I Feel Amish

I feel Amish.

We are having a wedding/garden reception for Annie and Adam next weekend.  The project list has been exhausting.  Partially, the weather has created so many gardening challenges.  For example, last week all my roses were in bloom.  Then, came the heat and thunder showers and washed them away.  Red petals speckled the freshly laid mulch.  This was just not the look I was anticipating.

Each morning I awaken and run outside to check my flowers and hanging baskets.  Because of the unexpected heat wave, they look exhausted.  I deadhead, fertilize, and pray over all my gardens telling them that next weekend is their debut.  I do have a wonderful garden guest named Jacob.  He is a black , warty toad that lives in my water feature.  I hand dig him worms and feed him.  I have taught my granddaughters to do the same.  They think he is a delight.  Jacob hops along beside me as I pull weeds and transplant flowers.  He and I are gardening pals for the summer.  

I have a snake visitor in my shade garden.  He hides in the shadows and slinks about my coral bells, hosta, and violets.  I only hope he never comes to Jacob’s garden mound.   Since Denny found Slinky Sam in our backyard, I worry about sweet Jacob.

Today I cleaned all the drawers and under bathroom cabinets.  I do hope guest peek in my tidy drawers.  I have tried to put needed guest items in the baths for my visiting family members.  That is why I feel Amish.  I am cleaning and readying for sister from New York, Annie and Adam from Seattle, and Christine and John and girls from Fort Wayne.  I have made casseroles and desserts ahead and have them in the freezer.  Today I washed linens and quilts to freshen the beds.  Here I am in suburbia Muncie doing the same thing the ladies are doing on the farm in Napanee.  

Women have such commonalities.  We are the ones who worry about folding the towels, so they look decorative.  We put flowers in vases to share God’s creation. We clean windows, bookshelves, and wash the crystal preparing for guest.  It is important to me that my guests feel welcome, so I work hard at making everything appealing, clean, and comfortable.  I guess it is just a women’s nature to reach out to others by tidying her nest.  

Because of getting ready for my family and friends , I have been busy and again neglected my blog.  I know that after this week of “to do” lists and the finale of the wedding party, I will be eager to write and share more of what makes our lives worth living.  Until then, I will just share my stories with Jacob and Slinky Sam and prepare them for the relatives and seventy visitors next  Saturday.

Toad Tales

Toad Tales

It is time. I must write, reflect, and disclose my toad tales. Since I was a small child, I have been attracted to toads and frogs. Do you know the difference? Let me explain that frogs live by the water, jump high, are usually brighter green, and have a slimy, smooth skin. Toads don’t need to live near the water, are plumper, have big football shaped eyes, and run or takes small hops to escape. Their plump little bodies just seem cuddly and begging to be held. They are soft, and mushy. The feeling is similar to the shaggy, rubber balls sold at toy stores today. I bet the designer had known a toad.


I remember when I was pregnant with our first born, I would turn the back porch light on to attract nocturnal insects. Then, in my giant while nightgown that fit over my bulging belly, I would grab insects from the light and feed to the toads that lived in my ferns. It was my nurturing nature being fulfilled by timid toads.
When I garden, toads are my friends. They eat the bad beetles and menacing mosquitoes. Squeals of delight can be heard by my backyard neighbors. The reason? I have found Mr. Kudunk hiding under the golden nasturtiums. He hugs his dark, warty body to the earth. He is camouflaged from others, but not me. I grab him and tell him how cute he is. I give him a little squeeze and a kiss on his sweet, soft mouth and tuck him under the leaves of chard. He just makes my heart happy. I hope I have done the same for him. He is one of my favorite creatures made and designed by God.


Another delight I have discovered in toads is their wide low set eyes. They sometimes sleep with the lid half shut and half open. I observe them from my glider on my front patio. Here they prefer living by the splashing fountain and bayberry bushes. They hop, but not high like frogs. They move from place to place and sit and watch me as I watch them. We have a united community. They catch the mosquitoes, and I get to swing longer and watch the sunset.


I give ode to the toad. I value his design, his purpose, and his importance to the earth. For the world is a nasty place, it has fertilizers, pesticides, and pollutants that threaten his life. Toads have few predators. He is divinely equipped with skin that lets out a bitter taste and smell that burns eyes and nostrils of his predators, much like a skunk does. I relate closely to that offense. When anyone attacks my kids and loved ones, I too send words that might burn their eyes or even penetrate their hearts. They back away quickly. I am not proud of my sharp remarks, but please don’t threaten or degrade my loved ones.


One last eccentric pastime is naming my toads. There is Alford, Maria, San Lucia, and Gramps that I have cherished this summer. I call them by name when I pick them up and give them a hug. I don’t need a photo of Mr. Kudunk or the others because their picture in my heart will live forever.