Volunteer Vines

For the last several years I have gotten a volunteer vine growing somewhere on our place. Somewhere, that I did not plant them. The flower beds have been the usual place. This year one showed up in a pile of wood bark from last years fire wood.  I let it grow, since I hadn't planted a garden and I love the idea of a mystery vine. This is it's   lovely bloom. It blooms at night and by mid morning is gone. By evening, new ones will be opening again. I wonder if it's related to the Moon Flower? I'm sure it's not, but they are the same color and both bloom at night.

So, I let it grow. I told Tim to watch out for it and not to mow it or pull it up. I wanted to see what it would be. We were busy working and I pretty much just ignored it, not even paying attention to how big it was getting. One evening, after we pulled in, I glanced over at the side of our house, where my Elm tree is.
I couldn't believe it. While we were busy, this little vine had been busy too. It grew and climbed all the way to the top of the tree. That's what I get for not paying attention.

If you haven't figured out what it is yet, here's another hint. I'll show you the leaves.

Well, it was getting late when I discovered how large it was getting and didn't do too much looking. I had figured out  what it was and told Tim. He wanted to know how I knew, as I'd only tried once to grow this and hadn't had too much  success.  I recognized the leaves and at a quick glance saw some little 'fruits' coming on. So, here's another hint....

Do you know yet?


 I wonder if it's too late for them to get very big. We have til somewhere around the last of September before the first killing frost. We'll have to see how they do.





The next day was Saturday so, with my morning coffee in hand,  I went to check out my volunteer vine. Not only had it grown up the tree but, had weaved it's way in and around the too tall, and desperately needing mowed, grass. As I poked around trying to decide if any of the babies would even make it. I spotted something.

There hidden in the grass was a very nice sized Bird House Gourd! Last winter, when we were working on my birdhouse projects in the garage, some of the seeds that we cleaned out of gourds, must have fallen on the floor and were swept up and dumped with the rest of the bark and wood chips. I had planned to let this pile break down a bit and use it for mulch around my trees.
I'm more than pleased with the size of this one already. It should continue to grow until frost kills the vine. I'm hoping some of the babies also get big enough for at least some smaller gourds.

The volunteer vines have been a lot of fun. Last year, it was watermelons. I ended up with five delicious ripe watermelons before it was done. The year before it was cantaloupe! Once, watermelons grew in Snoopy's field -Snoopy is Jayme's horse-  he managed to step on every one before we could harvest them. He ate them too. Which is how the seeds got there, we had often fed him our left over watermelons chunks!

Did I ever tell you about when I grew watermelons to sell? I had over 600 plants one year. But, that is another story.....

The Gift

Do we know the gift we have been given? Life, love, beauty. I  want to write about my gratitude for that. Often, as I look at the World around me and the seeming unfairness of it all, I could be discouraged that there isn't more I can do. Sometimes, I wish for wealth so that I could give to those who do not have. But, I am beginning to realize that wealth is not necessarily a gift or something to really be desired.

I have been reading a book called Soul Survivor by Philip Yancey. In it, are 13 short biographies of people who helped, in one way or another, to restore the waning faith of the author. One of these men was Leo Tolstoy. A famous Russian author who wrote such books as War and Peace and Anna Karenina. No, I've never read them, they are both very long and are not really my type of books. I have read several of his short stories such as Where love is, there is God. -by going to the link you can read it online.- It is a short little story of a poor shoemaker who has lost his family. One day he hears a voice tell him that Christ will visit him tomorrow, but is surprised to see it happen in a different way than he expected. I recommend reading it. Great story.
One of the lessons that Leo Tolstoy seems to have found in his quest in this life, was that money could not buy peace, contentment or even lasting happiness. He wrote several stories of Russian peasants who had found this elusive peace. It hadn't been brought about by wealth and material things.

Another chapter in Phillip Yancey's book was on a Harvard Professor named Robert Coles. He was also a child psychiatrist who wrote a series of books called children of crisis. In this series he interviewed ordinary people and often children. He was trying to gain an honest perspective of how people lived. In the first four books he focused on poor people or those who wouldn't be considered wealthy. The final volume called The Privileged Ones is about the rich and well off in America.
His conclusions are similar to what Leo Tolstoy found. Money does not buy us happiness. That those who were lacking in material things were by far happier and better adjusted to life. One of the reasons he felt this was so, (and this point is often ignored by his peers) was their faith. Many of the people who lacked wealth, that he interviewed, had faith in God and often pointed to Him as the reason for their peace.

As I was reading these biographies a verse from Proverbs came to mind. ~...give me neither poverty nor riches...lest I be full and deny Thee and say, Who is the Lord? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain. Pr. 30:8-9~
It seems, to me, that in our society, as more and more people gain in material wealth, they turn away from God. As if they do not need Him. Those who have just enough to get by, know that they do indeed, need Him and turn to Him for their source of security. In Him, they find peace.....

