Longwood Gardens

We went to Longwood Gardens more than fifty years ago when we were dating. I hoped to go see it again in April when the spring bulbs were blooming, but it was not to be. Leroy's hip and my left leg were making walking difficult for both of us. We postponed it until we recover and decided to go either June 25 or 29, depending on the weather. Then we learned Gerald and Kelly were planning to go on June 25 and take her parents as their 2018 Christmas gift. They invited us to join them and we took them up on it. 

The weather cooperated and it was a beautiful day. I still wasn't up to walking that much so Gerald got one of the scooters the Gardens provides for people who are unable to walk through the huge gardens. When we were dating I never imagined the next time I'd come I'd use a scooter. Even if you would have been able to show me a picture of us now, I not have believed it. But fifty years does not pass by without change and it certainly is obvious. 

Longwood Gardens is just as beautiful as it was 50 years ago, and probably larger. I don't remember enough of what we saw so long ago to compare it to today. Besides, we were dating and more interested in each other than the gardens. It was just an excuse to walk around holding hands. 😊

Longwood Gardens is a botanical garden of over 1,077 acres of gardens, woodlands, and meadows in Kennet Square, Pennsylvania. It is open to visitors year-round to enjoy exotic plants and horticulture both indoors and outdoors. The Conservatory contains 4,600 different types of plants and trees, as well as fountains.

Pierre S. du Pont (1870-1954) began developing the outdoor gardens after he purchased the property in 1906. He added the 600-foot long Flower Garden Walk in 1907. Longwood's conservatory, opened in 1921, is one of the world's great greenhouse structures. The Main Fountain Garden debuted to the public in 1931 and was the last major project in the Gardens during Pierre's life.

"A picture is worth a thousand words," so walk with me through the Gardens. The first eight are in the Conservatory. 

This Japanese Bonsai tree is 125 years old.

The next five are the Waterlily Gardens. The round things among the lily pads are a living plant called a Water Platter. 

                           

 The main fountain (above) and Italian Water Garden (below). Elaborate displays are done several times each day at the main fountain. The water is synchronized with classical music.

The next pictures are of flowers on the grounds. 

Common Allamanda from South America (below).

The roses were past their prime but some were still beautiful.

I don't know what these two are.

Cherry Pie Filling

After cooking for six children for years, it is hard for me to cut back enough on canning and freezing for two people. This winter I was trying hard to use up the old things and start fresh this year. I had only one pint of cherry pie filling left so this week I canned a new batch. I did 5 quarts and 6 pints yesterday. This is today's crop of 9 quarts and 1 pint. Cherry is Leroy's favorite pie so we should have plenty for another year. The recipe I use makes a lovely thick red pie filling for pies or cobbler.

Cherry Pie Filling

6 cups water

1 pkg. cherry Kool Aid

3 c. sugar

1 heaping cup cook-type Clear Jel

Mix all together and cook until thick and clear.

Stir in 3 oz. cherry jello until dissolved

Pour cooked mixture over 6-8 cups of sour cherries and stir to mix thoroughly.

Put in jars and process 15 minutes for quarts and 10 minutes for pints.

Makes about six quarts.

For Lack of Wood

There was a major volcanic eruption in the Mennonite gossip mill this week. With the social media we have today, gossip flies further and faster than ever before. Things get published and people make comments that are hurtful and make matters worse. The three rules about speaking are ignored--1. Is it true? 2. Is it kind? 3. Is it necessary?

It may be true but that doesn't mean you have to repeat it. Stories tend to grow as they are repeated and things are often added that aren't true.

If it is something bad, repeating it is not kind. How would you like it if you were the one at fault and everyone was talking about what you did wrong? Think about the family of the offender. The humiliation they feel is bad enough and knowing everyone is talking about it adds insult to injury.

What does it help for you to voice your opinion on social media? If you are not part of the problem or the solution, your opinion is irrelevant. Some people have been commended for their "courage" in speaking up. It is not courage, it's adding fuel to the fire. For lack of wood the fire goes out; And where there is no whisperer, contention ceases. Proverbs 26:20.

What should we do when there is a scandal? Let God and those in charge handle it. Prayer is the only way we can help.We don't need to go around talking about it with our friends or on social media. The dual attributes of God are justice and mercy. If we claim to be His children then we also need to be merciful, zip our lips, and let Him handle the problem. 

Family Weekend

One of the highlights of the summer is our annual family weekend at the cabin the second weekend in June. That was this past weekend and it began with grilling burgers and making mountain pies on the campfire for our supper Friday evening. We were blessed with perfect weather for outdoor activities. Here is the evidence.

 4-square

 5 Second Rule

  Talk time

 Riding toys and croquet

Slopping in the creek

 Homemade ice cream (we ate all of it)

 Chicken barbq

Roasting marshmallows

Under Attack

There's no denying the world I'm living in today is different than when I was growing up. Things have changed in ways we never dreamed of back in the 1950s and 60s. And I'm not talking about the things that have been invented. 

The world I grew up in was a safer place. We went sledding on the road in front of our house, and just stood aside if a car happened to come by. We road our bikes on the back roads beyond our house and explored the neighborhood. My mother didn't drive so if she ran out of something we walked up the hill and down the road to the little store which was a forerunner of a mini-market. I walked into town by myself to get books at the library. Our mother didn't need to escort us to the school bus in the morning and meet us when we came home in the afternoon. The thought of locking the school house doors during the day never occurred to anyone. Locking the church doors after the service started was unthinkable. We could do all these things without fear of being molested or endangered.

Today, there is violence and human trafficking everywhere. Although some of these things have always happened, it was not as common and more hidden from sight. I remember being in Lancaster with my parents and seeing a man standing in the shadows with a rack of papers. I asked my mother what he's doing and she quickly told me it's not good and not to look at him. Years later I understood and today that kind of smut is sold on racks in plain sight at checkout counters.

Things of a sexual nature were not spoken of in blunt terms. The word "pregnant" was not used. A woman was "in a family way" or "had something in the oven." Specific terms were not used for sexual body parts. There are no prohibitions today. Everything is discussed openly in great detail and published in print and online for anyone to read or see. Transgender used to be called cross dressing and mostly done in private. Now it's a public issue in the schools.

The news media seems to be hung up on sexual abuse. There's something about it every day in the news. When it becomes a kiss and tell story where someone tells all the sordid details to the public it crosses the line into smut. The article the Lancaster paper printed on an interview with a Mennonite woman smelled strongly of retaliation against her husband and her church. It was thumbing the nose at Mennonites and Christianity. I doubt having all that in print dissolved her bitterness.

I'm not denying that sexual abuse happens and it is definitely sin that needs to be repented of, the abusers helped to change their ways, and the victims helped to find emotional healing. But it seems to me that the news media is stressing the abuse that happens in the church, especially in Catholic church but also in other denominations. It's a spiritual attack by the enemy of our souls trying to smear the name of Christ and discredit Christianity. 

.As the world continues to become more ungodly and pagan, we can expect the attacks on Christians to increase. Ephesians 6:10-18 gives us combat gear we need to fight the battle against the forces of evil. "We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places" (Ephesians 6:12).