Oh Deer!

My miniature pomegranate is settling in and blooming well--but only on the less sunny side though its tag says that it needs full sun. The tag also says that it’s “deer resistant”. That’s a good thing I’m sure, but if a deer ever leaps up here to my second floor balcony, though technically it’s probably possible, it will be a strange day and I’ll be leaping somewhere else! Fortunately we don’t even have squirrels near us. The last place we lived was overrun with them; they ate my plants down to the nubs. They seemed to especially like purple flowers—my specialty. Though I tried really hard to think of them as cute, I couldn’t any longer. I prayed to be able to appreciate this creation of God’s. And I prayed some more. At last, I focused on their amazing acrobatic ability and praised God for his wonderful creation. But I was reminded of the time, in the movie Fiddler on the Roof, when the village rabbi was asked if there was a blessing for the Russian Tsar. The rabbi responded, “May the Lord bless and keep the Tsar…far away from us!” Ditto the squirrels. However, I’m the one who had to move.

O Come Let Us Adore Him!

Don’t blame the innkeeper for sending Mary and Joseph out to the stable for Jesus to be born; it was all a part of God’s plan. It’s only fitting that when the Creator of everything (the Ultimate Artist; Colossians 1:15-17) was born among his creation, that he would literally be born among his creation. Historians say that the “stable” was likely a cave where livestock were kept, in effect, outdoors. The Star shone above, in the sky he created and the animals he created slept nearby.

Where else could the shepherds, outdoorsmen that they were, get in to see and worship the baby Jesus, the “Savior…Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:8-11)?

Winter begins today with a forecast of 70 degrees! Maybe the globe is warming but whether it’s a normal cycle or caused by excessive fossil fuel use—excessive fossil fuel use definitely damages plenty; we need to take care of God’s creation, which includes us and our health.

Raining, Cats, Dogs, Bees

Though it’s been raining again, the giant “bee” is back doing some loud and serious cutting. Its handlers are chopping bushes that obscure the view between our homes and their business. Hello goldfish bowl.

Something has agitated some unseen dogs—“Good Sam” cats perhaps (cats that make their home on the grounds and are fed by “Good Samaritans”)?

The rain has thankfully washed the ragweed pollen from the air. Even when it isn’t raining, the garden needs much less water since the sun isn’t as harsh and the days are shorter.

A nearby maple is painting a few of its leaves red.