the top graphic, and it is grim indeed. Loehe never kidnapped anyone, while Walther kidnapped three - two minors and his own bishop. Walther founded only one seminary, Concordia in St. Louis, but Loehe founded two - Concordia, Ft. Wayne and Wartburg in Dubuque, Iowa. Worse - Loehe donated Ft. Wayne to the Missouri Synod and kept up his financial support, as Walther asked.

Loehe was lax in discipline, because he did not organize any mobs, threaten, rob, or kidnap a bishop. Walther did that in fine style and emerged in the carefully manipulated history of the LCMS as a great hero. Anyone today who gives a pile of gold, even stolen, is awarded a doctorate in Missouri, following the example of Dr. CFW Walther.

Loehe remained a parish pastor while doing all his work and organizing five (5) world mission societies. Walther did what was best and had himself promoted to the presidency of the LCMS and its seminary at the same time, leaving parish work behind for the greater glory of Missouri.

My counter-polemic against Loehe is a little satire, funny because true, about the way Missouri treats its hagiography. Walther must come out on top because they are all Waltherians - at least they think they are.

In fact, Loehe organized the first parishes and they asked the Perryville cult about joining them. Loehe trained good leaders who contributed greatly to the early synod. The main historian for this information is Ludwig Fuerbringer, writing about Frankenmuth and Ft. Wayne. I highly recommend his two little books - Eighty Eventful Years and Persons and Events. Fuerbringer was the nephew of The Great Walther and consequently kept his silence about the early history, as Uncle CFW wished.

The Word Remains is a great book to own, because it offers selections from Loehe's writing and a brief biography. Loehe was clearly a parish theologian, very much like Luther in his concise statements about the faith and basic Christian doctrine.

Ironic indeed is this fact - Loehe contributed much that is positive to the LCMS today. And yet, Loehe triggers anxiety and fear in the Missouri snowflakes who must denounce their actual Founder in order to prove loyalty to Walther, a loyal disciple and enforcer for the abusive bishop - until the time was right for a takeover.

This fine and concise statement is a reflection
on the Chief Article - Justification by Faith -
but the Olde Synodical Conference today is united
by ELCA's Pietistic UOJ.

Changing the Schedule - Creation Gardening Is Next

Norma Boeckler designed this cover,
with a photograph from her garden.

My Moline classmates and Facebook friends have been commenting on the posts about roses and asking for the gardening book, so I am finishing Creation Gardening as quickly as I can. The Lost Dutchman's Goldmine will be completed later.

The gardening book will be in full color, including the interior, and available at the author's price.

Norma Boeckler has published a number of books 
and is now helping others complete theirs.

Unusual Rose Choices - Make the Neighbors Beg for More

Double Delight must be ordered early,
because the supplies keep getting sold out.

My high school classmate wanted to know how to find a family favorite, an antique rose named Seven Sisters. I found it quickly through the Net and advised her, "Order online, because that is the only way to get the roses you want."

A nearby nursery will probably have KnockOuts, because they are so popular right now, but only in the numbers they care to order. The same is true of hybrid tea roses, the favorite ones selling out fast.

I am listing a few names to get people thinking about what they want to plant.

Double Delight is varied in color and also fragrant. Treated well, the rose really produces blooms. In New Ulm, I dedicated one planting area to Double Delight, daffodils,and garlic chives, with wood mulch over the entire planter. I had about six of the rose bushes in one area, and everyone enjoyed the display.

 Barbra Streisand

Mixing up colors is fun, so Barbra Streisand adds a distinct shift toward lavender and purple. Big Purple is another possibility. I planted Streisand in the fence garden, and the rose is always quick to bloom.

 Paradise

As one friend warned me, "Roses should not be planted under a maple tree." I suggested the pertinent facts to Mrs. Ichabod, but she wanted 20 $5 roses planted there. Our Army Ranger neighbor pruned the maple, decimating it like it was an enemy regiment. All the roses have done well there, getting early morning and mid-morning sun. Paradise blooms again as soon as I cut blooms.

Digging in roses where shallow rose roots dominate the surface - that is not an experience I wish to repeat. However, it worked well, because of previous loads of mushroom compost, red wiggler earthworms, and shredded wood mulch.

