Touched by your Hand our world is Holy

June 9, 2015 | Reflections from some of the nuns

The Farm

Just because you haven’t heard from me for a while don’t be thinking that the garden has gone out of production. Far from it!  This has been the most productive winter I have ever had and not only that, the garden is beautiful. Winter vegetable gardens aren’t known for their beauty. Well the Abbey vegetable patch is showing itself off in all its greenery, colour and produce.

Yesterday there was a feeling in the air as I walked around the veggie beds that everything is about to burst forth in growth. It was a bit like Spring is around the corner and yet August is ahead of us. The August winds have already hit with great gusto in July hopefully they won’t come again.

It has been a hard old winter with the winds and no rain and yet somehow the earth still has more to give. The earth takes all that comes as the expected natural way of things and is so patient and enduring. It is inspiring don’t you think? So often it is easy to feel dry and windswept and as if everything that is happening is just happening to me but if our roots are down deep and nourished we have so much more within to draw from and to give to our world, be it to our family and or to our community.

Monty, the python has remained with us over winter and is now our biological pest control agent snacking on the mice close to his abode. Monty has taken up winter residence in the mulch and straw under the mandarin tree and appears for about 3 hours a day to sun itself, disappearing as soon as the sun passes by its tree.  Yes Monty has changed all my understanding of snakes hibernating in winter.

The ducks think it is spring already. Five mother ducks are sharing over 70 eggs and chirping shall be heard in the orchard from within a week. Maybe? Perhaps this is why Monty is sticking around.

There is a big challenge happening in the garden. Sr Agnes Le, a novice from our sisters of Our Lady of the Desert New Mexico is staying with us. She recently had her feast day and as a gift we gave her a book on ‘Straw bale’ gardening. Very interesting reading! For 12 days the bale is watered and fed with fertilizers to activate and break down the straw and on the 12 day the bale should be broken down inside enough to plant into the top of it. Obviously the bale will continue to break down and this process will give off a heat which will enable the germination of seeds to happen. Well we will see ??!!

There are four of us in the challenge; Sr Agnes Le has 3 bales, LeeAnn, Birdie and I have 2 bales each. Each of us has chosen a different site and will test out different edible plants.  It is day 6 and I will keep you posted.

May you find a warm place in the sun to sit and enjoy all that God will bring you this day.

God bless

Sr Mechtild of Jamberoo Abbey.