Old Order Mennonite Memoirs

Last week had its share of surprises. The first wonder came on Monday, May 4, when Lofty Heights arrived unannounced with all their equipment and tools to take down five dying scotch pines in our yard and also one crippled maple tree that threatened to collapse on electricity lines in our front lawn. My husband had hired them to come for this job but we didn't know when. Buzzing chain saws melted through hard wood and sawdust drifted in the sunny wind while at the same time, workers fed branches and trunks into the hungry mouth of the roaring chipper.

Just as I was thinking I need some little boys to watch the incredible machinery at work, grandson Tyson, age 7, walked into my door followed by his brother, sister and mother. The surprise visit happened because Tyson's mother wanted to bring tomato seeds to start in my greenhouse, but to my delight, their stay lasted longer than the time it took to plant the seeds.

The other surprise happened on Saturday morning as I stood in my kitchen forming yeast dough into dinner rolls. A knock on our door was followed by the footsteps of our oldest grandson. Dana, age 11, was sent by his mother to help me for a few hours. The real-live mother's day gift was a true amazement. When I finally ceased my exclamations and staring, I gathered my wits together and walked down a familiar (but long-untraveled) path..... that of having a helper by my side.

He helped me finish my dinner rolls before he helped us uncover the strawberry plants. It was cold and windy and we really couldn't tell if the night time cover had helped save some future berries. Snow flurries swirled around the pretty white flowers which already had black centers from an earlier freeze. Our hands ached from the cold and we questioned our desperate need to harvest our own strawberries.

Dana and I also finished my weekly cleaning, which included the clean-up of the maple tree debris on the patio. When my husband was done with his weekly mucking of calf hutches and horse stables, we three worked together to distribute the pile of wood chips around trees in our yard. The wind was frightfully fierce and I questioned our sanity. But sometimes the sun came out and the goldfinch songs cheered us on. He seemed to be saying, "When the going gets tough, the tough get going." Certainly garden and yard work this year is not for wimps.

White out snow squalls on the day before Mother's Day was incredibly unbelievable. In all my years of gardening, I haven't seen the likes of frozen, wilted plant life, but my daughter reminded me of Job's words: "....the Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord."

Beautiful white tree blossoms turned brown and new green leaves turned black, but the dogwoods collected in the wilds by my husband before the big freeze are still breathtakingly beautiful. Another surprise bouquet gathered before the harsh winds hurt them, came in my door in my daughter's hands. Purple and pink tulips cheer my heart as they mingle with honeysuckle sprays.

The arrival of our son and his family on that cold, snowy day was anticipated, especially while some of the children weren't in our home since Thanksgiving. To date, it was the last time we were all together as extended families. In the long, illness-fraught winter, the children have grown nonetheless. I was happy to hold Marquis, age 9 months, and see his mysterious blue eyes.

Besides getting a home-cooked meal at our table, among the plans for the visit, was a time in my little greenhouse. The flashes of sun between snow squalls heated the plant-laden little building and dried out each plant's bit of soil. Besides watering, I was happy to share of my greenery for their own garden.

Too soon, they were all gone and my husband and I were alone again, gardening and farming, absorbing the surprises of life. This year it was a "first" to split and stack wood in May. Because the calendar said so and the garden soil was fit, I dressed warmly and planted seeds for string beans. But like usual, the window of opportunity lasted only one day and so most of the field corn seeds are still safely in their bags.

Hearing of a dead purple martin in my daughter's garden, I was prepared for the worst on my bluebird trail. I was relieved to see new blue eggs and babies still alive but when I came to the last box, an empty nest spoke again of some mysterious predator. Sometimes nature is cruel.

But for us, an empty nest is all about love. On Sunday, May 10, it became official, Lord willing, for that to happen on June 11, 2020, when our youngest son, Jesse, plans to move to his own home, with Anna Rose as his bride. She is the daughter of Lawrence and Marlene Burkholder, of New Enterprise, where the wedding will take place. We don't deserve all the blessings the Lord has given us.