TIS' THE SEASON!

Strawberry season, that is!  About three weeks ago, I made a trip to Hokes Bluff, Alabama--hometown of The Son-In-Law.  He had told me there was a farm there that grew various fruits and vegetables and that their strawberries were in season.  Can you believe I have never in my almost sixty years picked strawberries?

I decided to just take myself there and pick some.  Yes, it is a two hour trip one way and yes, I went alone....just me, myself, and I.  I did stop at the The Son-In-Law's parents' house as he told me his dad was off work and wanted to go along to help.  The schedule was to enjoy a lunch afterwards at Gadsden's world famous Shoney's restaurant.  The Son-In-Law as jealous--not of the picking but of the meal at Gadsden's world famous Shoney's restaurant.

We arrived at the farm and it was REALLY big.  After being directed what part of the patch had been less picked, we headed down the rows to the designated spot, carrying our 10 pails.  I began to get really excited as those strawberries were so big and beautiful.  The wind was blowing a bit but the sun was hot in spite of that.  I picked and The Son-In-Law's daddy picked.  It was the most fun I'd had in a while.  I want to go back next year and pick again!  We picked 10 gallons in about 45 minutes.  They looked like this:

Plump, beautiful, and soooo tasty!

The challenge was to  figure how to get all those strawberries situated in my car to keep them good for the two hour ride home....and while I ate a nice lunch with The Son-In-Law's parents at the Gadsden Shoney's restaurant.

I came home and worked for a day and a half on the 8.5 gallons that were mine.  I now have over 25 bags of strawberries various ways....strawberries whole unsweetened, strawberries sliced sweetened for cakes and cobblers, pureed strawberries for ice cream......ah....it was worth every single minute.  And yes, I plan to return next spring.

I could give you a comparison between this adventure and the Lord's goodness but I won't.  I'll just end with this favorite Bible verse of mine:

"O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him."  Psalm 34:8

Yum!!!!!!!

Uh huh....again!

Warning:  This is going to be an exceptionally long post but stay with me here.

I had another slimy snake encounter last week.  Uh huh.  Way too many going on for my snake-scared self.   It could be classified as one of those “no good deed goes unpunished” times as well.  I was walking some get-well cards (hence the good deed) to my mailbox.  I am certainly a creature of habit because I ALWAYS walk my long driveway as I drive….on the right.

I was admiring the beauty of the day, put the cards in the mailbox, and turned to walk back.   On the right side.  I stopped near the road where my hydrangeas were beginning to sprout and I also admired my thirtysomething year old red maple we got for our first anniversary.  I reached and took off a couple of scraggly pieces from the hydrangea and immediately had a passing thought of snakes.  (I think the Lord just warns me somehow.)  As I turned and put my foot back on the driveway, I immediately noticed a green striped snake there.  Uh huh.  It wasn’t moving and granted it was only about six inches or so, but a snake is a snake—big, small, long, short, dead, alive—there’s no good to them….at least in MY world.  Plus that snake had a mama somewhere.  I IMMEDIATELY began walking towards the house—on the right side of the driveway—and headed toward my back porch where my snake--ridding hoe was stored.  I store it there just in case—NEVER expecting to use it.    All the way my mind was screaming over and over again, “Oh, no.  OH NO.”   Did I say that I was home alone?  I was.  Unfortunately.

I got the hoe and my mind was still screaming as I walked back up the driveway.  On the right side with the hoe outstretched.  I told myself  that I could do it.  I got back in sight of the thing and got just close enough that my snake-ridding hoe could reach it when I realized that it was still not moving.  It was dead already.   The Husband must have hit it with his truck when he left.  Ahhh…..so I turn around and walked back down my driveway.  On the right side.    As I was walking back I had another idea.  I put the snake-ridding hoe back in it’s place, got my car keys, got in my car, shut the door, opened the garage door, backed out, closed the garage door, and headed my car up the driveway.  In the middle of course.  I got to the snake, aimed my front left tire, and ran over it!  I backed up and did this again three times, assuring me the snake was dead.  Then I got back to the house and called The Husband who was to be home soon and asked him to stop up there on his way in and remove it far and away from the driveway.  He agreed, since he’s a respectful husband.  Of course he had a hard time locating it when he stopped and I walked back halfway up the driveway (on the right side) to direct him. 

