Spring Rituals

I came across this wonderful little article and thought I would share it with DG Folks. It brings back memories of growing up and the rituals we observe in our daily lives. Enjoy!
Gary/Louisville

http://www.ranablog.com/archives/000201.php

Thanks for sharing, VGMKY!!
What a great website!
How do you folks find such great websites???
I can never seem to find any worthwhile except gardening websites- not that I don't love those!!

You certainly have a way of touching memories in my heart. The Easter church service in paticular. The church was decorated with Easter Lillies that persons in the congregation contributed in honor of, or memorial to, a loved one. The ladies wore corsages and the men boutonnieres. I can still remember how the church smelled so delicious!

I sent the Spring Ritual article to a dear friend; this is her response. "Our church has a strong connection to mission work in Haiti. Flying kites as a resurrection symbol at Easter is a custom there. We flew kites this year before our service, then hung them on the fences around the sanctuary. So this feature was especially interesting." Martha
Gary/Louisville

Of course I especially enjoyed Papa's Tomato Patch. I wonder Why?

For many years the change in seasons also marked the planting of the tomato patch just over the low wall that separated the yard from the pecan orchard. Papa would borrow a tiller from a friend and plow up the patch making room for two rows of twelve plants each. They arrived looking like straggly little weeds in their plastic white containers but once those plants hit the ground they seemed to explode into a growth curve, spreading leggy vines snaking through the patch.

Every afternoon after supper Papa walked out there, turned on the garden hose, and sat on the low wall chewing on a toothpick, watching the water spread under the plants and thinking. If I happened to be flying the bat kite, which my dog Boots considered a boring endeavor once the running part was over, she’d go sit with Papa on the wall and do some thinking of her own. I can still seem them there in the dusk, a man in a white shirt sitting with a white dog watching the garden hose.

God only knows why he planted 24 tomato vines. We had tomatoes coming out of our ears. We gave them to the neighbors, we gave them to the hands at the laundry, and we ate them on hamburgers until we were sick of the sight of them. Tomatoes sat in plastic bowls all over the counter for weeks and weeks warring for space with Mother’s numerous pots of cooling hummingbird water, yet another spring and summer ritual at our house.
Gary/Louisville

I love the mental image of your dad and dog sitting side by side. Our dog Sarah is a contemplator like that. :)