Continuing from March 3rd

If you'll indulge me, I'm going to add somewhat to my post of March 3. I've continued to read my Book of Mormon each morning, and the storyline continues to parallel what is going on in eastern Europe right now. This morning's reading is pretty uncanny and gave me chills:

Helaman, head over part of the Nephite army, wrote to the chief captain Moroni: "...We do not know the cause that the government does not grant us more strength" and explains the dire situation his army is in, under-provisioned and with an insufficient number of men to hold against the Lamanites. Moroni in his turn wrote to the central government demanding aid:

"...Behold, great has been the slaughter among our people; yea, thousands have fallen by the sword, while it might have otherwise been if ye had rendered unto our armies sufficient strength and succor for them. Yea, great has been your neglect towards us. And now behold, we desire to know the cause of this exceedingly great neglect; yea, we desire to know the cause of your thoughtless state. Can you think to sit upon your thrones in a state of thoughtless stupor, while your enemies are spreading the work of death around you? Yea, while they are murdering thousands of your brethren - Yea, even they who have looked up to you for protection, yea, have placed you in a situation that ye might have succored them, yea, ye might have sent armies unto them, to have strengthened them, and have saved thousands of them from falling by the sword.

"But behold, this is not all - ye have withheld your provisions from them, insomuch that many have fought and bled out their lives because of their great desires which they had for the welfare of this people...And now, my beloved brethren...ye ought to have stirred yourselves more diligently for the welfare and the freedom of this people...Behold, could ye suppose that ye could sit upon your thrones, and because of the exceeding goodness of God ye could do nothing and he would deliver you?...I say unto you, there are many who have fallen by the sword; and behold it is to your condemnation...

"But behold, now the Lamanites are coming upon us, taking possession of our lands, and they are murdering our people with the sword, yea, our women and our children, and also carrying them away captive...and this because of the great wickedness of those who are seeking for power and authority...Is it that ye have neglected us because ye are...surrounded by security...Or do ye suppose that the Lord will still deliver us, while we sit upon our thrones...Yea, will ye sit in idleness...while there are thousands round about in the borders of the land who are falling by the sword, yea, wounded and bleeding? Do ye suppose that God will look upon you as guiltless while ye sit still and behold these things?...Behold, I am Moroni, your chief captain. I seek not for power, but to pull it down."

I don't claim to be politically savvy. I don't know what the right thing is militarily regarding Ukraine. Intervening might escalate the situation and bring about dire consequences for even more people. It might bring a quicker end but a more awful end. But still, it's hard to see what's happening to our fellow human beings (NATO club members or not) and not act. If one's peace is brought about by another's suffering, is it really peace?

Hydroponics gone crazy

My husband has tinkered with hydroponics systems off and on, always indoors. This year he is proposing to rig up a system the length of the garden fence, a series of PVC pipes running back and forth across approximately 40 feet. So maybe 160 feet in total. That would grow a huge amount of food, and I'd have enough to sell or share or donate to the food bank. Because there's only so many greens one can eat. I'm not sure what else I can grow hydroponically in a PVC tube, but I'll research it. The idea of being able to garden standing up (and not having to worry about weeding) appeals to me. It would almost double my space. It would also keep the rabbits out of the greens. 

Mama rabbit is once again setting up shop under the hedge and keeps returning to work on her nest no matter how many times I or the dog shoo her away. She will sit on the other side of the chainlink fence and sneer at us, knowing we can't get at her, and then returns to our yard as soon as we go back inside. I spent yesterday peeking around the corner of the house while she peeked back at me, each judging the timing. Of course, she will win in the end.

Victory Garden 2022

There are faint signs of spring---swelling buds on the maple trees, skeins of geese stretching across the sky, and the distinct smell of skunk when I step out in the morning. Time to think about gardening!

I ordered my seeds ages ago, and somewhere I drew up a map of where to plant what, but I seem to have lost it somewhere. Redrawing this morning. Every year I plant something new, and this year it is bok choy. I have some started on the kitchen counter, and I have to say, it's darling. I have a favourite soup I make with bok choy, celery, green onions, tofu, and coconut milk. 

