I'm Going to Be Peachy

I've wanted to write a thousand times, but I couldn't find a re-entry point.

This peach is my "hello".

Every day this little sucker bonked me in the head. And I smiled. Forgot to duck. Waited for this first legitimate, full-size, amazing fruit from our tree!

But it was damaged.

I was so shocked when I realized, I refused to pick it. Just let it hang, looking beautiful. Hitting me in the head every time I passed. Like a disappointing reminder.

What causes this kind of damage to a peach?

Life.

The answer is "life". It happens.

I feel like this two-sided-perfect-with-a-gaping-hole-peach. I've endured debilitating pain. I can fill in the blank with my story, "_________ hurt me". What about you?

Like this peach, I am wounded. Aching. Lost. Alone. Damaged. But I am also Beautiful. Wanted. Looked forward to. Life-giving. Soft. Belonging. I am both.

Nothing can ever restore this peach. A piece of it is gone. There are simply things that can't heal. I have to accept. Grieve. Wait. They look ugly.

And I don't want to look ugly. It's hard to go through the ugly part of life. 

So what's the solution? For irreparable, miracle-resistant damage...

Release.

I set this guy in the compost bin. And as much as I hate to say it, maybe letting what's broken transform into something else is a worthy solution. A second chance in a different form. Metaphorically speaking, the vision of what undamaged Me would have accomplished can fade away (because it's actually gone) as I wrap my arms around the future.

Once I overcame my disappointment and actually PICKED the broken peach, I realized there was another hidden just behind.

Undamaged. Waiting. Delicious. Honestly, I'd expected them all to be spoiled.

Perfection.

"Look at the birds... they do not sow, neither do they reap ... and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?" -Jesus

Much of my damage came from a painful reaction to an antibiotic called Levaquin/Cipro. I'm sure the chemist who created this antibiotic never intended it to cause potentially permanent harm to anyone. I'm told, when fluoroquinolone antibiotics were introduced, medical science didn't even have the ability to study mitochondrial DNA. The chemist is like a bird, going about business, not intending to turn me into a nibbled up peach but inadvertently causing damage.

Some pain we experience comes from circumstances beyond our control. Other comes from wrong choices we actually make.

Either way, finding the silver lining after a wound is a slow process. It's been five years, three months and a day since my last blog post but I'm happy to finally be here.

Blessings again,
Kristi

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Timing is Everything (Planting in the Desert)

To plant a seed is to predict the future. As a gardener, I'm a prophet of sorts. I can point to bare earth and say, "In four months this empty space will be glorious!" I love to drive through the Biltmore Resort and survey their lush garden beds; but if I see a profusion of petunias in spring it's not a good idea to head home and plant petunia seeds. Spring blooms need to be planted months earlier. In Arizona, my contemplative cherub is surrounded by Bachelor Button flowers in April because I sprinkled a handful of itsy seeds in a bed of compost last December. 

 Plant Bachelor Button seed in December for spring blooms in the desert (sun to part-sun).

Nasturtium is brightening my patio in April because I planted 3 plump seeds in January (plant Oct-Jan in sun). Timing is everything!

In April my tomatoes are plump and green. I've only harvested a few mature, red fruit. Young seedlings should move to sunny garden beds by Valentine's Day (St. Patrick's Day if the frosts pass early). I often continue transplanting large tomato plants into my garden thru May. Cover them with 40% shade cloth when the temps rise above 95 degrees, and they will take a break from fruit production but continue root and stem development. As soon as temps cool down, in early fall, tomatoes will begin producing again until a winter freeze.

Peace is a well-suited climbing rose for the desert and blooms reliably each spring. Plant in part-sun. Water slow and deep. Fertilize every two weeks in early-fall and spring, only once a month in summer. Bend old canes horizontally to force a row of new vertical shoots to sprout from each cane. Every new vertical shoot will  produce beautiful blooms!

In April tiny clusters form on Red Flame grape. Can you see them now? The juicy red, seedless grapes will be ripe in early summer.

In spring I like to transplant Victoria Blue Salvia farinacea (six-packs or gallon pots from the nursery). If I keep them well watered thru the summer, I'm l still enjoying their vibrant blooms at Christmas! The stalks are beautiful in bouquets.

Florida Prince Peach has begun to bloom. Soon it will fill in with leaves and set fruit which will ripen in mid-summer. Early spring's a wonderful time to plant fruit trees.

It's time to plant Sunflower and Zinnia seeds (April-May & July-Oct in sun or part-sun). You can't see them blooming today, but you can predict them into existence for your tomorrows. Veggie Planting Calendar.
Flower Planting Guide for the desert.

It rained in my desert garden today.
See it?