Miraculous Medal

 

Why should you wear the Miraculous Medal?  Found this blog post today in my wanderings on the web. 

I wear the Miraculous Medal and have for quite some time, for no other reason than that I was drawn to it.  Personally, I haven’t asked for specific requests; it’s enough to know that I am protected.

24/52

Joining Barbara in commemorating the year in once a week posts … just whatever is going on in your life: the mundane, the crazy, the normal, the everyday.

God bless my FIL for putting up a fence for the little chicks, who are really not so little anymore and really needed to get outside!

Sturdy fence … stands up to Louis’ shaking!

This is what he rides in to get around the farm when I’m too tired to carry him at the end of the day.  This wagon is WAY better than the little red kids wagon we own.

In the pic above, I was trying real hard to picture the ‘chick’ I believe is a cockerel.  He’s the black and white that is lighter and has his head up.  It’s quite amazing how much bigger the Cornish Rock X chicks are compared to the Barred Rock, which are a slower growing heritage breed.

Need to think of a good name for our ‘cockerel’.  I told Angelina that we need to keep him tame, so she gives him extra attention by picking him up and hand-feeding worms.

 

Progress was made last week.  On Tuesday, I came home to an almost completed patio and they even planted some of the landscaped area!  Very exciting indeed.  It was raining … again … so I didn’t get the best shots.

My herbal Mary Garden is planted!!  The bottom planter is a Tumbler Cherry tomato, herbs, and leftover pink polka dot plants.

Solemnity of Mary

 

See the peace in this picture.  I can feel it. 

Have a very happy day.

Happy New Year!  Just popping by to ring in the New Year and then back to a blog break.  Lots going on this week.  I’ll fill you in on our vacation/trip later.

October - Month of the Most Holy Rosary

One of the goals for this school year was to add prayer and NOT let it slip away after just a few days.  Thus far, we've been successful!    I've changed our original plan of 2 decades in the morn, 1 decade after lunch/dinner, and 2 decades before bedtime ... to ... 2 decades in the morn and 3 decades before bedtime.  This seems to fit our family better.  Evening has always been a set prayer time, so the decades were easier to add into the schedule at that time.  The new morning prayer time is certainly a LOT easier than mid-day, at least for our family.  Just seems like mid-day is the most hectic time of day:  two finishing up school, dinner prep & clean-up, a few afternoon chores, another finishing up school after lunch, etc.  Besides, maybe it was a bit much to add two new prayer times and expect all of us to 'take to it'!  I'm just thankful we finally seem to have found something that works.

A Productive Garden Day

Finally! I was able to get all the plants (ie. tomatoes, zucchini and cucumbers) into 'real' soil. They'd been looking a little peaked in their plastic containers. I put hot caps over most of the tomatoes because that will help them establish better; it creates a mini greenhouse for each plant and protects from sun, wind, bugs, kids and wildlife.

The black landscape fabric will hopefully help keep the weeds down. As you can see the surrounding area is full of weeds ... mostly dandelions ready to go to seed at the next brush of wind. Dash cannot keep up with the mower! He mows and the next day, new blooms pop up and grow about 8 inches to proclaim their dominance. I've heard that dandelions mean the soil is really fertile ... if only I could harness it for grass and flowers that I enjoy! That day is coming...

Dash also planted his SFG this afternoon. His includes green beans, yellow onions, beets, and romaine lettuce.

Eva's garden is starting to show growth, especially in the lettuce, shown in the above picture, and onion squares. I expect her peas will be up within a week.

This leaves two more SFG beds to plant with sugar snap peas, shell peas, more green beans, and the remaining onion sets. I might also put in more beets if there is room. The picture below is of the Marian herb garden - the first pot I planted. The herbs have grown quite a bit!

**I had planned to have a strawberry bed, but it is late to get that started and the veggies are more important. I'm planning a raised bed, so part of the prep work is already done ... rototilling and landscape fabric. Either this Fall after tomatoes are done or early next Spring, I'll get the bed made and ready for the Strawberries.

Wordless Wednesday

My little herb garden

Yesterday, I planted my Herb Mary Garden. Grandma Green Acres brought me these herbs last week: Rosemary, Thyme, Parsley, and Sage. It was a very good feeling to get my hands dirty and put some plants in the soil!

Mary Garden - Container

This is a simple Marian Shrine that my mom gave me a couple years ago. It was not made very sturdy, so I need to repair it every year. In our move, Mary's footrest was misplaced ... hopefully I'll be able to find it! However, it is on a stake and will work very well in a container Mary Garden. Perfect for me, as our yard is not ready for a garden of any sort that rests on or in the ground.

Mary Garden - Basilica of St. Mary

My youngest brother is engaged to be married in the Fall of this year at the Basilica of Saint Mary in Minneapolis, MN. We visited last year in August and attended Mass with my brother and his fiancee. My brother gave us a mini-tour of the building, which is beautiful and impressive. We didn't have time to walk around the Mary Garden, but I picked up a brochure to learn more. I would like to return in the summer and see the gardens when they are in summer bloom. These are some of the perennials that are included in the Basilica's Mary Garden... I'm always looking for inspiration and ideas!

