This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it,” Psalm 118:24. Another glorious day but a scorcher and the humidity showed up and showed out. I watered my flowers and vegetables and the sweat dripped down my face and burned my eyes. Cleaned the bird baths and put fresh water in them but I didn’t fill up the bird feeders. Meant to fill them but waited too late and didn’t want to run into the rogue dogs or the raccoon so I’ll do it tomorrow morning. The birds are spoiled. I usually fill the feeders when they’re half full of seeds but they have plenty of seeds in the feeders even if I don’t fill them tomorrow.

Had a good rain this afternoon, heavy enough to get the grass greening and the cucumbers plumping. I watched the rain pour down and refresh the parched Earth. Water is such a valuable resource and something we all take for granted. Don’t you know the growing things are grateful for the cooling rain on these blazing hot summer days. The oak trees on my street are dropping brown leaves and some of the bamboo fronds are turning yellow and falling from the stems. The bamboo stood erect enjoying the rain shower, letting rain run like rivers down their canes and fronds directing the rain to their roots. Read that bamboo is now an invasive species in Alabama. It’s certainly invasive in my back yard. One day I’m going to get bold and have it mulched down to the creek. I could have a great garden down there.

Had supper from my garden tonight — my first tomato, made a bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich from it with loose leaf lettuce and slab bacon. Then made yellow squash french fries and had vinegar cucumbers on the side. There is no taste as delicious as fresh vegetables picked from your garden, going straight to your stove, then straight to your dinner table.

Mother Nature showed her God given talent as a watercolor artist tonight. She certainly has a gift when she picks up her brushes and the colors on her palette are wondrous. The horizon was ablaze with apricot peachy-red watercolor brush strokes. The sun beamed her rays as a bright silver light when she approached the horizon. As the apricot watercolors continued to wash across the sky, the sun stepped on the horizon’s crest in a hot pink sequined formal gown. Father Sky walked on stage in a burnt orange leisure suit and white silk shirt from his 1960’s closet. The sun, embarrassed by Father Sky’s leisure suit, reluctantly took his hand and they walked down the horizon as the gathering clouds began soaking up watercolors in shades of purple and blue and violet and pink. So pretty to watch as the colorful clouds filled the sky, gently turned translucent, and faded away.

As the twilight tip-toed down my street, the night’s darkness nipping at his heels, Mother Nature painted the sky a pale cotton candy pink and silhouetted black the old magnolia and oak trees. The lightning bugs crawled out from under the damp leaves and greening grass blades and began to turn on their nightlights. Father Sky kissed the pouting sun goodnight and left smiling as he went to wake the moon and stars. The day had dimmed and the night came awake, brightened by the luminous moon and twinkling stars. “End your day with a smile, a happy thought, and a grateful heart,” Clint Walker.

Pilfering through my scrap papers of quotes tonight I came across this quote by Marcel Proust. One of my favorites! “Let us be grateful to people who make us happy. They are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” My family and friends make me happy and bring joy to my life as does my faith. A good gardener tends to the needs of his garden by watering the plants, fertilizing the soil, pulling the weeds, harvesting the crop. You have to be vigilant or the garden will be overtaken by weeds or die from lack of water.

Our faith needs caring like a garden, too. 1 Corinthians 3:8-9 reads, “The one who plants and the one who waters have the same purpose, and each will be rewarded for his own work. We are God’s workers, working together; you are like God’s farm, God’s house.”We have to cultivate a relationship with God through prayer and studying the scripture or our faith will wither and die.

God never gives up on us and is continually encouraging our spiritual growth. God sends the sun and rain for our gardens. We nourish our faith by reading the scriptures and by serving the Lord. He answers our prayers and takes the weeds of our worries away. We reap the harvest of our faith through God’s grace and the promise of eternal life.

“The kiss of the sun for pardon, the song of the birds for mirth, one is nearer God’s heart in a garden than anywhere else on earth.” — Dorothy Frances Gurney