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| Bee Balm, or Horse Mint, attracts bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. |
Almost Eden and I talked about that he doubted rain would come. We had a downpour that day, for a few seconds. The logical, factual wheelbarrow gauge read - not enough to matter.
Yesterday, the birds finished off the suet, emptied the hanging feeder, and worked over the platform feeder and ground for the rest of the seed. The barometer fell first, then wind kicked up to remind us of the Trinity Sunday lesson.
John 3 7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. 8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
9 Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?
Spirit and wind are the same words in Greek and Hebrew. Since the Holy Spirit and the Word work together, and never apart, the Word of God is like the rain and snow that comes down from heaven. Their effect is inevitable,
Isaiah 55:10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:
When the storm was raging at about 3 AM, lightning flashing, thunder booming, I thought, "Good, the rain-barrels will be full again."
Yesterday I hoped for Dutch white clover spreading even more, to take over the grass completely. Presently the grass is like the Dunkirk beachhead in WWII, having only a toehold on the property and easily overwhelmed by the Dutch forces.
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| We made the front row Falling in Love, because our friend loves this variety, a fragrant surprise from the TV offering of inexpensive roses. We did not know she was engaged to be married at the time, so we are looking forward to saying, "This bud's for you." |
Another hope - this rain is the final test for the remaining roses to break dormancy and start growing. I looked over the row of Falling in Love roses, to remind myself that they looked like ugly sticks a short time ago. They were all leafed out. But some here and there are stragglers, showing green in their canes but no leaves. A closer look has shown that some started to leaf out and then lost them, probably from cold snaps at night.
The rosarian pessimists will say, "That rain will increase Black Spot too." I do not need rain for Black Spot - it is inherent in most strains of roses. However, it is only bad in weak plants, where the leaves are tainted and unable to deliver much food from solar power. Our friend said what I figured to be true, "All the spraying (of toxins) will not get rid of Black Spot."
This rainstorm - and days of rain following - will be remembered with advantages - as the Earl of Oxford wrote in Henry V.
- I do not need to water the roses with chlorinated tapwater, saving me money and avoiding the shock of necessary but unblessed water.
- The mulch and soil will be even livelier with microbes and soil creatures, so food for the roses will increase.
- The rain will deliver mild fertilizer in the form of usable nitrogen formed in the sky by powerful lighting bolts that turn gaseous nitrogen into free, gentle rapid-gro in massive amounts all over the yard.
- The air will be cleansed of pollen which the rain and sun combination leverage to make me decide between allergy misery or Benadryl lethargy.
- The tiny seeds I have been sowing will germinate and take hold in the soil, to raise up a crop of plants hosting beneficial insects - Feverfew, Tansy, Angelica, Giant Dill, etc.
- The perennials I planted last year will continue to prosper and flower: Butterfly Bush, Bee Balm, Blackberry, Gooseberry, Beautyberry, Blueberry, Raspberry, Chaste Tree, etc.
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| Beautyberry is a birds-only berry, but aren't they all? I grow berries primarily for the birds, but would like them to share some blackberries. |
