Category Archives: Gardening

Theology in a Dry Spell

Posted on May 31, 2012 by Doc Arnett

I pray for a long night
and a following day
of slow, seeping rain Continue reading →

Posted in Christian Living, Farming, Gardening, Nature, Poetry, Prayer, Spiritual Contemplation | Tagged believing, disappointment, drought, faith, faith in hard times, rain | Comments Off

Toward Peace

Posted on May 29, 2012 by Doc Arnett

We sit, then, sipping cold drinks
and watching the moon slip its way
into the branches of the pin oak. Continue reading →

Posted in Aging, Christian Living, Death & Dying, Family, Gardening, Nature, Poetry, Relationships, Spiritual Contemplation | Tagged closeness, conversation, evening, gardening, hope, peace, resting, talking, twilight | Comments Off

I was reminded recently of an old, old truth: When we learn how to turn misfortune into opportunity, we have touched one of the great secrets of victorious living. Over the years, I’ve learned that a tool or machine is like an attitude: sometimes the best way to fix one is to just get a new one. Now, this is not an election-year story of rags to riches or of fame to shame. Just a man and his mower. Well, former mower… Continue reading →

Posted in Christian Living, Farming, Gardening, Humor, Spiritual Contemplation | Tagged attitude, breakdown, broken mower, challenge, John Deere, John Deere D140, John Deere lawn mower, mowing, mowing the lawn, opportunity, optimism, riding mower | Comments Off

A Whisper of Faith

Posted on April 3, 2012 by Doc Arnett

ool air eases in through the window,
something less than a breeze,
just a soft flowing of the night. Continue reading →

Posted in Aging, Christian Living, Farming, Gardening, Nature, Poetry, Relationships, Spiritual Contemplation | Tagged breeze, cutting grass, faith, future, home, horses, memory, moon, moonlight, open window, past, peace, power, rest, sleep, strength | Comments Off

Purpose Driven Life

Posted on March 28, 2012 by Doc Arnett

Spring has surged
so green and sudden
that the Bradford pears
have already gone
from bloom to leaf. Continue reading →

Posted in Christian Living, Gardening, Nature, Poetry, Spiritual Contemplation | Tagged bearing fruit, blooming, crabapple, fruit trees, gardening, nature, peach tree, planting, roses, spring | Comments Off

Unseasonable

Posted on January 6, 2012 by Doc Arnett

For the second time in a week, we reached sixty degrees yesterday. At the time of year when our normal high temperatures are in the teens, we’re looking at another week of the forties. The day started out with ominous omens. Continue reading →

Posted in Christian Living, Farming, Gardening, Nature, Spiritual Contemplation | Tagged budding, fruit trees, January, stinkbugs, timely, warm weather | Comments Off

Taking a Stand

Posted on August 30, 2011 by Doc Arnett

I had thought it was a completely rational idea to have the horses keep the grass “mowed” on the state right-of-way. It would save gas, give the horses extra grazing they needed and, in the long run, save me time. So I put up a temporary extension fence down by the highway. Continue reading →

Posted in Christian Living, Farming, Gardening, Spiritual Contemplation, Work | Tagged fencing, grazing, highway, horse fence, Johnson Grass, mowing, pasture, repentance, state right of way | Comments Off

Gutter Check

Posted on August 22, 2011 by Doc Arnett

With skies darkening and the forecast calling for thunderstorms, I made sure that the flexible extension tube was connected to the elbow at the bottom of the downspout. “Ready for rain now,” I thought, Continue reading →

Posted in Christian Living, Gardening, Remodeling/Construction, Spiritual Contemplation, Work | Tagged clogged gutters, downspout, flower beds, gutters, gutters stopped up, landscaping, overflow, planters, storms | Comments Off

Summer Snow

Posted on July 25, 2011 by Doc Arnett

These almost-lighter-than-air seeds of the cottonwood tree drift away, showing no sign of breeze. For four days or longer, there has been no stirring of the air, no fluttering of leaves. The seeds slide slowly to the earth in the oppressive heat, catch against an edge of turf, old posts or planks, whatever disrupts the smooth edge of the earth.

Continue reading →

Posted in Christian Living, Farming, Gardening, Nature, Spiritual Contemplation, Teaching, Work | Tagged cottonwood, cottonwood seeds, determination, drifts, faith, harvest, odds, persistence, planting, snow, summer | Comments Off

Fresh-Milled Memories

Posted on November 5, 2010 by Doc Arnett

I remember early autumns of my adolescence, helping make cider on the farm and in Kelvie Nicholson’s orchard, swapping turns at the heavy crank.

Tonight, for the first time, I miss my Dad.
Continue reading →

Posted in Aging, Christian Living, Death & Dying, Farming, Gardening, Relationships, Spiritual Contemplation | Tagged apple cider, children, death of father, death of parent, memories, parents, pear cider, separation | Comments Off