The Briar Philosopher - Now is the Cool of the Day

Now is the Cool of the Day

“Oh, this world is a garden,

the garden of our Lord

and He walks in His Garden

in the cool of the day.”

So the old song goes, after several verses where the lord asks us to keep the pastures green, and feed his lambs and various other things having to do with taking care of each other and the earth we with which we have been blessed.

It’s one of my favorite old hymns, and I often find myself humming it, especially in the cool of the day.

These days, I spend a great deal of time outside working in the sun when I’m home. We have a lot of plants and baby trees, and I’m often made mostly of sweat and dirt by the end of a day, with a few grass chippings thrown in for decoration. Nothing restores me more than stepping out on the back deck after a shower and just taking in all the green goodness the planet offers up. Once the temperature starts dropping and that evening light comes shining in from the west, that old oak tree in the back yard shines like a cathedral, and the songs of birds lift my spirits and seem to even take the tired out of my muscles.

I have a little grill on the deck that I cook on most weekends, so I’ll sit while the food cooks and just enjoy the view and reflect on the labors of the day. This weekend, the chores consisted of watering some baby plum, service, and hazelnut trees and my blueberry bushes, plus some mowing in the orchard. It’s been so dry of late that and was so hot before that the orchard has grown up somewhat, and the mowing is a little at a time. It’s a lot of work, but in the evenings, when the work done I can sit and think about what will come of all that labor. In my mind’s eye, I can see the trees in years to come, heavy laden fruit and nuts, and I don’t regret all the labor one bit. I’m still young enough to do it now and by the time I’m not, it’ll all be done, but the harvesting and the Boy and I will have a bounty of goodness to sustain us in our elder years.

The earth is indeed a garden, and with just a little work on our parts and a willingness to understand how it should be cared for, we can all reap the benefits of that garden. I don’t use pesticides or herbicides. I’m too mindful of the damage those things cause to things they weren’t intended for. So many of the plants and birds and insects that used to grace these hills have vanished as a result of the overuse of such substances. You can do just as much good and a lot less harm just by keeping your soil healthy. In light of that, I just purchased a tumbling composter. I’ve always saved my kitchen scraps for compost and now I’ll be able to add them to grass clippings and the like and make my own rich dirt to help keep my plants healthy and disease and pest-free. Putting the thing together was a bit of a challenge. Not because it was particularly hard but because I have lousy spatial reasoning skills. Ask me about anything and I’ll probably know something about it but ask me to turn something around in my mind, and my brain will most likely just pull a dial tone on you. But I managed it and have my first batch of “dirt” cooking for later use.

This week, the cool of the day is predicted to bring with it some thunderstorms with some much-needed rain. Everything needs the rain desperately. While I won’t be on the deck for it as it isn’t covered, there is a good chance I’ll be watching it out my bedroom window and practicing the gratitude I always try to keep in mind, especially in the cool of the day. And if the Lord should decide to walk through his garden this evening and we happen upon one another, I’ll be sure and stay awake with him and catch the last rays of the setting