Tag Archives: learning

Discovering Hyssop: A Versatile Herb for Spring Cleaning (and the first plant in our mini-series!)

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Well. It happened. I didn’t think it would ever happen, but it did. It happened quickly and was painless. It was sooner than expected, based on what seemed to be happening, but then… all of a sudden… we have spring! Somehow, out of no where, came a warm front and a few rain showers: and our snow has finally melted! Well, most of it has melted, anyway. You can smell it in the air, you can feel the above zero temperatures, you can just sense the world awakening again, and you can see green! The girls have flown the coop and are out digging up the ground again. Life seems good. Except.

The current state of the barn… 5 inches deep in water!

Except, that all the snow melting has created a lot of water. A lot. Our fields are mostly squishy, spongy grass and mini lakes. Where there isn’t a lake, there is still a pile of snow. The sump pump has been working non-stop, so our basement is (thankfully) dry. The barn, however, is a completely different story. It is a mess. For some reason, the drains are still frozen underground and there is about 5 inches of water everywhere. We’ve tried shop vacuuming, we tried pumping it out, but because of the slopes to the drains, those lakes keep pooling back in. It is just “yuck”. Chicken and rabbit mess is softening into a sludge and everything is wet. Soaked, in fact. We will have to assess real damage when things get dried out a bit. My poor bunnies are propped up on a pallet and out of the water, but I can’t let them free roam until things dry out a bit. I am sure they are miserable, but I don’t know what else to do. Time should help… but it is supposed to be raining all day today and into the night, and then cold again?! So who knows. Yes, spring is here, but so is all that spring brings.

So. That was a very long introduction to my next thoughts: because it is finally spring, and traditionally we do a little theme for blog-a-versary, (which I didn’t do yet) I’ve decided let’s do it. And, because it is spring and it has been a very long winter, I’ve decided to bring some colour, and brightness and new life into this little theme for us for the next few weeks… drumroll… let’s focus on flowers!! Sound good? Great. I’m on it. And for some reason, my first plant I wanna learn about is hyssop.

I know nothing about hyssop. It’s in the Bible. The rest I had to look up. Therefore, according to the great inter web…Hyssop is a very versatile herb, often used in Mediterranean dishes and traditionally known for “purification”. Apparently, the oils are often used to help respiratory issues. My chickens and bunnies may need it after all this water and dampness. I’m praying they don’t catch colds.

Hyssop is pretty, actually. They say it is in the mint family. A tiny blue-purple flower, in a spiky little bush… typical “herb”. Probably spreads like crazy given the right space. Oh… it says the flowers can be red, pink or white too. Nice. I’m not sure why this one was my first choice in our little series… maybe it’s a God thing that I won’t know about until it gets shared with me, but hyssop it is.

So, let’s look at it’s biblical references, shall we? Apparently the “hyssop” as described in ancient times is not the common herb found in the middle east today. It was likely a different aromatic herb like oregano or capers. Still, shrubby fragrant plant with healing properties… Sniff ’em all for good measure. Traditionally “cleanse me with hyssop” is a phrase you’ll see in Biblical references. Those antiseptic properties maybe, but sources say it was more “figurative” than literal cleansing. I suppose only because it was chosen as the instrument for marking doors at Passover, and it was the type of stick on which the sponge of liquid was given to Jesus on the cross…. so it all got associated through time as representing “cleansing of sins” (which of course no plant can do on it’s own). But there ya have it.

Hyssop was likely a good one to start with considering the state of my property. There is plenty of water, but not much of it is good for “cleansing”. It’s muddy, defiled and stagnant. Spring reminds us of new life and new beginning, but it’s only once all that snow, muck and mess is purified. Cleansed, if you will. I’m looking forward to getting the power washer out and hosing down a few things so my bunnies can get back to running around, and the grass actually looks green again and fresh. The snow melt has unearthed some unpleasant surprises, and I am ready for the clean up. Perhaps hyssop should be in the repertoire. What should we look up next, friends? Drop me a comment!

Technology, Blogging, and Unwavering Faith

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Welcome back to another episode of my little world on this corner of the internet. It’s been a hot minute! And we have celebrated another blog-a-versary!! Do you realize we’ve been doing this for eight! count them eight! long years? That’s that obnoxious age where kids start to smell funny but don’t have real jobs yet with responsibilities and life is just stupid potty jokes. Am I super famous? No. Have I ever gone viral? No. Do I have a tonne of followers? No. And l’m inclined to say that I never will. Why? More than likely because not too many people know about us (besides the friends I casually mention I wrote a blog — thanks friends ;)) and not too many people really wanna hear about our escapades on Itsnotta Farm — and they especially don’t wanna hear about my Christian world view. Well… they might if I debated or dabbled in political hot spots or great controversies or flaming topics. But I don’t.

Oh, we touch on the occasional hot spot or news flash. I celebrate a few events (yeah family day weekend!) We do a few specials and host a few contests, but mostly, I just self journal, and you all get to share in it. And that’s okay. I think about when I first started mittonmusings.com. I did it to learn about coding, websites, internet and a bit of tech. That didn’t work much… this week I had to ask how to update my phone. I blame it on too many photos of chickens and grand baby. Which means it’s not my fault, right?

