Oh so long it has been since I published here. Moving to an urban area without a garden of my own has not been easy. On top of this, I was preoccupied with my parents' illnesses, both of whom have now passed away. Almost two years ago to the day, my mother quietly slipped away after a month in a state of bare awareness. This followed a final stroke. A year and a few months later, my father died from heart failure, barely more than a month from his 82nd bithday.

I started my new job not long after my mother's funeral. Then I moved into a new apartment. No garden, only a few houseplants. Gifts from my sister. I gave away my previous houseplants when I moved from Bellefonte to Scranton. I see so many reasons now why it was a good move, and I know it was time for a change.

Sharing so much detail was not my intention. I hope I haven't lost you, the reader, with the personal update. My intention was to share photos of what I'll call botanical safaris, which includes the Philadelphia flower show, local hikes and walks, and most recently a trip to a botanical garden in Austin, Texas.

These photos are forthcoming. I'm a tease, eh? For tonight, I will conclude by highlighting the metaphor of how the seasons of life can be like the seasons of a garden. Sometimes, the soil rests untilled, recovering its nutrients and whatever character unworked soil has. Packed? Affected superficially by winds, but soaked by rain. Mum except for native grasses and herbs while other areas of ground, perhaps acres and acres away, are worked by human efforts.

So the parallel in this may be, spiritually speaking from my Christian perspective, what is already expressed in the famous verses from Ecclesiastes: to everything, there is a season. And time to every purpose under heaven. There's a lot of wisdom in that book, making it easier to tolerate its fatalistic passages and often dark point of view.

He makes all things beautiful in His time (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

There is a time^(A) for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:

² a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,^(B)
3 a time to kill^(C) and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
⁴ a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
⁵ a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
⁶ a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
⁷ a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent^(D) and a time to speak,
⁸ a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

Have a good night and rest well.