The garden which I originally looked at with excitement - envisioning fresh fruit, vegetables and herbs - turned out to be a bit of an albatross [to me] as it required a tremendous amount of work!!! to get fresh fruit, veg and herbs.   I made the decision mid-summer that I wanted it gone.  I will be a container gardener next summer… a few pots of herbs, tomatoes, peppers, onions - things easily taken care of. 

It should be easy to rig a drip watering system and some chicken wire protection from deer so I can leave them for rv trips.  Even with the garden turned into “grass” - still not much to mow and trim - probably less time as I won’t have to trim around planters and the fence.

The recycling part… my neighbors (see their blog!) had said they would like some of the strawberry plants and as we got to talking about time to get them, they decided that they wanted the planters and the fencing - the whole kit and kaboodle!  And - happy, happy, joy, joy - they have a backhoe!! - so have the ability to pop the posts out and grade everything out after and before you know it, we worked out a trade so that everyone gets what they want… they get a complete garden kit and I get a vanished garden.   A friend of theirs wanted some strawberries also so we spread the love a bit and there were even a few leftover plants that I put in containers.  Hopefully, I’ll get enough berries for a shortcake or 2 to share next summer.

Karl has been supervising the dismantling which is going very well.  Readers will have to bear with me - I LOVE big equipment and watching it work and seeing how to do things so this is probably the first in a series of the garden recycling project.

Last week on what was forecast to be one of the last sunny, warm days of Fall, I was walking with Karl at Wayfarer’s park - my local state park that sits just outside Bigfork Village on the northeast shore of Flathead Lake.  There is a 2 mile loop that we walk which goes over a hill and down to the lake.  We dawdle along the rocky beach and then head back up and over on the return.  Karl is off leash unless we see other people and I like to let him be a dog and do dog stuff at his own pace.  There are places he likes to run, places that need a lot of sniffing and exploring and other places to just put your nose into the wind and look out over the lake and think whatever it is that dogs think about…

I’ve posted photos of the views from this park and on this particular day I had my camera and the vistas were beautiful but what I noticed on this day was the little things - things like the seed pods on - well, weeds actually.

I was standing there while Karl was off sniffing and just noticing…  It’s an odd thing - but the more I write and take photos, the more I notice.  I see the little things - the little things people do and say, little things Karl and Bob do, the shapes and colors of weeds, rocks, stumps and whatever else is part of my line of vision. 

It is like there is a camera frame in my head seeing a bit of something in my path that has pretty colors, interesting shapes, some random tableau that seems worth remembering.

I don’t particularly enjoy museums, or historical sites, or specific sites of any kind - I’m a lousy tourist - but I DO enjoy this exploration and observation of the “landscape” - the little things…

Jan Karon, a favorite author of mine, quotes C.S.Lewis - another favorite author - in her book of quotations titled “Patches of Godlight”:

 “Any patch of sunlight in a wood will show you something about the sun which you will never get from reading books on astronomy.  These pure and spontaneous pleasures are ‘patches of Godlight’ in the woods of experience”

Godlights … the light(s) of God - whispers to us that we are loved, cherished and “here” for a reason and part of all eternity.  In the Bible, new Testament…sometime near the command to “Go ye therefore and teach all nations” is a verse that alludes to the fact that if we miss telling anyone, not to worry as all of nature cries out as witness to the true Creator and the truth of the universe.  I confess that I find the voice of nature much more truthful than the voice of “man”.  I hear and see God in the trees, plants, clouds, blue sky, wind, soft breezes - in the violence of storms as well as in the peace of a calm, sunny day -  in the stars and the moon and the vastness of the universe.

Yesterday I posted photos of Fall.  Color peaked here in the Flathead Valley on Thursday, October 11 - at least that is my opinion.  I was out and about on that day but running behind so did not stop for photos - an interesting “life” lesson!  The sky was a clear blue, the clouds brilliant white - the yellow, orange, occasional red and green of the evergreens were exceptionally vivid against that perfect background.  But I was too “busy” to stop and capture the color… yesterday’s photos are fine and there is fall color but I missed the best day.

It is not really about missing a photo op - there are plenty of photos from years past and probably this year that show fall color in all of its glory.  It is really about what is important - about taking time to…

smell the flowers,

visit with a friend,

rub the dog’s stomach,

scratch the cats chin,

call family,

look at the leaves,

enjoy each moment - be in the NOW…

There is a Zen saying that goes something like “when you are chopping wood, chop wood” -  being in the moment - not the past,  not the future, but right now.  Try it! - doing the dishes, cleaning the house, driving, reading to a child, walking the dog, sitting with someone you love…