Fragrant Cloud is beautiful in form, powerfully fragrant,
and difficult to define in color.

The two most fragrant roses I have grown are Mr. Lincoln and Fragrant Cloud. Stinkin' Lincoln is even stronger in scent than Fragrant Cloud. The old favorite is Mr. Lincoln, which is large fast growing, needing a lot of elbow room. Fragrant Cloud is closer to normal in growth, offering many potent blooms through the summer. The color is not so normal. One magazine called it "brick," and it is brickish but not the common dull color of bricks. When I see the buds forming, there is a red that does not want to be pure red, a color so distinct it should be called fragrant-cloudish. FC is shorter in stem length, ideal for picking the best blooms for individual bud vases.

 Orange is a difficult flavor to reproduce,
a difficult color in roses.
Easy Does It roses start with the orange range of colors,
produce furiously, and have strong stems for cutting.

Floribundas are known for abundant flowers, and Easy Does It delivers plenty of them.

Best and lasting blooms in the vase:

• Veterans' Honor
• Tropicana
• Falling in Love

Fragrance:

• Mr. Lincoln
• Fragrant Cloud
• Double Delight

Color or contrast in the garden:

• Easy Does It
• Pope John Paul II
• Paradise

Easy care pinks, but not everyone's choice:

• Queen Elizabeth
• Pink KnockOut
• Pink Peace
• Bride's Dream

California Dreamin' offers a
palette of soft colors.

Voice Cracking, "I Like All of Them." Today's Roses for North Arkansas Chiropractic

 Tropicana is another long-lasting rose
for arrangements.

Today we brought roses to our chiro. The receptionist is the chiro's mother-in-law, and we often speak about gardening. She really likes purple roses, so I make an effort to get one into the vases. When I pointed out her favorite color, she said, her voice cracking, "I like them all."

Most people say the same thing. I was having trouble getting good rose photos while they were still attached. I learned quickly enough that the Canon will expertly balance light and focus in close-ups in the vase. Similar casual shots on the plant are blurred from the breezes, including my attempts to make them hold still by grasping the stem.

Someone described KnockOuts as "inexpensive roses," but I paid full-price for mine. They are fast-blooming roses, fairly small, no fragrant, but enormously productive when treated right (water and prune). Most people do not prune them, which means they look like gigantic weeds most of the time.

True, KnockOuts are great for color when the roses are left on the plant, but regular pruning is the key for constant color.

Today I will gather the best KnockOuts and put them in their own vase. They have long stems and beautifully formed blooms. I have a large number of pink doubles and red doubles.

I enjoy pruning and I learned, as others have, that the number of snips increases as I do the work. I used to prune mesquite in Phoenix. A few intended prunes ended up a mountain of branches. The same is true of roses, because many death-stars (no petals left, five sepals forming a star) are lurking in the plant.

Today I am writing first and photographing the results second.

Here are some tips for rose-buying next year.

Pope John Paul II
This is a stunning white, fragrant rose on the bush, but not good for the vase. For contrast and astonishing bloomage, one can hardly beat this rose. I would pick this over KnockOuts for a hedge featuring color. The blooms are larger than KOs and will elicit oohs and ahs.

Pope John Paul II received an honorary doctorate from Notre Dame, so don't mind if I just call him Deuce.

Easy Does It
This orange rose is not pure orange but has a variety of colors in each bloom. The production is equal or better than KnockOuts. The blooms are not as long-lasting as many hybrid teas (Falling in Love, Veterans' Honor) but they are still great in the vase. These are double-duty with very strong stems, something often lacking in good roses. They are large, colorful bushes and could be used as a hedge or just in a group for fun (our future plan).

Mr. Lincoln
Insecure about roses? Nervous about your first trials? Avoid all the others and plant Mr. Lincoln. No rose I have grown is so likely to soar out of the soil and produce large, powerfully perfumed flowers that are classic from bud to fading bloom. Their turn toward blue in the vase is also fascinating.

This is one rose where a single stem can be cut with one large bloom on it. Place it in a bud vase, cut to the right length. That rose alone will fill a room with fragrance faster than any other.

