Thriving

A delightful email from one of our congregation 

The time seems to have flown by.  I have continued to be busy printing photographs and had a good day in the darkroom today printing about 200 photographs which are now drying in various places around the house.  I keep a number of customers well supplied with prints on approval, many are elderly and self isolating so they look forward to receiving a bundle of prints.  I try to phone them as well to see how they are doing and to have a chat.  The other day I thought I was hearing things at one point in the darkroom when it thundered, but no I was not! At least we have had a little rain today so I will not have to water pots etc this evening. 

 

Apart from the lawn which always recovers, I have managed to keep our garden going pretty well during the dry weather. The perennials are really coming into their own now, plants have so much energy at this time of year.  The first flowering of the roses is now over, the blooms were very good this year, now the soil is damp, I will take the opportunity to feed them for the second flush of blooms in the summer.  There are now some salad leaves and lettuce to harvest so that is very rewarding.  The herbs have also thrived and we have been drinking different varieties of mint tea.  The fennel, which can be a bit of a thug, has been cut for fish and chives, thyme and oregano for other dishes. 

We continue to have good walks, last week explored part of Hoddesdonbury Woods having a lovely couple of hours away from it all.  We are so lucky to have countryside so close to hand. 

 

I also feel much better now that my wife has tidied my hair up, she did a very good job with the scissors and razor.  She is not so chatty as my usual hairdresser but the main thing is there were no mishaps with the scissors, I didn’t fancy the Vincent Van Gogh look!

 

        Creator of all things and giver of all life, let your blessings fall upon our seeds and bulbs, our hands and tools, our soil, our potted plants, our gardens, and our allotments, fields and the countryside.   Bless our labour with rain and sunshine, that new life might spring up, that we might be truly at one with the integrity of all creation. Help us to be wise stewards of your magnificent garden of creation, to protect the land when it is abused and misused, to always think and plan in an environmentally sustainable way. Amen