Encounter

Sometimes one has to write about things not because they are so interesting, but because they are so RARE.

I am up past my bedtime, and knew my dog and my foster both need a final walk. It is a break from my normal routine, and in fact, originally I thought to just stay within my townhome "yard".

Instead, I opted for a short walk with my canine charges, so crossed my driveway, passed the lee of the building next to us, and as we crossed their driveway, we all, almost intuitively stopped...all at once.

It wasn't anything I did, or anything my dogs did. As a unit, we all simply STOPPED. And we looked in the same direction. 

There, standing properly on the sidewalk on the opposite side of a building from us, maybe about 50 feet...reigned a Doe.

She stood there, staring at us, evaluating us even as we evaluated her. The dogs were transfixed, not barking, not lunging, but staring. I could hear the dogs' respirations increasing in proper tempo as they, by instinct, readied for the hunt. Still we stood there. I wished mightily for the camera but knew if I left the Doe would also be gone. It was best to enjoy this very moment as it was.

She turned and fled, and the dogs strained at their leashes, both letting out extended yowls proper to their respective breeds. While the sound of my German Shepherd was loudest, she pulled the least, and while the tones of my Whippet-mix foster dog were diminutive, he was the one who made it clear he would be the one who would capture the prey...if only allowed the freedom.

Instead of freeing dogs I knew I'd never get back if I let them go, I continued our walk, with my own hope of seeing the Doe again. Indeed, she stood in the field, watching us, so we approached, I half-dragged, half-encouraging the dogs. About twenty feet into the field, one of the dogs caught my attention, as he was staring  towards our complex.

It took a moment for my eyes to adjust, but there stood a "pole" where a pole shouldn't be: at the intersection of our street and the main one that passed by, like an extinguished lamp planted dead center in the pavement.

With our attention she tentatively moved. With her movement the dogs shifted their predatory radars, and as she raced to join her companion, I could hear the rhythm of hooves on the pavement, even over the dogs' yowls, in spite of the strength required to reign in the predators who so desperately desired to pursue their prey....

Ahhh..that's not something one sees every day, not just one Doe, but two, and close enough to converse.

Had she been a buck...there might have been a charge involved.

Tonight, while the dogs kick and whine in their sleep, I suspect I may understand a bit more of their dreams.

Horticulture Without a License

In the begining there was a gift, the gift of a tomato plant of unknown kind. And yea, so the plant grew and grew and had to be repotted. And yea, it grew some more and flowers bloomed and faded and became fruit (or vegetable, as I classify it). And the plant was in the biggest pot I owned, which wasn't very big, and it wasn't black either, as I learned it should be. Nor did I have enough sun for it so I moved the plant into the sun during the day, but not if a storm was coming for it was very exposed to the elements and wind and very vulnerable.

I went to a local nursery, and he gave me some good plant food but said my plant should be fine in the pot in which I had it, and so I waited and fed it and watched the fruit. But it's been a cool summer here (a blessed, cool summer!) which is great for us, but unfortunately, not so great for tomatoes.

Well, in the last couple days, the plant has tipped over a couple times in the wind. Once it fell off a plant pedestal I was using to keep it off of the hot pavement. The other time it was solidly on the ground, tipped over and even popped out of its pot (5 minutes before it had been FINE!)

Well, Tommy the tomato plant (as I've decided to name him) isn't doing so well now and it's totally my fault.

Let me say this first: I do NOT have a green thumb and the fact that I've eaten 1 ripe (albeit small) tomato from this plant is a HUGE BLESSED SUCCESS for me! But there are more tomatoes on it, one I had to toss (black on the bottom), and one green one that fell of in one of the plant falls. I think my plant has osteoplantitis from the bad treatment it's received.

Anyway, today, in desperation, I bought a much bigger pot (unfortunately not black or dark colored, couldn't find the right size in those), and lots of potting soil and returned home to repot my tomato plant. At some point in the process I heard a "snap!" and initially didn't discover the problem. Everything seemed to be in place. So I wrestled with the dirt and resetting poor Tommy, and still think I did it badly, although I did truly do my best. (Seriously, this is the hugest plant I've ever transplanted and I'm not sure he'll survive the trauma.)

Well, in looking at the plant, what I'd at first thought was a branch was actually...uh oh...a vertical split at the base of the stalk, right before the spot where all the branches sprouted.

Thinking back to tree grafts I've seen, I grabbed a couple bamboo sticks and put them into the plant to support the branches to take the stress off the stalk, and then took some string and wound it around the branch and stalk to "press" the damaged area back together. Certainly if I don't do something, it would just split up the middle as the branches grow heavier. If they continue to grow.

So, for all you tomato specialists, I have a few questions:

1. Is there a tomato plant ER somewhere? Can I buy tomato plant insurance or is it too late?

2. Does my plant have osteoplantitis due to my negligence?

3. Is there a horticulturist's code, something along the lines of "first do no harm?"

4. If there is, can I be sued for horticultural malpractice?

5. Does it matter that I don't have a license to practice horticulture and did it anyway in order to avoid the expense of the insurance premiums and copays?

6. Is Tommy going to die because I broke him? Or will my "graft" actually be effective and does the plant have the ability to "heal" like trees or other plants can with a proper "graft"?

OK...I await the bad news. Just give it to me straight.......

*cringing*

Dang. I'm hungry and craving tomatoes and now I'll never have ANY! *tears*

The Finch and the Sunflower

This afternoon, I sat down at my computer and pulled back the drape so that I could gaze out the window, and there, before my astonished eyes, was a yellow finch perched atop the sunflower.

Mystery solved.

I had actually feared that it was squirrels destroying the flower, but had been a bit mystified as to how those critters could climb the stalk without breaking it. But I also knew birds could of course reach the flower, certain, though, that I would never catch them in the act.

This afternoon though, I saw Mr. Finch, my friendly avian neighbor, happily pecking at his meal to his heart's content. I gazed at the sight in wonder, grateful for the gift of God's hand in motion, feeding the birds of the air; for this sunflower is His very hand.

Just as with the Parable of the Breadcrust, God is giving me a front row seat to the Parable of the Sunflower and through this, He is revealing his everyday glory. It is an encouragement to trust in His providence. Even as I look at the pecked over appearance of the head of the sunflower, I can witness the buds now blooming, I can witness their pollination, and when the time comes, I will again be witness to the feast laid out for not just Mr. Finch, but for his entire family.

It is a parable of trust, a witness to life, and a symbol of God's eternal love.