Category: Spring

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Hi Mom

gregoryjoel

Happy Mother’s Day to everyone! I hope your day is filled with love, laughter, and joy. Treasure your mom. Take time on this special day to honor her. Moms are such gifts.

My mom passed away a couple of years ago. Hardly a day goes by that I don’t think of her. I’m sure she sees to that. She always loved butterflies. There’s always butterflies at the farm. I usually say ‘hi Mom” every time one passes by. There are days when the work is more difficult than others; days when I’m just a bit more tired, more achy than usual. Those are the days when the butterflies spend the most time with me.

I know. It sounds a bit silly. There are always butterflies around. It’s a farm, right? Maybe I’m a bit foolish to make Mom assumptions about butterflies. Then again, maybe not…

Spring is an incredibly busy time at the farm. The days may be growing longer but the time seems to be much shorter. There’s so much to do!

The other day, I was tilling a new section of the farm. The sun felt more like a summer day than a mid-Spring one. Temperatures in the 90s usually hold off until later in the month. I was hot, tired, and feeling more than a of bit of inadequacy and frustration. My “To Do’ list kept growing and the time felt shorter and shorter.

About that time, a beautiful tan and yellow butterfly (I’m not expert on identifying species) lit on my shoulder. I stopped for a moment and admired the creature, fully expecting it to take flight once I resumed tilling. I increased the engine speed and took off down the row. The butterfly stayed. I came back on the next row. The butterfly stayed. In fact, it stayed for five more rows before taking flight to wherever butterflies go.

If you haven’t farmed or used a large rototiller tractor before then the idea of a butterfly remaining in place may not seem like such a big deal. The tractor is loud and heavy to turn around as one bed is completed and the next one begun. Add to that the sweat and the constant body movement and it becomes a bit clearer that normally this would be the last place for a butterfly to lite.

It dawned on me that Mom was “paying me a visit”. She stayed there on my shoulder to remind me that she always had (and has) my back. She stayed there to let me know I was doing good work, to see it through, and do what I can today. The ‘to-do list” will get done. It’s okay. After all, those are lessons she preached all the time. It just took me a while to figure out how valuable those lessons were and just how much I was loved…

I don’t ‘know’ if it was mom that day. What I can tell you, is it’s not the first time a butterfly has chosen my shoulder as a resting spot. There may be a myriad of scientific reasons why a butterfly chose to use my shoulder for a resting place. It may be normal butterfly behavior, but I chose to believe it’s one more reminder that Mom is never far away and is always looking out for me…

I’ll go to the cemetery later today. I picked a nice assortment of flowers to leave by her headstone. It’s a small way of saying how much I love, honor, and treasure Mom. I pray we all do the same…

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Tomorrow’s the Day but the Time is Now

gregoryjoel

Later in this post I’m going to ask you for a donation to Unity Unlimited, Inc. The coronavirus pandemic has turned lives upside down worldwide. Physically, it has wreaked havoc globally. Today’s global death toll stood at almost 250,000 and over three million people have been infected with COVID-19. The United States will soon reach the ugly figure of 70,000 deaths. Economies have seen chaos worse than the Great Depression of the 1930s. The new age of social distancing has created what the media likes to call the “new normal” and many folks struggle to cope with the change.

Many non-profit groups, churches, and service organizations find themselves overwhelmed by the mounting needs of their communities. Giving Tuesday responded by setting aside a special, global day of giving, #GivingTuesdayNow. That day is tomorrow, May 5th, 2020.

State and city ‘Stay at Home’ orders have left many jobless. Many find themselves having to ask for help for the first time. Food banks and church pantries now find themselves unable to have food for everyone in line at the giveaways. People are having trouble meeting the most basic needs – food and shelter.

That’s why I’m going to ask you for money now. The need is greater than ever. Opal’s Farm has been blessed with more volunteers during this crisis, but we need your dollars as well if we are to grow and address food insecurity, especially now.

Spring harvest is just around the corner. Every dollar you give is multiplies to feed more people. For example, a starter tomato plant is $1.00. That plant will grow to five or six feet and produces many pounds of tomatoes for neighborhood markets and food banks that serve far more than one person or one meal.

Please give to Opal’s Farm today and tomorrow, #GivingTuesdayNow. You an donate through our Facebook Page, Opals Farm, our website at www.unityunlimited.org or at #GivingTuesdayNow/UnityUnlimited.

“We’re all in this together” is more than just a socially polite media slogan. We are in this together so please donate now.

Giving Tuesday Now
Tuesday, May 5th, 2020
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April Showers Bring May Veggies

gregoryjoel

The clouds grew dark and heavy this morning. Maybe the promised rain was coming after all. The weather folks said it would be here Thursday, moved it to Friday, and then assured us it was coming Saturday or maybe Sunday mid-morning – but hey, this is Texas. I’d about given up hope when I heard the distant roll of thunder. Maybe?

The short version is I didn’t get but a two-minute light sprinkle on the westside, but the farm was soaked by a fifteen-minute downpour. I won’t have another day of hand-watering ahead of me. Let me explain…

The drainplug on our pump shot out of my hand on Friday and rolled into the river rendering the pump useless until I can get the part Monday. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem, but we just planted three hundred new additional tomato and pepper plants; all of which need to be watered in. Saturday afternoon found me hauling water from the Trinity River up the levee (two five-gallon buckets at a time) and watering the plants one at a time. I’ll do what needs to be done but I’m especially grateful for the shower today…

Opal’s Farm was at the Cowtown Farmers Market for the first time this year. The forecasted rain stayed away and the sun made our first Saturday back even more spectacular. We had sugar snap carrots, and radishes available and were sold out by 1030 AM. We saw several old friends and met many more new ones. We’re always grateful for our regular customers. We missed you guys over the last three months. We’re also grateful to all the new folks we met Saturday and hope to see each of one of you every week. Better yet, come by the farm and give us a hand or take a tour.

