Pest Control

Well, I’m about ready to pull up my garden. Despite my frustrations this morning, I was able to restrain myself after uprooting only one pathetic withering zucchini plant.  There have been scenes of mass destruction out in that garden & the zucchini plant has not been the only casualty. I may be single-handedly responsible for some sort of entomological imbalance in the Florida panhandle this fall.

First the peppers, leaves chewed up & falling off. With the help of a local nursery store lady, caterpillars were ID’d as the culprits. But as much as I searched, I could never find the guilty party(ies). Next, the squash: holes bored into blossoms, stalks & the 2 wee squash that were actually developing. Thanks to the trusty Internets, I was able to match the destruction in the garden to the handy work of Squash Vine Borers. Very dishearteningly I also learned that sprays were of no use against these enemies & that once these little devils laid their eggs, you better work fast. So out I dashed with my garden gloves & kitchen scissors (which have now become garden scissors). Meticulously I combed through each plant looking for holes, snipping off blooms & stalks as I found them. At first I was excited to find the culprits munching away in the stalks or blooms & take them out, but as the chore wore on, my thirst for blood dwindled. Just in time my hero (Chad) arrived on scene to finish the squashing for me — with his bare hands!! Then the strawberries. Oh not the strawberries! Caterpillars again. Which is why I think I probably put a dent in the ecosystem. I have killed more caterpillars in the last few days than I ever thought possible. This morning I found a doozy. About as thick as a pencil & a couple inches long…sucking the life out of one of my tomato plants. That’s crossing the line. Chad was on base & I knew my stomach couldn’t handle the crunch between my fingers, the juicy sound of taking its life. I’m actually a little queasy thinking about it. So I threw it over the neighbors fence. Maybe I should have let Basil eat it.

For now, it seems as if I have eradicated most of the problem. Destruction is slowing down. I’m trying not to get my hopes up too much that I will actually reap any produce from the garden. Most of the blooms from the squash & zucchini were destroyed. The peppers look like they are trying to make a comeback & the tomatoes & strawberries are putting out surprising amounts of new growth. Until then, I will remain vigilant & continue to take out the pests. One by one.

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It’s Already September!

September means lots of things. To me it’s a hope that this hot, sticky weather won’t hold out much longer. I have noticed it feeling a little cooler in the mornings (or maybe I just want to sit on the back porch with some coffee in the mornings so bad that I’m imagining it) but it still gets disgustingly hot & humid by 8.

I don’t have a super recent picture of the garden – the squash & pumpkins are loving this weather & have completely gone crazy. The squash are starting to bloom, maybe we will have some fruit here soon. I have been tempted on several occasions to pull them out of the ground….they take up so much space. But now that it seems they are on the verge of doing something I guess I can stick it out! Everything else is growing nicely as well, except for my spinach. But I think I have time to plant again before it’s too late.

Yesterday I tried my hand at baking bread. Something I’ve always wanted to do & be good at! I think I got my yeast too hot because my dough was super sticky (kinda like when you make pizza crust) and flat as a pancake! Needless to say, there was no rising action. I knew the loaf wouldn’t turn out, but I went ahead & baked it just to finish. That was the heaviest loaf of bread…ever! It was supposed to be cinnamon raisin. Planning to try again today, hopefully with better results!

I think a lot of y’all know we’ve been church hunting for about the last two months now. Putting on your best smile & meeting new people each week & listening to a new pastor can definitely take a toll. Several Sunday’s I would cry in the car on the way back to the house. Nothing compares to Veritas out here. Veritas felt/feels like home. It’s the first church Chad & I attended together after we were married, where each week we knew we would hear the truth of the Gospel & see again how big our need for the Lord is and we were brought together with an amazing group of people in fellowship throughout the week. It was deep, it was heavy, it was convicting. We haven’t found anything like that in FL. In his book Radical Reformission Pastor Mark Driscoll talks a lot about how important it is for churches to be culturally relevant. Christian cultural commentator Ken Myers says there are 3 forms of Christian culture in the church: High culture (compared to a gourmet meal, connected to tradition & referred to as an art), folk (compared to a home cooked meal from a family recipe, emerges from a community as outpouring of lives lived together, highly personal, endearing & enduring) & pop culture (compared to a fast food meal, easily accessible, less requirement to engage, experience before patience & difficult to distinguish from advertising). Veritas was definitely a folk church. Lots of people living openly in front of each other – sharing struggles & triumphs, grounded in the Truth. We have yet to find a folky church here – all we have seen so far are churches comparable to high culture. Where are the people to connect with? Where is the genuineness? Walking with the Holy Spirit is no easy task, I need a community of someones to do it with me.

