Summer Harvest

Thankful to see the fruit of one's labor (because you don't always get to)

Since the fall in the Garden of Eden, work — even good work — gets tainted with toil. As much as I love my animals, I don’t always feel like refilling the water bucket the pigs just flipped over to make yet another mud wallow. Nor do I enjoy getting my goats on the right side of the fence (particularly after they’ve given my rose bushes and gladioluses an unsanctioned trim). And something in me groans when I see a healthy zucchini plant succumb to vine borers overnight.

But!

Even with all the pests and sweat and frustration with the mundane, to finally enjoy the fruit of one’s labors is a gift from God and a little taste of the coming curse-less creation.

Today, I want to share a few things I’ve been thankful for lately as I’ve gotten to view some fruit from my labor. As pictured above, the summer harvest of zucchini, greens, cucumbers, and tomatoes (the ones the goats didn’t destroy), is just now coming in, and I am so pleased!

Gardens are grand illustrations of our lot in life. Yes, we plan. We dig in. We sow seeds. Hopefully we cultivate helpful habits of watering and weeding out enemies of growth. But we don’t actually MAKE growth happen. That’s God’s department.

And it’s magic to me! I put in one seed, I get eight zucchini which have about 100 seeds inside each. Then I can use these for next year and have enough to share with friends (the ones my dogs didn’t eat during my first seed-saving attempt this year, that is). It’s amazing!

Another area in which we’ve recently enjoyed blessing is in the realm of animal husbandry. Many of you have heard all about the drama of me trying to get my poor mini cow bred. She’s still not bred at this point, BUT by milking her more often, I have been getting about a half gallon a day from her! (If any local readers would like to buy a share of my dairy cow/goat herd, hit me up. I’m about to be swimming in milk with all my goats about to give birth!)

Speaking of goats giving birth, that’s another miracle we’ve enjoyed on the homestead! Unfortunately, our buck turned out not to be up for the job of getting my goats pregnant last fall. But through the generosity of friends who were willing to share their own Billy goats with me, we’ve been experiencing a lot of cuteness lately. And I ADORE the goats’ moon spots! So fancy!

And those EARS! Who could ask for anything more?

In other news, while our mother pigs have had a history of being horrid mums, Ernestine’s last litter has been mostly successful. We have six baby piglets running around the paddock, and my son Steward is so proud.

And after finagling a few things in the beehive, we’ve thankfully managed to keep (so far) the wild colony of bees which moved in after Jason had lost his first colony to swarming last year without having made any honey to speak of. Happy to report I have not gotten stung yet, which is a huge bonus. We’ve also enjoyed a few baby bunnies and baby chicks, but I didn’t have photos of them.

And finally, I am so thankful for the fruition of several years’ worth of writing, rewriting, and submitting. Yes! Not to Be is now available and ripe for the picking! Many thanks to those of you who have already ordered the book. I do hope it brings a smile to your face. I truly enjoyed working on it, though there were some nights (especially after reading rejections in my inbox) which felt more toilsome and thorny.

It is a great gift to see something which only existed in my head now be available for others to hold in their hands.

It’s so encouraging to be surrounded by so much new life and growth this season. Yes, not every plant fruits. Yes, animals can die. And yes, even our best efforts can result in years’ worth of rejections. But there is still goodness in participating in the life we’re given, and sometimes God allows us to enjoy the fruits of our labors. It’s sweet.

And I’m thankful.