Friday, March 10, 2006, 20:23
Sweeping Up Bales of Hay
I should have known this would happen when I covered up the mum and the rosebush last fall with flakes of hay.
The mum and the rosebush are along the south wall next to the door of our walk-out basement. I wanted to make sure that the mum and the rosebush would stay warm over the winter and not freeze out -- so I put many layers of hay over and around them.
Last year, the barn kitties tunneled in by the rosebush, made a snug little nest next to the wall and almost killed the bush because they exposed it to the freezing winter air. That's not to say the rosebush will make it over winter this year, either, but I wanted to cover it up with a thick layer to give it a fighting chance.
Then one day, Charlie, our Springer Spaniel, decided that the pile of hay by the basement door, directly in the sun on cold, sunny, winter afternoons, was the perfect place to take a nap.
And, seeing as Charlie is a dog, he did what dogs like to do -- scratch in the material they are going to lay down on and make a nest out of it.
Consequently, about half of the hay over the mum has been transferred to the step in front of the basement door. (Charlie likes to nap on the step, too.)
And since the hay is in front of the door, everybody who goes in the basement -- me, Randy, Charlie, the kitties -- drags in stems of hay that end up scattered on the concrete basement floor.
I wonder how many dustpans of hay chaff and hay stems I have swept up since I covered the rosebush and mum last fall? Every day I go downstairs, pick up my trusty broom, and away I go. It will be mid-April before I can haul the hay away, so I will have to keep sweeping for a while yet.
It will be May before I know whether my 10-year-old rosebush survived the winter.
If the rosebush did not survive, I cannot complain. For the last 10 years it has bloomed profusely in mid-summer and again in the fall. I have enjoyed many roses from that bush over the years.
And if it did not survive, I already know what I am going to plant there -- wild rose bushes. Many wild rose bushes are growing in the ditch in sand and gravel just north of our house along the dirt road. At least I don't have to worry about covering wild rose bushes, and I don't have to worry whether they will survive the winter.
I will still cover the mum, though.
After all, Charlie needs a place to take a nap on a sunny winter day!
LeAnn R. Ralph
Thursday, March 09, 2006, 20:27
Amazing Grace -- How Sweet the Sound
I have always liked the hymn Amazing Grace, but after the Lenten service at our little country church Wednesday night during which our pastor told us about the hymn and its composer, the words carry even more meaning.
Amazing Grace was written by John Newton, who was born in 1725 and died in 1807. At the age of 11, Newton went to work at sea on a ship. By the time he was 21, he was the captain of a slave ship.
As many as 600 young African men would be purchased from their tribal chiefs with items such as beads and liquor and would be loaded into the ship to be carried away as slaves. During the journey, sometimes a hundred or more of them would die from starvation and dehydration.
During one voyage, the ship was struck by a terrible storm, and during the storm, Newton found God. He ultimately quit his job as the captain of a slave ship and became a clergyman. Over the years, he wrote hundreds of hymns, one of which was Amazing Grace.
When Newton wrote that "amazing grace saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now am found; was blind, but now I see" -- he was referring to his former occupation as the captain of a slave ship.
Referring to the storm at sea, Newton wrote: "How precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed. . .Through many dangers, toils, and snares I have already come. Tis grace has brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home."
So -- the next time you hear Amazing Grace or have the opportunity to sing it, think of John Newton, the former captain of a slave ship.
I know I will.
LeAnn R. Ralph