I will say this – the lack of what we are looking for has pushed Chad & me even more to become that. We spoke to Matt, the leader of our community group from Veritas, & he told us to be the church that we are looking for. Such simple advice, but so true. Spiritually, Chad & I have grown so much (individually & together) since we have been in FL. Digging out the truth in the Word and taking hold of the things we believe – striving to be ready with Scripture based doctrine if someone asks. Speaking the Gospel to ourselves & each other daily. Extending grace. Striving for humility. We also listen to podcasts from other churches to get the meat that is missing on Sundays. Veritas just started a study of Judges, which we got to skype into for the sermon & it was such a blessing! I can’t say that I wouldn’t jump at the chance to be back at Veritas, but I know right now we are right where God wants us. Laying foundations in our marriage and for whatever is ahead of us.

It’s been hard and frustrating and disappointing and the start of a new adventure. But we are learning and striving to live more Gospel centered lives.

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How To Tell It’s Hot Outside

Your weimaraner turned on her AC to try to cool off and then collapsed on the porch when it didn’t help.  Speaking of AC, the one in the house went out around midnight last night. Let me tell you, it was miserable sleeping from then on. We had our ceiling fan on high & two other fans blowing on us. I dreamed about taking a dip in a vat of mint chocolate chip ice cream. Don’t worry, it’s fixed now & has been running full blast for the last 2 hours…can’t wait to see the next bill. But I digress…

Here’s another way you can tell it’s hot outside: your garden is going CRAZY! Now, it’s probably a combination of the heat & lots of rain we’ve been getting, whatever the combo (I like to think it has something to do with my Master Gardener skills…:) my seeds have popped up in droves & the ‘maters are getting taller by the day. I even pinched back the tomatoes to make them prettier & produce more fruit – thanks for the advice Tommy! Here’s some pictures of what’s happening out there: Pumpkins are sending out tendrils and squash are about to burst into bloom!

Broccoli & lettuce are sprouting up in abundance! My Better Boy tomato is starting to bloom & the strawberries are happy and getting bushy in their long window beds.

Not to mention the basil & thyme are shooting up, the  cilantro is perky, the watermelon are spreading out & the spinach is starting to sprout. It’s starting to look like we are going to have a cornucopia of produce – which I’m excited about…the closest farmers market is over an hour away vs being within walking distance down the street from the apartment in CA. I’m also starting to look for peas or beans and some other cool weather stuff… any suggestions? I’ve got a mix of warm & cool weather growing now but can start planting more cool in the next couple of weeks. I can’t wait until time to plant potatoes!

Enjoying the bounties of the heat for now…especially when I can escape into an air conditioned house :)

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Florida Life

“Home” is a relative term for us. In the last month we have been in 10 different states. “Home” is no longer TX or CA. Now it’s FL. Niceville, FL. One month ago we landed here. And a whopping 20 days after that – our belongings arrived (the movers were just a liiiitle late). But since we got our stuff – we have cozied up nicely in our cute new house! Here are a few pictures of what we’re working with! The house is obviously very colorful. The other two rooms are bright blue & bright green! The only one we repainted was in the Master Bedroom – mauve to brown. And I’m so glad we took the time to do it – it made such a difference!

Since we had a house & no furniture to sit on, we have spent lots of time outside. We found some wooden pallets on the side of the road & turned them into a compost box. Chad also built me a raised flowerbed. I planted watermelon, pumpkin, squash, tomatoes & peppers. So far things are surviving. Not sure how, it’s SO hot. In the next week or so I’m planning to plant some lettuce, spinach, beans & strawberries. I’m hopeful for quite a harvest this fall!!

Basil is loving having a backyard. She probably thinks she has died & gone to heaven. Last night we were going through some of the last boxes to unpack & we found the “sunglasses” (more like goggles) that Chad had to wear after his eye surgery last fall. I couldn’t resist. Hehe…

Moving has taught me lots. First, we have too much stuff. Living in our house before the movers brought our things makes you realize how little you actually need. In an attempt to decrease the amount of stuff we have, we are turning to Craigslist & Ebay. Hopefully we can ditch some of our stuff on someone else looking for more stuff. Second, organization & cleanliness are near & dear to my heart. As we’ve unpacked & put stuff away I have realized how OCD Chad & I both are. If we were locking & relocking doorknobs before we leave the house I may worry; but when it comes to housekeeping, I can find nothing wrong with purging clutter & being slightly anal about where things go. Not to say our house is always picked up, but I can dream. Third, moving is hard. On so many levels. It’s frustrating, makes for long days, is emotionally wearing & takes us out of our routine (which we both love). All this can lead to grouchy attitudes. Thankfully our church in California loves to talk about grace. Which we have both needed from the Lord and to give to each other more than ever. But it’s so hard. To deny the flesh that is pulling hard for me to give in to anger or a bad attitude. It is much easier than killing the flesh & living by the Spirit, which calls us to humility, grace & forgiveness. But at least I do have a battle inside. And I have a gracious Father & patient husband. So as we continue on this new chapter in our lives, I want to continue to learn to accept God’s grace to me & extend it to those closest to me.

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