Another garden post

So we just got home from St George today, and I would be lying if I said I didn't give my garden a thought while I was there. I have been fighting the squash bugs quite a bit and I was afraid that when I got home all of my beautiful plants would be shriveled and dead.

We did end up having a happy ending though! Yay for good spray and blessed eyes to see where the eggs have been laid. When I got home not only did the plants look great, they have grown just in the few days I have been gone!

When I was younger I never thought I would ever even think about planting a garden, and didn't understand the joy Mom & Dad seemed to get from doing so. Now that I am older and have planted my own garden for several years I can totally see why they gained such joy and fulfillment from planting and tending a garden! Thanks Dad & Mom for showing me that a garden can be so much more than just a lot of work! You taught me this and so much more!

I was getting quite dark when I took these pictures but it lets you see just how big the tomato plants are getting.

Garden update

So just a quick update on our garden.

Everything is coming along nicely. So far we have had peas, beans, peppers and zucchini and yellow squash. The corn is taking it's darn sweet time, but it is growing too.

I sprayed for squash bugs today, I hate those sneaky like things! They make me crazy! Last year I fought tham all season, and they did end up getting two of my plants. I am hoping to have better luck this year, I only found 3 of the little buggers today and I sprayed the heck out of the plants, so I hope I have the upper hand. Anyway, this picture is from last week and already this week things are bigger, but I will take more pictures next week and maybe thnigs will have doubled in size! We can only hope! I love the garden! It helps keep me calm.

By way of comparison (This one should be on the bottom)

Just by way of comparison. The last time we were at Shoshone was 1997! Look how little my kids were! Chet's folks looked the most different after the kids. Kinda fun to look back! I sure hope we don't go that long in between visits to the Falls next time.

Shoshone Falls

So today was Fathers day, and we decided to go on an adventure! :) We picked up Chet's Dad & Mom and headed to Idaho. Idaho? You might say. To that I would say Yes! There are so many beautiful places in Idaho and I love going there.

(This sideways picture by the way wouldn't turn and that is why it is sideways.) My cousin told me about a month ago, that Shoshone Falls was flowing really high this year, and we haven't been there since the kids were little so we decided today was a good day to go. Last time we were there Chet's parents were there with us, so it was fitting that they went with us today.

On the way there it started to rain. Not hard really but very steady. I was hoping and praying that when we got there, it would clear up even if for just a little bit. Prayers work! By the time we got there, though it was really cloudy and it did rain a fine mist on us a little bit, it cleared up long enough for us to enjoy a good hike. After words we went to grab a bite to eat, and just about the time we were finishing lunch, it not only started to rain, it started to POUR!!

It continued to rain on us just about the whole drive home. Clearing up about the time we hit Ogden. Such a good day! I love spending time with my family!!! I love them so much and I am so glad Chet's parents came with us to enjoy the day as well.

Thanks for the rain....

See my nicely weeded corn :)

So today, I have been being very grateful for the sun shine. After so many days of rain I was very glad to be working outside in the sun!

I do have to say though, that I am grateful for the rain! It has done such good things for our garden. After worrying needlessly about the rain washing the plants away, I went out today to find all is well and even that the weeds are for sure loving all the water. I spent quite some time pulling weeds in the corn, but had some other things that needed to be done so didn't get much else done in the garden, but I wanted to continue with the picture catalog of how the garden grows. I have never done this before and am really looking forward to seeing how it will all play/picture out!

Aahh... the garden

One of the things I look forward to and dread at the same time ever spring, is the planting of a garden.

I look forward to it because I get a great deal of satisfaction out of watching things grow and caring for them, and of course the yields at the harvest in the fall.

The things I dread about planting a garden are the time it takes to plant, getting the rows straight (which I never seem able to do) losing plants (to bugs or disease) and trying to find someone to care for it if I have to go out of town. (which always happens in the summer)

This year I had grand expectations for myself and I was going to get everything in by Mothers day. HA! Well, that didn't happen, due to some unforeseen sprinkler problems. I had no water out to the back of our property by the garden. You can't plant without water so I had to wait. We finally got the water issues resolved and I went shopping! I love shopping for veggies and can sometimes get carried away :) This time however I was very controlled. (perhaps I should take Megan with me every time!)

Yesterday I spent the day out working in the garden. The first few hours I was by myself, but Chet came out and helped me. He dug the furrows so that the water will go where it is suppose to, which is so nice. I can't even tell you how long it took to get everything planted but it is in and I hope things grow well.After the rain we had I am really surprised it didn't wash everything away really but I went out and took some pictures so I can keep track of how things go this year. It may not look like much now, but with lots of TLC and help form Heavenly Father it will be amazing this fall!

I can say that I am looking forward to the harvest and making spaghetti sauce, soup and salsa. Mmmmm I can almost smell the pot simmering now. I love to garden! It is a lot of work but the rewards are so great in the end.

P. S. Planted tomatoes, potatoes, peppers (4 kinds) banana squash, butternut squash, speghetti squash, zucchini and yellow squash, beans, cucumbers, corn, cantelope & honeydew melons and pumpkins! If I can find a couple of other things I may plant them as well.

Always for a reason!

You know, I believe that things always happen for a reason. I would never hope to assume that I know all those reasons but sometimes you just do.
Today in Relief Society our lesson was given by a great lady (Sybil Jemmett, who also happens to be my neighbor across the street) and when she got up to give the lesson she announced that she had prepared the wrong lesson. Things being what they are, it all work out ok and she gave the lesson she had prepared. It was a wonderful lesson on the talk given by Dallin H Oaks, about service to others.
I just have to tell you, this was one of those times when I just knew, that this was the lesson we were suppose to have gotten today! There was a fantastic spirit in the room and the lesson kind of took a turn towards selfishness and how it affects our being able to serve.
I was reminded of a time when service to others was pretty much the last thing on my mind. I had let me life take a turn in a direction that I never thought it would, and I was, as it were, 'far from home'. I was at the time meeting with a wise Stake President, and he told me "that if we as Humans, could over come ONE sin, we would be able to over come every sin!" Then he asked me if I knew what sin that might be? When I told him I didn't know, he told me it was the sin of Selfishness!
He was of course so right! As he reminded me, every sin I had ever committed had been done out of pure selfishness. Be it out right, or disguised, it had been done in selfishness.
I think it is human nature to be selfish, to want things and to want someone to make you feel important or special. Day to day I am sure that we don't get all that we feel that we need.
I probably don't think about this point of teaching, I was able to have, as often as I should, but I do think of it often. Days like today, when it feels like an opportunity to share it with others I am grateful for. It is something that I KNOW has helped me in many points of my life, but most especially in my marriage and Family. When I start feeling like things are just really out of balance and not going well, I often think, am I being too selfish in one way or another? Often the answer to myself is yes! I am not even close to perfect, but I do try to step back and re-evaluate where my mind set is at these times.
This lesson today was for me! To remind me to step back, and remember that we are All, or should be, in this together! Family, friends, ward members, community members, whatever we may be! If we are in it for good, we are in it for each other! Thanks for all of the service which has been rendered to me and or my family! I will try to return the favor, and focus on serving rather than the alternative. (Sorry if it seems preachy, didn't mean it that way. Except for to self)