The potatoes and onions love the rain

I need to give as shout out to our volunteers this week. We couldn’t have gone to market without your help. Our volunteers are amazing! The number of volunteer hours has skyrocketed in the last three weeks. I hope you can come out and join us!

Tomatoes, Jalapenos, and Anaheim Chili Peppers are in. We were able to get Spaghetti Squash and Cucumbers in as well. Everything else is going great guns and it looks to be an excellent Spring for Opal’s Farm.

Just a word to our friends and customers at Cowtown Farmers Market:

We want you to know how much you are appreciated. So many of you have wanted to support Opal’s vision. Every purchase you make and the donations you give bring fresh produce to the people who need it the most – neighborhoods that have been forgotten by the big grocery store chains, neighborhoods that suffer disproportionate health problems because their only food choices are highly processed canned and junk food full of empty calories. Your dollars not only provide you with the best in locally grown, nutritious fruits and vegetables, but your neighbors as well.

Thank you for being a part of Opal’s Farm! We love you all and hope to see you next week!

Please go to http://www.unityunlimited.org to donate or sign up to volunteer
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Roll Away the Stone…

gregoryjoel

Thoughts From the Porch

Happy Easter! The rain passed last night, and brilliant sunshine filled our quiet cul-de-sac. The trees are almost a neon green reflecting the bright light. There’s an unusual silence these days. The birds are still singing but the distant interstate is void of traffic. The ‘stay at home’ order applies to Easter church services so there’s few people going anywhere, particularly on an early Sunday morning. Such is life during the coronavirus…

Today’s Easter service came via Facebook Live. It was typical of most church Easter services – a time of praise and worship followed by a message about the cross. I wondered how we came to see the cross as the symbol of Christianity. I get the sacrifice and atonement ideas, but the cross was absent from the early Church. The cross was an ugly symbol of Rome’s occupation and violence. The persecuted Christian minority didn’t exactly see it as a religious icon.

It wasn’t until 318 C.E. that Christianity became an accepted, and then state, religion. According to legend, Constantine the Great had a vision of a cross and the words in hoc signo vinces (“in this sign you will conquer”). He promised to pledge himself to Christianity if he could defeat his rival, Maxentius, for the throne. Though outnumbered by Maxentius, he won the battle and became Emperor decreeing Christianity to be the state religion. The cross became an icon for the Church.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

I often wonder what the early Christians thought about all this. They had every reason to be suspicious of the Emperor’s edict. Previously persecuted and reviled (‘Christian’ was a term of derision) tends to lead to suspicion. Moreover, I wonder how they viewed the new iconography of the cross.

I’m not trying to diminish the power of Jesus’ death on the cross, but I’m wondering if we haven’t concentrated on the wrong symbol. The cross has become so commonplace its lost meaning. It’s just a nice piece of jewelry most of the time. Hey, I’ve worn one…

Maybe I should wear a rock instead. You know, the stone that was rolled away (it’s a bit difficulty to wear an empty tomb…). It reminds me that I met the resurrected Jesus: the one who gives life “abundantly” (John 10.10): or as The Message puts it “real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of”. The resurrected Jesus brought me into a life better than I could ever had imagined. That, my friends, is truly good news. Living life to the full…

Jesus summed it up well in his first recorded public speaking engagement:

“When he stood up to read (at his synagogue), he was handed the scroll of Isaiah. Unrolling the scroll, he found the place it is written,

God’s Spirit is on me;

He’s chosen me to preach the Message of good news to the poor,

Sent me to announce pardon to the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind,

To set the burdened and battered free, to announce, ‘This is God’s year to act’!”

(Luke 4.17-21)

That sounds like a pretty good life to me…

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
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#CovidCantStopGOOD

gregoryjoel

Down On the Farm

Saturday turned into a washout for the farm. We started off strong (thanks Chuck, Haileigh, Kierstin, and Ryan!) and still managed to get a lot done. Even when it became apparent that the rain was not a quick Spring shower, everyone kept right on working! Talk about dedication! Fortunately, the rain was a blessing for the new plants.

Sunday saw slightly warmer temperatures and an opportunity to get some tractor work done (Thanks Zimmerer Kubota – we love you guys!!!).

Chuck and Diane were out today to lay more fabric down for the new tomato beds. Trellis poles went up and they put the guide ropes up. The tomatoes already have new growth after a only a couple of days. We were able to finish off rebuilding several new beds, but we still have a ton of work to do. You got to love Spring.

Rain is supposed to come again later in the week. We’re hurrying along as fast as we can. If you’re bored and tired of sitting at home, you can come on down and join with us as we make the push to get as much in as possible before the next precipitation event (thanks Thesaurus…).

We still need to:

Get the remaining tomato beds covered with weed fabric and ready for planting

Spread compost and organic fertilizer

Weeding (as always) – Kierstin, we’re saving the flame weeder for you. We know how much you like to burn things…

Planting squash beds

Hill the potato beds again

If you’re singing the COVID-19 blues and want to do good deeds for others, we’d love to have you come out this week. You can sign up at www.unityunlimited.org/opalsfarm. We have over an acre to help maintain social distancing and Opal’s Farm is a great way to get out of the house. You can’t get more essential than growing healthy, fresh produce to get us through this mess.

#CovidCantStopGOOD