As I look at my life and the things that I do have, I become more and more grateful for the life that He has given me. We have never had a lot. Certainly, more than many in this world. Honestly, though, it has always been just enough. Never more, never less. We have always known, Who provided that. We have found peace in that. Things would get tight and we would worry. But in the end, it would always be enough and we wondered why we had gotten so uptight about it.

So, as I mull all these thoughts around, I look around and see such wonderful gifts. I find them all around me. In the little House Wren that sat on a fence post just last evening, singing his cheery little song, as if it were  for me alone. The Indigo Bunting that came and showed off his brilliant blue feathers to us, nearly every day for several weeks. In the amazing green and growing things I am surrounded by and so desire to learn more about. In that very knowledge of them, He has allowed me to gain.

We love where we live. The four seasons are perfectly spaced, each with 3 months of their own. Even now, as I write this, I feel fall in the air, slowly inching it's way into summer. God has given us a piece of his Earth. I watch the trees, flowers, birds and even the insects and am filled with gratitude for His over abundance.

I look at my family and how much they care for one another and for Tim and I. I look at my smiling grandchildren as they reach out their arms for a hug from gramma. My heart is filled and overflowing, with no empty spaces.

I hear his voice bring me comfort as He speaks through the Psalms of David. I think of the Shepherd boy  and once king of Israel, that wrote them from the depths of his heart. A man, not so different from us. A man, who had learned to find his peace, in God his Father. He found that peace, while watching his father's sheep in the wilderness. The words written so long ago, are still so fitting for our lives today. I find so much comfort and understanding in this book.  reading schedule of Psalms I often follow

I am overwhelmed with all that He has given us. It is a Gift.

~ Either we are adrift in Chaos, or we are individuals, created, loved, upheld and placed purposefully,   exactly where we are. Can you believe that? Can you trust God for that? ~ Elizabeth Elliot

Eden will bloom

The dew drops hang thick and wet on the grasses casting a silver sheen on the fields.
 The slightest disturbance will send them, dripping, racing into rivers down each blade.
I wonder if this was like the days of Eden,
when the mist went up from the Earth and watered it daily.
The days of that perfect garden, have long since faded,
but the thought of it's mysterious beauty still bring wondering.
Still bring longing...a longing for the garden, once tended by man.
Longing, for it's untainted goodness and complete lack of evil,
for it's beauty, simplicity....perfection.

A time, when man communed and walked with his Creator,
a time, when they walked in the garden together.
Perhaps they talked of the plants there,
as I talk with my gardening friends.
Perhaps, God told them of each one's mysteries
and the specialties that they possessed.
Perhaps, they just enjoyed the splendor of that place,
and being with one another.
Perhaps...

But then, the serpent came
and he deceived her.
Maybe it was love, maybe it was misdirected,
but he took what she offered.
The serpent had won, the one rule had been broken.
For the first time, they saw... and shame filled their hearts.
They hid from Him, afraid to face Him,
afraid to acknowledge their sight, to admit their wrong.
And so saddened, He sent them away.

Banished from perfection.
Imagine...  the beauty they had lost,
imagine... the pain they must have felt.
When He called their names in the evening,
man hid himself from God...  for the first time.
The feeling of abandonment, when the garden was closed to them.
The loneliness, when his voice no longer called for them.
When Adam felt the thorns on his fingers and sweat dripped from his brow.
When she felt the pain of giving birth and cried out for His mercy.

Did they know of His ultimate plan
His plan to bring man home?
How could they understand what He would do, How could they know,
that He would send Himself; His son; to be with us?
In the form of that tiny baby, she held in her arms.
He would come into the ever growing cruelty of the world,
where blood would soon be spilled, by man's own hand.
Where pain unspeakable existed.
How could He do that? Why would He do that?

His Creation, was so precious to Him.
He wanted them back, to walk with Him again.
He missed them, their innocence and unquestioning love.
What He had breathed into being, meant more than they could ever know.
They caught a glimpse of it, in the smile of the baby,
knowing that from their bodies, came this being.
This tiny one, this little version of themselves.
But, they could not know, what it was to Create,
to breathe into dust, the breath of life.

He had a plan, a plan of redemption,
A plan, to bring man back, to the garden,
to the days of innocence, purity, love and endless light.
Before this could happen.... evil must play it's hand,
It must come to the end of itself.
Man must see his need of Him,
He must see the darkness, within himself.
He had to understand just what was needed,
He had to choose to see, to acknowledge, to turn, to love Him once again.

At the right time, one day, far into the future
He came.
He was with us once again.
Not everyone could see,
not everyone would believe, that God had really come.
That He gave Himself for us.
for those, who dared to believe,
For those, who looked upon Him, as He breathed his last mortal breath
for those, for those.... it was enough.