When he got in the house, I told him the whole story as I have told you.  He began to shake with what I think was laughter, then saw the seriousness I had of the whole situation, and caught himself.  He is smart enough to know it's not a good idea to laugh at or with the wife when the wife is NOT laughing.   He simply asked, “Why, when you had the hoe there, did you not move it yourself?”  I replied, “My brain didn’t tell my hands and arms to move the hoe that way.  Plus as long as I have a husband and a son-in-law, I don’t have too.”  With a smile, he replied, “I guess you’re right.”  And he was right.  I WAS right.

So the whole experience made me think of my neighborhood for all these years.  When The Husband and I moved here thirtysomething years ago, our house sat amidst neighbors who were all related.  They just sort of accepted us as their relatives as well.  The patriarch and matriarch of the family lived across the street and down, still in sight of my mailbox, brothers lived down a bit further, and the girl of the family lived across the street.  They were so precious.  Their whole family had that good Southern accent and everytime they would meet for any special occasion, cars would be parked everywhere and you could hear the sounds of those voices with that accent while they all visited and loved each other.   It was the sound of joy and ALWAYS made The Husband and I smile.   The majority of them have moved on up to heaven where I’ll bet they are still visiting and loving.

The Across the Street Neighbors had three beautiful girls who babysat a bit for The Girl when we needed sitters.  Their family spent a lot of time in the summer on their front porch.  I would love sitting on my porch and hearing the sounds of laughter from theirs.  It was the sound of rightness, you know?   I would always find that the sounds I heard from there were such happy sounds….all while their sweet, fierce looking dog, Butch, lay and watched.   When we would sometimes walk over and visit, they were always welcoming us….we felt their love and concern and joy.  The Across the Street Mother got cancer a few years back and fought a valiant fight.  She was so special and dear and I still miss her today.   She was a good neighbor as were the rest of her family, those in her house and her family in the neighborhood.    And wow, wouldn’t she be proud of her girls and grandchildren today?  I know she would.  She made a difference in my life and I have treasured memories of her that I hope remain with me for all time. 

With all that said, I will end my post today with a memory of The Across the Street Husband.  He was an exceptional neighbor as well.  If I recall correctly, he worked for the railroad and would be working several days in a row and be off several days in a row.  I recall a day when The Girl was very young.  Our grass was a bit high on that particular day.  Her little inflatable pool was in the back yard.  I recall as though it were yesterday that she was standing by the den window looking out at that pool and said, “Mama, there’s a snake out at my pool.”  Well, let my legs freeze in place would you?   I slowly walked to the window, all the while thinking that she had never seen a snake and maybe she was wrong.  She wasn’t.  There with it’s head poised above that high grass was a big one—probably a mama or grandmama.  I, of course, panicked inside and thought what to do.  So I did what every smart woman would do.  I picked up the phone and called The Across the Street Husband.   Luckily for me, it was his day off and he was home.  He immediately came with his hoe, searched, and found that snake just as it was going onto the property behind us.  No, he wasn’t successful in sending it to whatever eternity snakes go to, but he was a good neighbor in that he came and tried.  I miss him, too, since he moved away to another neighborhood.  I thought of him and that experience the other day as I stood at the end of my driveway. 

All the things I’ve learned from these experiences can be applied to my life today.  I've learned that I should not have any fear of “things”….there are always those willing to help me face my fears or at least get rid of the feared object for me.   I've learned that love and concern we have for others can change a person’s day or even their life.   We can all make a difference.  After all, the good book teaches that we are all neighbors…every one of us.  

Amen.

May 5

On this day two years ago, our family celebrated the wedding of The Girl and her prince.  I plan to celebrate them again by enjoying a time of lunch and visiting with The Girl's mother-in-law today.  We might speak of how we have grown to love each other's child and feel as that one is our own.  We might speak of how sweet both of them are.  We might speak of how happy we are that they both have wonderful "in-laws" who have become friends.   We might not speak of them at all, who knows?  (Yeah, right...we're mamas.)  One thing I am certain is that we will both be giving thanks to the Lord for His goodness in bringing the two of them together.  So Happy Anniversary to The Girl and The Son-In-Law!