This year I'm also planning to plant:

• various other greens, spinach, and salad stuff
• peas
• green beans
• two types of cucumbers
• leeks
• onions
• bell peppers
• tomatoes
• kale
• parsley, cilantro, basil
• cauliflower, though it hasn't done well in the past
• broccoli
• beets
• carrots
• celery
• zucchini
• spaghetti squash
• potatoes
• sweet potatoes
• cabbage
• and of course the garlic is already in.

This is in addition to the perennial asparagus, rhubarb, strawberries, and raspberries. I usually plant a lot of dry beans, too, but I have quite a bit in storage already and I could use the space this year. With the cost of food going up, I think I need to focus on giving room to the pricier vegetables.

Here's the dilemma---The garden will need care and attention all summer, but I'm also supposed to be up at the church we're renovating, working on stained glass and keeping that yard maintained. The idea was to eventually move up there fulltime and establish a garden there, but with the yard now slated to become the bed for the new septic system, my gardening space up there is somewhat limited. Decisions, decisions. I think the need to grow fresh food may have to win out this year.

The manuscript is finished

Yesterday I submitted the latest manuscript. There's always this elated feeling, combined with terror, whenever I hit that "send" button. I'm not sure what that's about. "Here's my creation. Don't judge me harshly." "Here's my blood, sweat, and tears. Tell me if I've wasted the last year of my life." "Please read this. I hope it's of value to somebody somewhere." Well, it is what it is, and it's out of my hands now.

I sent my husband for ice cream when it was done. Either I'm trying to reward myself with sugar for having hung in there, or I'm hoping to slip into a diabetic coma and not hear the results...

I gave myself last night off, at any rate, and today I'm combing through my half-finished starts to see what to work on next. Because writers are gluttons for punishment that way. Regardless of editors, insecurities, reviews, sales, or rejection letters, words have to happen.

Getting ready for spring gardening

The hyacinths are starting to nose up through the frozen ground. I've repotted my cherry tomatoes (I'm growing four plants indoors), and I make frequent salads with the greens that live under the growlights on the kitchen counter. I also repotted the oak and hickory trees I'm sprouting just as an experiment. I've got all my garden seeds for the spring, and a sketch of where I'm going to plant everything. I'm planning to build bean and pea trellises to affix to the raised beds on the south, to provide some shade for the other vegetables, as last summer the sun was too intense. I have a supply of straw to mulch under the squash this summer. I just need to buy some new heavy-duty gloves.

Does anyone else find it surreal to be puttering around their homes doing ordinary things, knowing that there are such crises going on in the world? I can't do much about it all, but I can grow food. I can make sure my immediate neighbours are fed. Maybe that will be my contribution. My husband has started referring to it as our Victory Garden.

An echo of the past

This has been a frightening and anxious week, watching what is going on in Ukraine. There's an unreality to it, even while there's an immediate surge of anger and heartache. How, I think, can I possibly go about my day, making dinner and walking the dog and cleaning out my dryer lint trap while the whole world is screaming? The Ukrainians are a strong and faithful people, but how can this possibly end well for them?

Every day as part of my worship, I seek solace by reading a chapter of the Book of Mormon, and today's was so timely! In Alma 43 it describes a war between the Nephites and the Lamanites, and when I got to this part I got a shivering sense of déjà-vu:

 ..."Zerahemnah appointed chief captains over the Lamanites...that he might preserve their hatred towards the Nephites, that he might bring them into subjection to the accomplishment of his designs. For behold, his designs were to stir up the Lamanites to anger against the Nephites; this he did that he might usurp great power over them, and also that he might gain power over the Nephites by bringing them into bondage. 

"And now the design of the Nephites was to support their lands, and their houses, and their wives, and their children, that they might preserve them from the hands of their enemies; and also that they might preserve their rights and privileges, yea, and also their liberty, that they might worship God according to their desires."

It goes on to describe the battle and says that the Lamanites fought "like dragons," and "never had the Lamanites been known to fight with such exceedingly great strength and courage." But "the Nephites were inspired by a better cause, for they were not fighting for monarchy nor power but they were fighting for their homes and their liberties, their wives and their children, and their all..."

The Nephites won.