How To Plant Your Garden

First,

come to the garden alone, while the dew is still on the roses. . .

Then plant a GARDEN of DAILY LIVING . . .

Plant 3 rows of PEAS:

1. Peace of mind

2. Peace of heart

3. Peace of soul

Plant 4 rows of SQUASH:

1. Squash gossip

2. Squash indifference

3. Squash grumbling

4. Squash selfishness

Plant 4 rows of LETTUCE:

1. Lettuce be faithful

2. Lettuce be kind

3. Lettuce be patient

4. Lettuce really love one another

No GARDEN is complete without TURNIPS:

1. Turnip for meetings

2. Turnip for service

3. Turnip to help one another

To Conclude OUR GARDEN We Must Have THYME:

1. Thyme for each other

2. Thyme for family

3. Thyme for friends


Water Freely with Patience

And Cutivate with Love.

There isn't much fruit in your GARDEN,

Because you REAP what you SOW.

Our Desert Blossoms as a Rose

Utah? or Seattle? or Scotland?

I have to remind myself I live in a desert. In the first twenty-two days of June, eighteen were rainy. This is definitely not NORMAL. In fact, according to a local weather report it is 387% greater than normal.

I feel like we moved to Seattle and no one told me. I now live in Soggy Valley instead of the Salt Lake Valley.

In ancient times, the great prophet Isaiah proclaimed:

"The desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing. . .they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God. . .for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water. . .and an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of Holiness. . .and the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away." (Isaiah 35:1-2, 6-8, 10)

My mother would be so proud of my roses!

The early Latter-day Saints who entered the Salt Lake Valley understood the words of Isaiah to have special meaning and application to them. Indeed the Salt Lake Valley was at that time a desert, a solitary place. But since then it has blossomed as the rose. . .and the roses have never been rosier than this year.

In 1847 trapper and mountain man, Jim Bridger, told Brigham Young that it was not prudent to bring a large population into the Great Basin until it is proven that grain can survive the cold. So skeptical was Bridger, that he told Brigham Young, “I would give $1,000 for a bushel of corn raised in the basin.”

I wonder if Brigham Young paid up.

Orson Pratt, one of the first Mormons to see the Salt Lake Valley, exclaimed, "an extensive scenery opened before us, we could not refrain from a shout of joy which almost involuntarily escaped from our lips the moment this grand and lovely scenery was within our view."

But not all of the pioneer party was so enthusiastic about the Great Salt Lake Valley. Harriet Page Wheeler Young on viewing the Salt Lake Valley said, “Weak and weary as I am, I would rather go a thousand miles farther than remain in such a forsaken place as this."

Oh, if Harriet could see the valley now!

The Geraniums have never been so grand!

The Delphiniums have never been so delightful!

The Ornamental grasses have never been so ostentatious!

Although I tire of the rain, I'm grateful for the cool temperatures. It will soon be in the 90s. The plants will wilt and turn brown to remind us we live in a desert. We'll forget the lush, green of spring and we'll sizzle in the heat of summer.

I get the news I need on the weather report.
I can gather all the news I need on the weather report.
Hey, Ive got nothing to do today but smile.
Da-n-da-da-n-da-da-n-da-da here I am. . .

(Only Living Boy in New York - Simon and Garfunkel)

Shoefiti

Who knows why, in a quiet suburban neighborhood, the youth fling their sneakers over the power lines? My adult children told me it means there is a drug dealer in the area. Should I be concerned about the children two blocks from my home when this happens?

If my son did this when he was a teenager, he would have been grounded for

life even if it didn't involve drugs!

Okay, I haven't been living in a cocoon. I've seen this kind of thing for years, but not so close to home. I had to come home and google "Shoe tossing" to find an answer.

Wikipedia defines it this way: "Shoe flinging or "shoefiti" is the American and worldwide practice of throwing shoes whose shoelaces have been tied together so that they hang from overhead wires such as power lines or telephone cables. The shoes are tied together by their laces, and the pair is then thrown at the wires as a sort of bolas. This practice plays a widespread, though mysterious, role in adolescent folklore in the United States. Shoe flinging has also been reported in many other countries.

A number of sinister explanations have been proposed as to why this is done. Some say that shoes hanging from the wires advertise a local crack house where crack cocaine is used and sold (in which case the shoes are sometimes referred to as "Crack Tennies"). It can also relate to a place where Heroin is sold to symbolize the fact that once you take Heroin you can never 'leave': a reference to the addictive nature of the drug.

Others claim that the shoes so thrown commemorate a gang-related murder, or the death of a gang member, or as a way of marking gang turf. A newsletter from the mayor of Los Angeles, California cites fears of many Los Angeles residents that "these shoes indicate sites at which drugs are sold or worse yet, gang turf," and that city and utility employees had launched a program to remove the shoes. These explanations sound more like urban legends, especially since the practice also occurs along relatively remote stretches of rural highways that are unlikely scenes for gang murders.

Still others claim that the shoes are stolen from other people and tossed over the wires as a sort of bullying tactic, or as a practical joke played on drunkards. Others simply say that shoe flinging is a way to get rid of shoes that are no longer wanted, are uncomfortable, or do not fit. It may also be another manifestation of the human instinct to leave their mark on, and decorate, their surroundings. It has been reported that workmen often throw shoes if they are not paid for waxing floors."

Snopes.com goes on to give an innocent reason for this juvenile act:

Graduating seniors use it to mark a transition in their lives.

Since the shoes in my neighborhood have just appeared recently, let's hope graduation is the explanation.

WHAT HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT SHOEFITI?

Is it an innocent adolescent prank or

a sign of something more sinister?

Are women born this way?

In case you haven't noticed, I'm taking a long break from Blogging.

Dog Owners Please Read!

If you are an owner of a dog that belongs to a dangerous breed category

and you also have a small child please take this as a warning.

Don't leave your dog with the child unattended under any circumstances.

Only a little moment was enough for the following to happen . . .

Pit Bull Viciously Attacked by Young Boy