Falling in Love has proven to be thorny, fragrant,
and long lasting. No other rose has so many tough thorns.

Yes and No to Roses

From bud to bloom,
colors and stages of the rose.

Sassy got to meet her old but young friend, Little Almost Eden - when we walked over to the nursery providentially located at the end of our cul-de-sac.

Sassy saw him riding the front end loader with his grampa, so she turned to me, as Sassy does when she wants to see someone. "You want to see him? Let's go." She trotted ahead of me and checked to make sure I was catching up, the reverse of our walks, where I Iook back to find her on the trail of another squirrel.

Little AE and I talked about Sassy's missing leg and how long he had known her. I said, "You met her two years ago and your Mom said you needed a dog. Your dad questioned that, and soon you had Opie." (Opie is the dog who puts his little muzzle in the air and howls for me to pet him.) Grampa said, "He has grown a lot." I agreed, "You are really a big boy now." Little AE grinned and stood taller.

On the way back I scanned the main rose garden for new blooms. Our nights are cold but the days are sunny and in the 70s. The long rain we had is still producing roses.

I had one group in a vase, pictured on top, and I will gather more this morning, after the sun is up. Photographs will follow - so much work. I have to put the flash drive back in the camera, get photographs with auto-lighting and auto-focus, and put the flash drive in the computer's slot again, to view and use them. I am glad for the time I spent in developing black and white photos - digital makes me thankful for the ease and quality of the photos.

Computers break everything down to 1's and 0's, binary digits or bits. The camera records photos the same way and copies the photos a bits on the computer. The Internet  transmits the 1's and 0's so the designated computer can assemble them at the destination.

Matthew 537 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.

But now we live in an age of deceptive language, maximum deniability, and equivocation. Krauth wrote: "Error loves ambiguities."

I have the same reaction to roses as the readers. They stun me every day with their beauty. I never get used to them. Mrs. Ichabod said, "Did you ever dream the roses would be this good?" I said, "I had something in mind, but nothing like this."

I make mistakes with too much water or too little, and some need more attention than they get. Nevertheless, the roses pop out like multi-colored fireworks - reds, oranges, pinks, purples, and whites. I keep thinking in this prolonged summer, "Cut roses and force more growth or let them finish and become dormant?" For now, I am harvesting every rose I can.

The 1's and 0's of computerdom remind me of Creation and Evolution, the two warring philosophies of our age. One or the other explains the data, gathering all the evidence and making sense of the entire file - or server farm full of files. The data  is the same, but the perspective varies. In fact, the perspective can distort the data, deny the facts, and lead to bad mistakes.

My favorite rose question was found on a forum - "I am not getting many blooms. I keep using fertilizer but have no luck. My friends have stopped using fertilizer. Should I switch to their all-natural methods?" The 19th century view of fertilizer as N-P-K made the gardener think the hardware store must be right. The correct blend would give her abundant roses - the facts were starting to wear her down.

Man can pull abundant nitrogen from the atmosphere, change its composition, and make it available to plants. But blind science now realizes this approach is 19th century in origin and 20th century in folly. The 21st century reveals - through science -  the fertilizing efforts of fungi, bacteria, nematodes, and protozoa. Some are starting to admit, the bags of fertilizer hurt the microbes and stunt the growth of the desirable plants.

People state, "Roses are difficult to grow," so I counter their chemical No with Creation's Yes. They could make it difficult with tillers, NPK fertilizer, and various theories of yesteryear. Our helper soaked his roses with fungicide to make black spot go away - and it did. He saw it come back again. My response, "I love fungus and want more of it. I gather rotten wood falling from trees and add it to the garden."

I make rose production easy by using the engineering genius of Creation. If the revelation of God's Creation - in Genesis 1, John 1, and many Scriptures - is true, then God's creatures will do 99+% of the work.  The soil is an essential part of this Creation, and the engineering is flawless, a mechanism for growth and self-repair.

 The base of the Crepe Myrtle bush always
enjoys a healthy and nutritious layer of organic matter
for the winter. Wood mulch, pine needles, and leaves
will pile up to feed a soil population
that will feed the roots all summer.