Photo by cottonbro studio on Pexels.com

….and this is where my entire finished post just vanished when I went to upload and publish it! Grrr. See? Technology sucks. Now, do I remember what I wrote about? It won’t be as good as when it first came out… but here it is. Again. Writers, this happens, right?

Where was I? I fear. I fear for my kids and my grand kids who will have to live in a world where reality is blurred. Where A.I. has made real what is not, and what is not is made real. Where gender and traditional roles and food and money is no longer real. And the fear comes because this will be “normal” for them. I fear for my older family members who know this is not normal, but have to deal with it anyway, because that’s the way society is going. And we are being swept along.

Do you remember the days where we balanced our cheque BOOKS with a real pen and paper? Now I am beginning to think that A.I. could handle that too (for $19.95 a month mind you). I think I should start stashing $20 bucks under my mattress for a rainy day. It may get me to where I need to be faster. Or maybe not. Cash is going out the window too… but gold bars are too heavy to store under my mattress.

Even the church will be blurred. There will be no separation of church and state. Our world views will become intolerant and silenced. No, I don’t dabble in the political, because I don’t like it. There’s too much, well, there’s too much politics. Yet, I have said it here many times, God’s got this.

If we believe our faith to be true; and I believe it is; then I believe that our never failing God has a plan, and He knows where all this will end up. He knows the direction we are headed, and He’ll be there at the end of it. Me? I am learning to be gracious in this fast paced world (aka my #wordoftheyear) which means I have to slow down every now and then and smile at someone, or take the time to listen. I don’t think A.I. has really got a hold of that yet. People still count for something.

And the God who is faithful from the beginning is still in charge. He is the same, yesterday, today and forever. Talking donkeys, talking robots. It’s funny, when I started this post, I was looking for a prompt or a verse to get me started… and then the words just flow out… and then the words had to change and adapt and get written again because I lost it all. Which frustrated me, but reminds me again that technology dictates a lot. Still, my words are my own, and although it may never be famous, I think mittonmusings.com gets written because God uses it to touch someone, somewhere, somehow. Even the second time ’round. So, if that’s you, please drop me line and let me know to encourage my soul….

(and ease my pain at technology)

Lessons from Nature: Coping with Deep Freezes

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Hello again from the land of snow and ice and extreme temperatures! It seems like we’re beginning to reach the end of the tunnel — the sun showed itself for a few moments yesterday — but I don’t think we’re out of the woods yet. Those groundhogs were lucky they didn’t predict six more weeks of winter, though. I think there would have been a revolt from people here in our little part of the earth. So done with snow!

I meant to get started on my seeds this weekend… but that didn’t happen either. Grandbaby is over today, so amidst sing songs and snack breaks, here we are back to blogging! I was thinking about the deep freeze. We were talking about how trees can explode in extreme temperatures. My socials are all about frost bitten chicken combs and how invasive iguanas are falling out of trees in Florida. Ice crystals in the sky and the constant sound of snowmobilers in our fields. The parking lot at our local downhill ski lift has been full lately… a fact I am sure they are grateful for! Crazy!

Yes, if you live in a place where winter tends to hit every now and then… you have certainly felt it this year! I watched a few videos on this tree exploding thing, and apparently it is when extreme temperature drops freeze the sap running inside of the tree, causing it to expand and pop the bark open. Apparently, it can sound as loud as a gunshot and create a frost crack in the tree… leaving it susceptible to damage and disease. I’ll try and find a link or picture to leave with you:

Thanks barlett.com for the photo. There are other videos of the explosions… but I am told they don’t really shatter…only produce these scars….so trust what you will!

In any case, it had me musing… Are we not like our fellow forest dwellers? Most days, our “insides” just flow along happily. We have our ups and downs, but we maintain our outer appearances and deal with most of what life throws at us. Yet, on occasion, there are times when a sudden drop in temperature takes us off our guard and we simply freeze up. Perhaps anxiety does it. Perhaps the surprise of the situation catches us unprepared. Perhaps it is just too much for us to handle… and we crack. And every one knows it, because it makes a lot of noise. Or folks see the resulting damage days or years later. It bears scars.

Have you been through one of those deep freezes, my friend? Have you felt your insides explode? Do you bear the scars? May I be the first to tell you, you are not alone. The tree people tell us “exploding trees” are a lot more common than I have ever heard about. And second, I have seen the scars on trees…. and discovered most have survived the crisis. Damaged yes, but not broken.

God gives us these moments to grow our character. How boring would a forest look with a bunch of straight poled, smooth barked trees lined up in it? It’d be like walking among fence posts. I’m sure you’ve heard of wabi sabi… beauty in imperfection. For who wants boring perfection? Just think about the disciples… a band of misfits who went on to do great things! Did you know corn flakes were a mistake? I can’t help but think of all the ways my “imperfections” in life have transformed my character to be so much more empathetic. I’ve been there, I know. You can’t say that unless you have been there… and have lived to bear the scars afterward.

Needless to say, the tree standing out in the cold freezing from the inside out, doesn’t see the beauty in the crack until the spring comes, and the sap runs sweet again. Let’s not deny the pain of the “going through”. The point where we “explode”. It’s only after we hit bottom do we start to climb up again. When our feet are firmly planted. Then we can begin the climb — changed, but for the better.

So next time you’re out for a winter walk through the forest, take a peek at a few exploded trees, notice the scars, and be thankful you recognized pain, and the recovery.