Common Name - Marian Symbolism - Height

Lavender - Mary's Bouquet - 12"
Primrose - Our Lady's Frills - 6"
Lungwort - Mary's Milk - 12"
Thyme - Our Lady's Bedstraw - 2" ground cover
Sweet Violet - Our Lady's Modesty - 6"
Heartsease - Our Lady's Delight - 6"
Rosemary - Mary's Bouquet - 18"
Wood Anemone - Our Lady's Petticoat - 12"
Wind Anemone - Our Lady of the Snow - 15:
Lady Fern - Our Lady's Fern - 24"
Columbine - Our Lady's Purse - 12"-18"
Campanula - Our Lady's Thimble - 12"
Bleeding Heart - Our Lady's Sorrowing Heart - 12"-18"
Rue - Herb of Grace - 18"
Monkshood - Our Lady's Shoes - 36"
Foxglove Digitalis - Our Lady's Gloves - 36"
Hardy Geranium - Madonna's Pins - 30"
Nicotiania - Our Lady's Tree - 36"
Solomon's Seal - Our Lady's Signet - 30"

Above: Thyme

*Notice the herbs included in this list: Rosemary, Thyme, Lavender and Rue. I'm certain there are more herbs that have Marian Names (I'm planning to do more research and will post later). Herbs are wonderful container plants - that's a great dual purpose - honoring Mary and fresh herbs for cooking! Grandma Green Acres just brought over four herb plants - Sage, Rosemary, Thyme, & Parsley - this afternoon. I'm looking forward to planting them in a container that I'll keep on my back porch.

Above: Rosemary

Mary Garden - Annuals

The following are annual flowers that can be used to start your Mary Garden. My favorites include snapdragons, sweet alyssum, and forget-me-nots. Grandma Green Acres likes to start seeds early and always has plenty to share. She's given me impatians, marigolds, zinnias, snapdragons, sweet alyssum, as well as many others. I use the annuals to fill in between perennials and give an all-summer-long splash of color.


Common Name, Religious Name, Plant Height
Cornflower, Mary's Crown, Medium Mid-Bed
Larkspur, Mary's Tears, Tall Rear
Morning Glory, Our Lady's Mantle, Tall Rear
Petunia, Our Lady's Praises, Low Border
Poppy, Christ's Blood, Medium Mid-Bed
Snapdragon, Infant Jesus' Shoes, Medium Mid-Bed
Zinnia, The Virgin, Medium Mid-Bed
Sweet Scabious, Mary's Pincushion, Medium Mid-Bed
Sweet Alyssum, Flower of the Cross, Low Border
Forget-me-not, Eyes of Mary, Low Border
Impatiens, Mother Love, Low Border
Marigold, Mary's Gold, Medium Mid-Bed

Many of these annuals work well in containers, so you don't need to dig a new spot in your yard to have a Mary Garden. Use an outdoor container that you already own or find a pretty container at a garage sale to save money. If you want a more immediate garden, buy a couple plants from the greenhouse. Plant the seeds or plants in your container and add an outdoor statue of Mary to create a Mary "container" Garden. If you don't have a statue, you can also use a laminated photo of Mary that is attached to a stake in the center of the container.

Pictured Above: Forget-Me-Not

Mary Gardens

Flower gardens are one of my favorite spring, summer, and fall hobbies. A number of years ago, I found a great list of flowers, both annuals and perennials, that have common names related to Mary. Establishing gardens out here on the farm may take me a few years, but you can be sure I'll be referring to my Marian flower list when I start planning.

Roses bushes are a staple in my gardens; and I especially like any Morden variety of rose bush. They are the hardiest I have found. I do no have to take any special care in the fall to ensure their survival to the next spring. Yes, I do trim back the dead canes in the spring, but I've never lost a Morden over winter. Someday I will have time to properly care for and maintain a tea rose in our climate, but I am not at that point in my life right now.


Gardens Give Mary Glory

These are the loveliest of her litanies,
These are gardens where the glad abounding earth
Still gush the Holy Spirit's primal mirth
In endlessly renewed diversities.

These from the faithful and fecund soil
Are generations that have called her blest,
They magnify her always without rest
While man's sad cyclic ages still uncoil.

They beat the perfumed air with noiseless sound,
They ring out her renown, freshly repeat
Her names taught them by men whose pulses beat
With God's great rhythm of the Seasons' round.

Each garden gives her glory, chants her praise
Even in harsh and hostile places where
Men have forgotten gentleness and prayer,
And what still canticles waft through their days.

Who plants a garden builds a carillon
To peal her praises witht he pulse of time,
And laud her with the earth's loveliest, lasting chime
In bright, unalterable antiphon.

-Liam Brophy

What to do??

Each year, I save the best Christmas card 'fronts'. In the past, I've saved religious and non-religious themes to use for gift tags - I have a manilla envelope full of potential tags. I've used quite a few, but I must not give out enough gifts because it really doesn't seem like I've made a dent in the pile. Now, I only save the religious themed fronts; except for the snowman on a metal rim tag, that was just plain cute.

These are my picks from Christmas 2008 and 2007*, and they are beautiful. Some of them are definitely frameable. I am compelled to save them and must find a way to display them (maybe a picture here will suffice)!

*Yes, that's right, 2007. I just went through my Christmas 2007 cards! That means I moved a pile of old cards when we moved out to our new home. But, I'm done much earlier than usual with the current year.