They believed with such a depth,
that upside down, they turned our world.
They would give all, to tell this dying sphere,
that God had come.
That He had come for us,
to finish what He had begun.
The seeds had been planted
the seeds of the garden,
Where man can walk with God once again.

We feel His presence and are ashamed,
as He calls our names, ever so quietly.
He reaches out His hand and beckons us,
He speaks with us and comforts us.
We commune together, in our souls,
"Come home," He says "I've missed you.
Come walk with me, in the cool of the day,
let's talk of the garden I am growing for you.
The Serpent will pay his due....and  Eden will bloom once again."



copyright (c) August,13 2012 Beth Wagenius

Herbal hunting

This summer has been very warm. For a while it was dry and hot, hot,hot! Finally, after our grass actually turned brown for the first time,  the rains came back. Greening up our small part of Appalachia once again. It was a relief to me. I always feel parched and tense in dry weather. The rains have 'hydrated' me once again. They are also just starting to fill the rivers a bit too. We stopped and ate our lunch the other day at the Roaring River Park near Gainsboro, TN. Being near water and watching it's flowing motion, always soothes me. Must be that hydration thing again.

On another day we went to a different part of the river and found some Pipsissewa. I had found this last year but at the time did not know what it was. When I find an unusual looking plant or one I think I may recognize from browsing herb and plant field guides, I take a picture of it and see if I can identify it when I get home. This one, I actually put on my facebook page and some herbal friends  ID'd it for me.

Recently,  I purchased a new herb book called Mountain Medicine by Darryl Patton. It is about the life, herbal studies and remedies of Alabama herbalist Tommie Bass. I am enjoying this book, savoring it slowly, as I've waited a very long time for it. When I'm finished I'll write a review here.

Pipsissewa is one of the herbs profiled in this book. So, knowing where it grows in abundance, I went back and gathered a bit to try. It has many uses, but the one I'm wanting it for is a general Tonic. That just means an herb that helps to build you up, strengthen and restore your health.
This is actually spotted pipsissewa although I'm not sure why it would be called that. Those look like stripes to me...
Anyway, I've gathered some and have a tincture going. We shall see if I like this herb or not. I have a personal preference to try each herb singularly to see how they work for me. I'm not a big fan of herbal mixtures with a lot of different herbs. I do mix them together after I've tried them individually and know how they work for me. Others however, do fine with the mixes. It is a personal choice. I just rather like to know how each herb is acting on my system. Maybe, it's simply a curious research thing...

On our way home we stopped at the store to grab a few things for supper. In the parking lot was this perfect, but (sadly) dead eastern tiger swallowtail or is it an Appalachian Tiger Swallowtail ? I simply could not tell the difference.

I am just a beginning student of butterflies so I know very little. They are so very graceful and beautiful. You just can't help but smile when you see one flitting across the yard.

In case anyone was wondering I placed it on magazine cover that was picturing human cells. The coloring in the background seems to make the butterfly stand out more.
It was the latest copy of Acts and Facts from the Institute of Creation Research. You can get a free subscribtion and it is an interesting and informative magazine.

This is my favorite treasure I've found this summer. Mountain Mint! I'm sure it has always been here but this is the first year I recognized it, for what it was. I spotted it driving to work one day. I was driving and Tim was reading. -He possesses that unique ability to read in a moving vehicle, while I most definitely do not.-  He gets a bit worried when I start spotting herbs or birds while driving, however.
I was pretty excited when I drove by, as I was sure this was what I had seen. We stopped, turned around and went back. Tim, quickly jumped out and picked me a bit.  I could instantly tell by the smell that yes, I had found mountain mint. The next day I went out back for a walk in our woods and there it was. Just as if to say, "It's about time you found me."
This is an herb which is also profiled in the book Mountain Medicine. It is used for coughs, colds, sinusitis, bronchitis and even asthma. When you smell it you can easily understand why. It smells just like Vicks Mentholatum salve. It can be used as an herbal steam or taken internally. Just boil some leaves, turn the heat off, hold a towel over your head and the still steaming pot and  breath in deeply. (be careful not to get too close or the steam could burn you) You should start to feel your head clear right away. You could also make a cup of tea, drink it while wrapped up in a warm blanket and this should induce a sweat.
Or, you could just drink the tea. I haven't tasted it yet, but all of the mint family, of which this is a part, taste wonderful with plenty of fresh honey! My hunch is this will be strong flavored. I am anxious to try this next cold season. -Not anxious to catch a cold!- But, I'm always ready for the cure.



~ "I always did believe that God never did make no mistakes. He never made anything He didn't make a remedy for. The Lord's put something out there if we would only get out there and hunt it." ~ Tommie Bass

                           (the book Mountain Medicine was written about his life.)