The orchards are starting to bloom, and bee boxes have been put out, this can only mean one thing…. winter is coming to an end. As I look out into the backyard, I see the tulips starting to peak through the soil and I can’t help but get excited that spring is on its way!
The end of February is a time for starting seeds indoors and finalizing garden plans. We are not yet in the days of lounging outside with an iced tea in hand and enjoying the beauty of the flowers and the greenery of the vegetables. No, we are in the beginning stages.
And before we can enjoy the fruits of our labor, we must first put in the work that is required and patiently wait. Wait for the sunny days so we can go out and tend to the garden. Wait for the seedlings to start sprouting so they can grow a bit bigger, be hardened off and then put outside to grow into delicious food.
On rainy days, we stay inside, make a pot of tea and cozy up to a good book. Patiently waiting for the sun to come out again. When it’s a rainy week, I start to pull out clothes that have been stored away. The bright colors of light cardigans and sweaters get tossed in the drier to freshen up.
I start looking at recipes that have lemon and strawberries in them to get inspiration for the sunny days to come. In a few weeks my church will host a bake auction to help raise money for the youth ministry and I couldn’t help but start looking at a few tried and true recipes that I am more than willing to donate for the auction. I wouldn’t mind trying a few new recipes out so I can test them and make sure they’re good :).
While mother nature is slowly coming out of hibernation, I can’t help but stop to look at this beautiful world that God has made for us. More and more birds come to the backyard to see what grub they can find, and they bless the neighborhood with their songs. You can hear the crunch of the leaf’s that were left out all winter long as the stray cats walk along to find a sunny patch to sunbathe in.
The sky turns from different shades of blue to different shades of gray overnight, God has blessed us with such visuals. We get to see the clouds and the shapes they make, the sun peeking through with its rays.
With the wind picking up this week, I have been sneezing up a storm. I have started to have my daily spoonful of honey and bee pollen in the mornings and am looking at herbal remedies for allergies. God has certainly blessed us with all kinds of herbs that help us during allergy season. What a creator!
Since it’ll be a rainy weekend, I’ll be inside baking and planting seeds for an herb\tea garden. One of my goals (since forever ago) is to grow herbs and flowers to use in homemade herbal remedies and to make tea blends with as well.
In wintertime I came across two quotes that have stuck with me. The first is by Joel Salatin, “know your food, know your farmer, know your kitchen”. And the second is, ” God owns it, I manage it” (unknown). Both make me think of stewardship.
I can’t wait to see all the Lord does this spring and the beauty that comes along with it. I pray each and every one of you have a great weekend!