Melissa's Rose, 2019

I Come To The Garden Alone Hymn

I come to the garden alone
While the dew is still on the roses
And the voice I hear falling on my ear
The Son of God discloses.

Refrain

And He walks with me, and He talks with me,
And He tells me I am His own;
And the joy we share as we tarry there,
None other has ever known.

He speaks, and the sound of His voice,
Is so sweet the birds hush their singing,
And the melody that He gave to me
Within my heart is ringing.

Refrain

I’d stay in the garden with Him
Though the night around me be falling,
But He bids me go; through the voice of woe
His voice to me is calling.

Refrain

Monica Lawson

2 hrs · 

What could possibly be keeping Monica so busy? Hmm ...
Thinning the turnip patch. Delicious greens for dinner tonight.
Strawberries and cherry tomatoes almost ripe. And a stroll to chat with the flowers and tell them they are exceedingly beautiful this year.
"The Nursery" .. where I start my garden from seeds. There's only a few left to plant.
Snap peas growing beside my garden bench .. also green beans and cucumbers.
I don't know what the plants are in the large black bucket. I found a bunch of seeds wrapped in a napkin from last year's harvest ..no name on the wrapping.. So I planted them anyway ... surprise! Behind the black bucket of surprise produce are other greens - lettuce and chard - that I pick a few leaves daily as they grow.
Soooo .. now we know what keeps Monica so busy!

+8

to add other photos for this new post.  5/15/19

Part 2: A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON MY WAY TO

OLD

(the Winter season of my life)

  

 Summer in a fawn's life ...

birth,

discovery,

spending time in gardens,

gleaning nourishment to grow and be strong and healthy,

 accompanied by siblings,

 and parents,teaching, encouraging, leading

........ and destroying like ravenous locust

all that is planted, colorful, green and growing....

but wait, that's another story!

Springtime ..... birth, new life, vigor, awareness

Summer..... discovery, growth, strengthening, bonding

Fall ..... wisdom, regrets, satisfaction, encouraging insights

Winter .... recollections and memories, acceptance or despair

The seasons of all creature's lives.

Personal Life-Experience Model in the Seasons of my life:  

Spring

 Parents

" ..... male and female, He created them....." Genesis, the Bible

together following well worn paths labeled:  

 dedication

choices

mistakes

bonding

trust

companionship

difficult choices

sadness

joy

satisfaction

encouragement

rejection

separation

forgiveness

peace ..... contentment

approaching the Fall of life together

(remember, this is MY model... other's will be different)

A strong

brave

vigorous

proud

male

who may  follow- at times -

the female's

instinctive sense of caution

in preservation of the species.

Summer and Spring of life

brings strength and vigor,

vitality

preservation of the species

through offspring ......

companionship and solidarity if no offspring.

Fall preparing for Winter

The shedding of Fall leaves after fruitful harvest,

the stripping away of fruit, preserved in jars on shelves in pantries,

stored fruits of labor.

Settling in for a season of rest

while partaking of the fruits of that labor. 

Scurry of activity to prepare for a long cold Winter,

(the Ant stored up much ... not so the Grassphopper)

Storing garden tools - once important, but this season unneeded -

 to have at your touch when needed ...... such as the snow shovel.

 Protect the fragile new life to come by covering with bark and straw,

(as we  do our children..... our gardens ......for they hold the  promise of

 blooms and fruit to come.)  

......... mulch, enrich, and protect

against the elements ......

 that which would seek and destroy

what is not prepared.

Winter

After a season of wise Fall preparation,

CAUTION is needed as we approach Winter ,,,,

 never having experienced what is

 lurking

in the

windows of other creature's lives...

The chill of  Winter

 The dormant  .... hibernating season of rest: 

Slow, sometimes painful steps trod along these barren paths;

strength .... warmth ..... encouragement ,,, companionship

often wanes from others who are engaged elsewhere.

  Unexpected health challenges disrupt plans,

 advise from loved ones often go unheeded;

the shroud of fog and chilling snow 

enclose and chill ... seemingly frozen in time.

 Small bursts of sunshine,

in a heart filled with memories,

warm and melt, making Winter paths easier to follow.

Set-in-our-way comfortable paths, known and trusted, and once followed 

assure us we can go on.

The shroud of Fall

and chilling barrenness of Winter

moves us away from Spring and Summer

that once provided

invigorating life challenges.

Life becomes more challenging in the Winter of our lives....

nourishment

shelter

injury

health

discouragement

frigid elements

companionship

faith

separation

from loved ones

whose paths have lead them elsewhere.

 Encouraging elements of the Winter season in our lives:

Memories 

 Loved ones

Faith

Wisdom

Grace and resolve to follow this season's paths

to wherever it leads.

Your child whispering in your ear,

"You showed us how to live,

but Dad showed us how to die."

Now... I have a favorite saying:

"I'm OLD

but not

OLD, OLD!"

And when

old, old

is the

culmination of the seasons of my life

I'll unhesitatingly walk down that path

to meet Jesus .......

and the one

who accompanied me 

through the other seasons of my life.

Original drawing by Monica Lawson not to be copied or used without her permission   10/20/14

In a twinkling of an eye it fades and grows dim

but is never lost......

because love never ends

and memories live on .....



A New Best Buddy

June 2014
My beloved Perro died. He had cancer. I held his furry chin in my hands, resting his head on my lap as I sat on the floor at the vets. He licked my hand. We sat there for the longest time. I couldn't hold onto him any longer ... his pain was intense. The vet gave him the shot ... loving words spoken by her.. softly and comforting for both of us. And she again left us alone. If tears could revive him he'd have bound out of the office and ran  all the way home. But that can't happen.

I put this T shirt on him the week before he died..... not knowing it would be tragically prophetic for him. The shirt was in honor of a young boy named Clay who lived cancer free for 5 years... enduring the horrendous chemotherapy that saved his life. Perro looked adorable in the orange "Clay" cure cancer tshirt. Perro was 9 years old.

My neighbors helped me carry the cardboard box containing Perro and his raggedy torn basketball down to the Pine Tree... Eldon's Pine Tree. And we placed Perro near the stump. The trek back up the hill was painful. I left my two best friends behind ... the pain returned.
My (silly) prayer for the past five years since losing Eldon has been, "If there's to be a new man in my life Lord .... please hurry... because this (waving my hand toward my face and 74 year old body) is going fast!"
But my prayer for a new 4 legged companion was immediate .... I will very shortly find the perfect dog to be my new best friend.

Meet Jack.

90 pounds of pure JOY!

Labrador Retriever and Border Collie.

Funny

loving

gentle

protective

well trained

obedient

and he loves me!

Snickers, my 12 year old kitty,

didn't think too kindly of the black hairy chubby intruder!

Hiding from Jack in the tallest kitchen shelves he could find.

Truce!  Canned cat food ... Snickers addiction of choice!

He didn't take his eyeballs off of Jack .. but he licked the can clean.

I dribbled a bit of Snicker's canned food onto the side of the chest freezer ..... What a brave kitty .... what a brave dog! Snickers could rip any dog from ear to ear

if he chose to do so!

"Let us break bread together on our knees ...... " an old song from my Catholic upbringing.

In this case.... Let us lick canned cat food together without war!!!

And so begins a new chapter in my life.

A new best friend,

Snickers my old dear friend,

and You Lord .......

and my not-so-frequent prayer, spoken softly and without much conviction any more

".... and if there's to be a new man...... "

Not the end

but a new beginning every day as I get out of bed and pray,

"Thanks Lord .... I'm upright and breathing!"