thankful thursday - spring

Spring is a love/hate time of year for many people. We love the warmer, sunnier days and the beautiful flowers that bloom. But we hate the pollen... and drippy noses, itching eyes and scratchy throats... that come with the flowers.

I admit that allergies can brutal and that some years are worse for allergy-sufferers than others. I am thankful that spring pollen is generally not troublesome for me - and when it is, Claritin works great. That leaves me free to walk through the desert, immersing myself in the artistry of the desert wildflowers.

One thing the desert has plenty of is cactus. It has taken me decades to appreciate their beauty despite their beastly appearance. In times of less water, their shrunken appearance accentuates the sharpness of their spines (aka needles or thorns). Some desert plants, like yuccas, agave and ocotillo, are often mistaken for cactus but are not. True cactus has spines instead of leaves, has a protective wax-like skin to keep moisture from evaporating, and its skin is green to promote photosynthesis since it has no leaves. Different species bloom at different times so the desert is colorful from March through July.

The only cactus here is beaver tail in the lower left corner. The top two are soaptree yucca and the bottom right is an ocotillo.

Warmer temperatures and a little rain makes the desert blossom in color. Sometimes you have to look carefully as the plants are small and very close to the ground. Others carpet the desert floor in a sea of color. 

Flowers of every color adorn the desert!

I think the desert Southwest is beautiful all the time but its beauty is more delicate, more intricate and more fragrant in the springtime. As I walk along the paths I am reminded of the words of the psalmist in Psalm 111:2-4 - "Great are the works of the Lord; they are pondered by all who delight in them. Glorious and majestic are his deeds, and his righteousness endures forever. He has caused his wonders to be remembered; the Lord is gracious and compassionate."

thankful thursday - order

It seems like chaos is the norm is our lives.  The media, especially social media, is bombarding us with more information - fact and opinion - than we can process. There's the national election cycle  with who's in, who's out, and who said what. Much of the commentary is filled with name-calling, hatred and rhetoric aimed to escalate emotional responses.  Then come world events - terrorist attacks, financial crisis, sports news. Add in life - family, work, school, social obligations, health issues, financial burdens,... - and we have a perfect storm for chaos.

Living in a state of chaos can be fun, even exciting, for a little while. But pretty soon it turns from fun to frenzy as we become increasingly stressed. And we all know stress is not a good thing for us.

So what's the opposite of chaos? Order!

Order is defined as "a condition in which each thing is properly disposed with reference to other things and to its purpose; methodical." I like order. I like my things in their place where they belong, not strewn haphazardly around the house. I make lists so I can get things done efficiently and in the right order. I alphabetize my dvd's in genres.

Earlier this week I was feeling the chaos of the world as election hype dominated Facebook and the news. As I walked down to our mailbox, I was thinking about chaos and order.

And then it struck me! There is order all around me! The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. Every. Single. Day. The seasons follow one after the other. The planets orbit the sun in their determined paths. The stars are in their place in the heavens. Plants grow in a particular pattern and order unique to their specie creating beauty.

In high school I learned about a man named Leonardo of Pisa (called Fibonacci) who "discovered" a number sequence - 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55,... - where the last two numbers are added together to get the next number.  Squares whose side lengths are the Fibonacci numbers can be arranged in an ever-increasing spiral, a unique shape commonly found in nature. The seeds in a sunflower are arranged in this spiral formation. Pinecones and pineapples have a double set of spirals going in opposite directions. Petals and leaves of numerous plants are arranged in this pattern.

Although the bottom end of this shell is broken off, you can still see the spiral.

This isn't just order, it's mathematical order - precise and predictable!

I am thankful that God created our world in an orderly and precise manner.  And that creation mirrors that order. In the midst of chaos, there is order. 

thankful thursday - what a lovely thing a rose is!

I think one of the great mysteries in life is growing a rose bush. I have written about it several times - a rose by any other name  is the story of acquiring my first rose bush.

My personal gardener (aka my sweet hubby) prunes my rose bush in mid-February cutting it way back, sometimes to sticks. By mid-March it leafs out and is covered in blooms, both large and small. Why?

The rest of the year I pretty much leave it alone with the occasional treat of coffee grounds mixed into the soil around it or a dose of fertilizer. It continues to bloom until the weather gets really frosty, usually in late December or January.

I would think it would bloom even more with more TLC but that has not been my experience. For some mysterious reason she's just low maintenance.

Most girls like to get flowers. The roses on my rose bush are flowers from God - they are His creation and I am thankful. I enjoy their beauty and their sweet scent. Arthur Conan Doyle (of Sherlock Holmes fame) was absolutely correct when he wrote, "What a lovely thing a rose is!"

thankful thursday - unexpected snow

All too often we take weather for granted. One season follows another in a predictable pattern. But occasionally, after a season has begun (officially or not), we get a do-over. A chance to experience the prior season again.

It's unexpected. Sometimes it's challenging; other times it's fun.

One of the things I appreciate about my many visits to North Carolina is that the weather is very, very different from the weather in Arizona where I live. During the past few weeks I've been in North Carolina this visit, we have had warm days, rainy days, very windy days, thunderstorms, a tornado watch, ...

And SNOW!

Although it was overcast throughout the day, it was not all that cold with highs in the 50's. As we were getting dinner ready, we noticed it was snowing! It was a wet snow with huge flakes and melted pretty quickly after hitting the ground.

But it was SNOOOOOW!!! And totally unexpected!

It was a gift from Above - and I am thankful!

thankful thursday - humor

As Uncle Albert sings in the hit movie, Mary Poppins, I love to laugh! The ability to laugh is a gift, one I am thankful for each day. It lowers my blood pressure, makes me happy and gives me a more positive outlook on life.

I have been in North Carolina visiting the East Coast sweethearts and have laughed heartily every single day I've been here.

Everyday conversations are funny. Ben (almost nine-years old) wanted to know if his parents were going to "kiiiiiiiisssssss" when they "went out on a date" (to dinner and a movie while I babysat).

Mixing up words is funny. Ellie (two-years old) often says words differently than they are normally pronounced - like "det-to-wer"  for "Christopher."

"Jokes" are a way of life, especially with kids! Two years ago this month I posted each of their favorite knock knock jokes (wacky wednesday - tee hee hee). For your laughing pleasure, here are the current ones:

Knock knock
Who's there?
Honey bee
Honey bee who?
Honey, be a dear and please get me a soda!
(Christopher, age 12)

Knock knock
Who's there?
A broken pencil
A broken pencil who?
Never mind, it's pointless.
(Nick, age 11)

Knock knock
Who's there?
Dishes
Dishes who?
Dishes your friend so open the door!
(Ben, almost 9)

Knock knock
Who's there?
Elsa
Elsa who?
Hi Elsa! Hi Anna, too!
(Lexie, almost 8)

Mock Mock (Knock knock)
Who's there?
Ka cow  (Interrupting cow)
Interrupting cow wh..
MOO!!!
(Ellie, age 2)

The North Carolina Sweethearts

Ben, Christopher, Nick, Ellie & Lexie