A Special Day for Army Ranger Bob and Sassy

Army Ranger Bob came over with a special package. He had a complete Meals Ready To Eat (MRE - also called Meals Rejected by Ethiopians). His friend at work got one, so he decided to demonstrate its use and share some Ranger stories.

Sassy demanded her usual round of treats - Milkebone first, then a few training treats, then some cinnamon crackers. Normally she tells off Bob for not feeding her enough and various other deficiencies. She also looks at him with her loving eyes and allows him to give her a tummy rub. Her end game is to stretch on the floor and listen to his stories.

This demonstration, complete with many stories about Army training, had a special meaning. Bob said as he was leaving, "I drove Mike's body to his grave, one year ago, today." He was feeling the loss all over.

He left home at 16 to give his mother one less mouth to feed and Army money to help her along. Since we moved here and got to know Bob, he lost his mother, his Army Ranger step-dad, and his brother. Mike was almost helpless at birth, but his family helped him become an able-bodied man who could work and earn a living of sorts. Mike was retarded but he could offer observations that were on target, very wise and considerate. He called Chris "Mama" and loved to talk to her. He believed in Jesus.

Mike and Bob did all the nursing care for their bed-ridden mother and step-dad, never sorry they had to do all that work. They were glad to, and certainly were models for others to follow. They loved the poverty food their mother fixed them, like wieners and beans with cornbread.

Our congregation helped pay for the funeral and burial. Bob found he could haul the casket himself (Arkansas law) and dig the grave down in their hometown cemetery - so he did.

He said, smiling recently, "There is one verse I really like from the Bible."

Hebrews 13:2 Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.

He lives it, himself.

Sassy, Gardening, and Ranger Bob

I wanted to write an email about coffee, but gmail went down hard on Sunday and has not returned.

We have an interesting connection, between Sassy, Ranger Bob, coffee, and gardening. Sassy loves to hear the knock on the door, followed by scratching that tells her Ranger Bob is there.

Sassy greets friends by barking loudly at them, and Bob gets a long, loud greeting. He usually walks in saying, "How about some of that great, fancy coffee!" I make some pour-over coffee in the kitchen, grinding the beans, using private label water (Sam's Club), and pouring the hot water over the grounds. A 20 ounce bottle is perfect for two mugs.

During the brief wait, Sassy always demands some Pupperoni from Bob. This friendship is great because she loves to stay with him when we have special events. Although he calls himself a cat person, 100%, he is devoted to Sassy. He has a 16 x 20 portrait of her from Penney's.

Bob enjoys telling stories from his impoverished childhood and his days in the Army. He was a tank driver but also learned to fly and repair smaller aircraft. We discovered a mutual fascination with battleships of WWII, so I found some great books used from Alibris.

He was a landscaper in Texas, so we have our battles about his highly toxic career and the way I garden without man-made chemicals.

 Bee balm is a mint attractive to humming birds, butterflies, and bees.

The rose garden is truly three-dimensional now. The tallest plants are:

1. Joe Pye - 20, after 3 years of planting
2. Mountain Mint - 2 plantations
3. Spirea bushes - 17
4. Bee Balm - countless
5. Clethra - 2 from a few years ago
6. Cat Mint - 2 plantations
7. Hostas - many purchased, many given by the Gardeners
8. Fever Few - two tall ones with hundreds of flowers, plus several new ones just starting to grow

 The most scented plant of all - Clethra.
Long after the flowers are gone, cinnamon fills the air.

They are taller than the roses, but not overwhelming. A gimlet eye will note that the serene seven+ list consists of delights for the pollinators, aka bees, butterflies, beneficial bugs, and hummingbirds.

They are the servants of the roses, the queen of all plants in the garden. No other plant is so ugly at first, so willing to shed the blood of the gardener, so prized in bloom.

The serene seven+ are the base for beneficial insects and the hyperactive hummingbird. Whenever people suggest a hummingbird feeder to me, I respond, "I do not buy them - I grow them." Hummingbirds love the plants listed, the hosta especially.

Soon the Shasta daisies will bloom and attract that one fly, the Tachinid, that lays waste to the aphids on roses. No, I do not kill aphids. I prize them. They are food for the beneficial bug babies. The parents lay their eggs on, near, or in pests so their infants have fresh food to grow on. The parents enjoy pollen and nectar, so a balanced garden develops both generations by leaving pests to be food for the little ones, plus plenty of food for the adults, who will do their duty when called upon.

The scientists will not admit this, but Creation Gardening is simply a matter of letting God's engineering and management prevail over man's foolish destruction of life. If we call the sprayer to fill the yard with a pesticide bomb, all the insects will die, but the bad ones will return quickly. Mr. Gardener learned that.

The beneficial insects and birds will swoop in and decimate a crop of pests. I saw that when cottony maple scale landed on our maple tree in Midland. Soon the entire tree was covered with lady bugs, who love scale insects.

Another benefit of the pollinator plan, besides helping the roses, is to enjoy the Garden of Eden effect on wildlife. When I work on plants, rabbits walks casually by me. Cats hang around for Cat Mint and potential meals. Sassy prowls the garden to friend the cats and check out the wild animal scents. Birds are all over garden and above.

When the butterfly plants (Joe Pye and Clethra) start blooming, the butterflies appear. I have tried for more milkweed but that has not worked out. However, some butterfly weed (a cousin) is growing well.

I have always enjoyed watching bees work over Cat Mint. Some is growing near the front porch.

 Cat mint is delightful to bees.