Jack’s Winning Words 7/20/18
“Weather means more when you have a garden.  There’s nothing like listening to a shower and thinking how it is sinking in around your green beans.”  (Marcelene Cox)  A farmer told me that he doesn’t cultivate the whole field.  He tries to leave undisturbed soil around the plants, letting moisture seep down thru worm holes and cracks in the earth.  Farmers and gardeners are among the happiest people I know, probably because of their closeness to God’s earth.    ;-)  Jack

FROM RS VACATIONING IN QUEBEC: Amen. We are up in Quebec and it seems everyone loves to grow flowers in the Summer. Maybe because of the short growing season. Also, their landscaping around their Parliament building is awesome, and they have so many parks. They seem to treasure the environment a bit more than we do.===JACK:  By living in a community that is adjacent to Canada, I get to enjoy some of the same things Canadians do...their TV and radio stations...and their stores and restaurants are just across the river.

FROM JT IN ST JOE:  Yay 😊. Sounds good===JACK:  I wonder how many Winning Words readers would enjoy living in a house with three sides looking over protected wetlands?  BTW, do you have a garden, too?===JT:  I know I am very happy in my home.  It is me.  I do have a small garden.  Mostly flowers that come up every spring. Did I tell you I played bridge with a lady from the Country Club.  I always knew I felt uncomfortable when with them.  Now I know it is because I'm very happy not being a "country club" lady.  That is NOT me.  Farm Girl Joan  (that is me)===JACK:  Do you know this hymn?  There are more stanzas, but I'm sure you get the point.
O happy home where Thou art loved most dearly,
Thou faithful Friend and Savior full of grace,
And where among the guests there never cometh
One who can hold such high and honored place!

FROM HONEST JOHN:  Count me in...love my gardens....basically, a happy camper....work out in the garden almost every morning....before the heat of the day sets in ===JACK:  I seem to recall that your growing up years were spent with a large garden in your backyard.  I also recall that you are a frequent visitor to Stratford, Ontario.  Don't they have beautiful gardens in that community...as well as the famous Stratford Festival?===JOHN:  I grew up on eleven acres....absolutely love the gardens in Stratford....not just at the theatre but also the gardens of the people living in Stratford....great community...===JACK:  Isn't it amazing how our experiences shape us?

FROM HAWKEYE GEORGE:  I agree wholeheartedly. Whenever I have an anxious moment or am thinking of items to study, I get my greatest enjoyment driving thru the rural countryside. Jack, we have some of the most startling sights in our eastern Iowa rural country.===JACK:  I agree... especially the huge cornfields with red-wing blackbirds sitting on fence posts.

FROM ST PAUL IN ST PAUL:  Margaret has deep roots in the soil....a farm girl.===JACK:  You know you've married a farm-girl when,,,she has a different idea of how fresh air smells...she's more comfortable in rubber boots than heels...she finds a bug in her bowl of berries, picks it out and keeps on eating...she knows how to drive a tractor...she's independent, strong-willed and has a heart of gold.
===SP:that just about sums it up!   and maybe just a bit of dirt under her nails after working in the flower garden...===JACK:  Or, as they'd say on the farm..."stuff under her nail after shoveling out the barn."

FROM GUSTIE MARLYS:  Except when the deer and bunnies eat it all!  That is my problem.  Had some beautiful day lilies and overnight they were all gone!  My hosta is eaten down to the ground too!  Uff Da!  Ha===JACK:  The deep eat my hostas and flowers, too.  As I look at the stubs, I'm comforted to know that I'm helping to preserve the fauna===MARLYS:  And I think—well, I won’t have to clean them out in the Fall!  Ha!===JACK'S That's the way to look at some of life's problems.
===MARLYS:  Wish they were all that easy===JACK:  Often it depends on how you look at them.

FROM QUILTING CAROL:  This is so true!===JACK:  "Carol, Carol", quite contrary  How does your garden grow?  With silver bells and cockleshells  And pretty maids all in a row.

FROM BLAZING OAKS:  I'm sure that is true, Or even if you have outdoor planters that have to be fed and watered,  Was it RL: Stevenson who proclaimed, "Man is nearer to God in a Garden, than in any place on Earth"...in a poem ? I remember those lines...I'm not a gardener, but do enjoy the fruits of those generous friends who do garden! :-)  I share baked goods and soups!
===JACK:  The kiss of the sun for pardon, The song of the birds for mirth,
One is nearer God's Heart in a garden Than anywhere else on Earth.  (Dorothy Frances Gurney)
When I thought of how you don't garden, but eat what is grown by others, I thought of the story of "The Little Red Hen."  I'm no gardener, either, but do enjoy the fruits (and veggies) from others.
===OAKS:  O Thank You for that poem; my mom used to quote that exactly! She had a lovely rose garden in our back yard!

FROM BB IN CHGO:  Great quote.  Now that I have a few plants on the balcony outstand I have a different relationship with growing things.  It’s interesting and different than having plants inside and I actually care about them and pay attention to the little things.===JACK:  Kids are like plants, only more fragile.

FROM OUTHOUSE JUDY:  How true!  Watering the gardens keep the plants alive.  But rainwater helps them grow.  My green beans, tomatoes, zucchini, spaghetti squash and summer squash, garlic and parsley lived through this drought but now they are thriving with the rain.  Farmers spend a lot of time praying!===JACK:  During a severe drought, the preacher announced a special service for the congregation to pray for rain.  At the beginning of the service he looked around and asked, "How come none of you brought umbrellas?"

FROM LBP:  I stopped and watched the rain today. It was just falling straight down. Interesting to just stop and think about how that happens. ===JACK:  "The rain in Sprain falls mainly straight down." (or something like that).