This time of year the work day is eased into analyzing aggregate reports, research on other wellness programs, event planning, and networking for the year. I like the slower pace which last about 4 – 6 weeks in December into January. It is when I finally have the employee wellness events booked on the calendar. Yes, forecasting at least 9 months ahead. It is much like a teacher and his/hers curriculum planning during the summer for the next school year. It will be another busy year at St. Louis County, the busyness starting next week with several meetings and a health fair.
Much the same as with the farmer, his/hers planning for the spring and autumn crops is done during the frigid cold months. My father was a tree farmer, and the winter was filled with book work and ordering of a new stock of plant liners. My siblings and I would plant 100’s of plant saplings through the spring; lots of hoeing, weeding, and watering in the summer; and autumn a few more plantings and prepping the pines for the holiday harvest.
I cannot say Deanna Greens And Garden Art has quite the planning of a full-time farmer. The greenhouse is a hobby of Dean and I’s while we work full-time. Our part-time organic herb and vegetable growing is fragrantly and deliciously rewarding while the beautiful geranium blossoms are pleasing to the eyes. During Dean and I’s Nashville mini-vacation in December, we toured the Belle Meade Plantation. Each room in the historic house was festively decorated with period Christmas ware, with the kitchen set in the 20’s. The kitchen is my favorite room. And there set a terra cotta pot of red geraniums in the windowsill, again another favorite of mine. A vintage flower.
The subzero wind chill has me hibernating today. I wanted snow, but not this frigid cold stuff. God forgives my absence in church, and He knows my severe allergy to the cold. Early morn I went outdoors in my pjs, robe, socks, and slippers to let our Labrador into the fenced yard, not realizing just how cold it had gotten over night. It dropped 30 degrees in less than 12 hours. My joints have been screaming about it since 7:00am. The daily antihistamine did not take much of an edge off the symptoms, so I took an extra dosage this afternoon. Drinking lots of hot herbal tea while I watch cooking and gardening shows, write, and read …
“RED GERANIUMS”
Life did not bring me silken gowns,
Nor jewels for my hair,
Nor signs of gabled foreign towns
In distant countries fair,
But I can glimpse, beyond my pane, a green and friendly hill,
And red geraniums aflame upon my window sill.
The brambled cares of everyday,
The tiny humdrum things,
May bind my feet when they would stray,
But still my heart has wings
While red geraniums are bloomed against my window glass,
And low above my green-sweet hill the gypsy wind-clouds pass.
And if my dreamings ne’er come true,
The brightest and the best,
But leave me lone my journey through,
I’ll set my heart at rest,
And thank God for home-sweet things, a green and friendly hill,
And red geraniums aflame upon my window sill.
by Martha Haskell Clark
From Dean and Anna Gall’s home to yours, love and blessings that overflow this 2016.
g have a few secrets they would like no one to know. No one is exempt from the stinky secrets. And if you think you are, then help and support the person who is not perfect rather than casting the stones. If the truth be told, the stories go like this … your married colleague had an emotional affair with the boss, the brother-in-law, the postman … or did it go further? God knows. Or how about the man whose wife caught him having an internet affair on a porn site? Or the real live children and women exploited on the web, many unknowingly, secretly photographed by perverts? Guarantee there is a story behind how these photo subjects got there. One could hear the gossip of that neighbor or co-worker, yet never ask for the truth. The gossip just spreads until the truth is marred. How about the assaults that happen on campus, at work, or even in homes with more threats to follow? Bullying can happen among families as well. What about the unloved wife, what the Bible labels an abomination? Her husband wants to have an “open marriage” despite their marital vows to purity. Or the spouse who cleverly justifies their spending addictions? How about your battle with a spouse’s drinking problem, or yours? Or the woman whose husband refuses to provide for his family, sits at home in depression, poor and pitiful? Or the relative battling with an addiction to prescription pain killers, or the person living with constant pain because they cannot afford a doctor’s care? A secret eating disorder or gambling problem? The stories go on … Don’t have to look far for the faults of your brother, but how about fixing your own? If you still think you are exempt, then pray for the rest of us, please. God, through Jesus and the guidance of the Holy Spirit make us “as pure, as white as snow” in 2016.
While in Nashville we visited the Grand Ole Opry Resort, dazzled by the lights of Christmas among a jungle of green foliage and the marble white nativity contrasted in the December darkness. Amidst these shorter days, God’s love shows bright despite the world’s darkness. I will focus on His Light of Love these long nights.
rns have greened very nicely and have grown larger over the fairly mild summer. These ferns grow like bushes in warmer climates like Texas and California. They are very sensitive to cold breezes, so another project before the cold sets in. Next weekend I will transplant the two largest hanging pots of asparagus fern into a large ceramic pot before bringing it into the warmth of home. The r
emaining four hanging pots and smaller seedlings will continue to grow under the plant lights over winter. The little berries are easily sprouted in moist soil for more seedlings. We have plenty, and always willing to share our surplus. Deanna Greens And Garden Art continues to evolve..
Deanna Greens and Garden Art 
