On the Garden Path at 5~Acre Farm: When the Rains Came

Monday, May 18, 2009

When the Rains Came

Georgia has been experiencing severe drought conditions since 2006. The entire state has suffered, and restrictions have been severe. But this year, in time for summer, restrictions are lifting, and the lakes are rising - almost back to normal. The drought seems to be over.

The rains have been frequent this spring. I have been enjoying them. Many have been gentle, soaking rains that have lasted, sometimes, for days at a time. They've been good for the earth, good for the garden, and good for my aching soul. They have often been like a gentle embrace, sometimes expected, sometimes a surprise, whispering kind encouragements in my ear, assurances of better days to come. I have relished each visit of rain, and sometimes wept quietly when they ended.

Recently, the gentle rains have subsided, and sudden downpours with thunder and lightning have taken their place. Quick bursts, hard and heavy, almost angry, seem to be screaming something I cannot hear amidst the noise, and perhaps, encouraging me to hide my own screams in the noise. Not always, but sometimes, they leave me pensive when they are gone, with a small knot in my stomach.

Two nights ago, while I slept, another storm passed through. It was short and heavy. All of my plants are strong enough to take the heavy rain now, but my container garden struggled in the muscling wind that accompanied the rain. Two of my pepper plants, which are 3 feet each and fruiting, fell over. I'm grateful they did not break, but they both require support now. A medium size container of marigolds fell on one of my container tomato plants. The marigolds were smashed and may or may not recover. The tomato plant lost a branch, but at least it was a non-producing branch. I haven't found any other damage, and I am grateful there doesn't seem to be more.

Nature can often find ways to embrace us, to comfort us, and to offer us respite from the cares of the world. But just as often, it can hold us at arm's length, warning us, scolding us, or chasing us into a hiding place to cower until it has finished a hard work. The latter is more difficult to accept than the former; but both experiences have something positive to offer us if we're paying attention.

When the Rains Came
When the rain's came.
I looked to heaven.
When they washed away my dreams
I cried all night
In my heart I knew you'd be there
Cause I felt the love
and then I saw the light

Through the hard time's through the bad time's
You always came and sang to make things right
Now I don't worry about tomorrow
Cause I felt the love
and then I saw the light
From the darkness comes a doorway
When the sun's up in the blue and burning bright
I'll be dreaming about that morning
Cause I felt the love
and then I saw the light
yes I felt the love
and then I saw the light

When the rain's came.
I looked to heaven.
When they washed away my dreams
I cried all night
But,In my heart I knew you'd be there
Cause I felt the love
and then I saw the light
Yes I felt the love
and then I saw the light
Yes I felt the love
and then I saw the light

- Beth Rowley

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John and Michelle, and 5 Acre Farm

How We Came To Be

John was born and raised in Georgia by parents who lived incredible lives of their own, and passed on to John a rich family history from both sides. He was a die hard Boy Scout, and later, spent 17 years as a Troop Leader. He earned a dual Agriculture/Agricultural Engineering degree at ABAC in Tipton, where he also started the college's radio station. After college, John served on nuclear submarines in the Navy, where he once saved the lives of his shipmates, and, rumor has it, did many incredible things in the service of our country. He married and had a family, and after the Navy, worked briefly with the EPA before opening his own HVAC-Refrigeration company. John was inventive as a child, and that carried over into everything in his life. He is a fixer of severe mechanical problems, and an inventor of all kinds of things that improve on or simplify existing machinery, equipment, and ideas. His inventions are unique, and some of them may some day aide humanity, save lives, and save our planet if we can get the right people to listen.

My dad was career Army. I was born in France, and introduced, at a very young age, to the Virginia countryside, where we raised rabbits and chickens. After dad retired, we moved to North Carolina, his home state, where we spent many years on the coast, near Wilmington. Here, we had a garden, raised cows, pigs, chickens, and ducks, and fished commercially. Our freezer was always full of fresh Spot and shrimp, and oyster roasts were a weekly event! As a young adult I lived with my family in the mountains south of Asheville. Here too we had a garden, raised cows, pigs, chickens, and ducks, as well as geese and peacocks. I worked for many years with an arts council, Christian organizations, and other non-profits. I helped train missionaries, researched/wrote grants, produced professional documents, edited newsletters, and wrote a lot of publicity materials. I already had two Associate degrees, but in my late 30s I finally completed an undergraduate degree in English/Art History. For 20 years I was active in community theater, sang solos with a community choir, and danced with a show choir. Treasured memories! I moved to Georgia in late 1998, and married my first husband in 2002. I was 45. Eighteen months later, I was widowed.

John and I first met in 2000. After I was widowed, and John was divorced, we found each other again. Of like minds, spirits, and goals, our hearts came together quickly, and we married in 2005. Each of us has undergone Elijah House training, and we were both ordained into ministry in 2006. I have been a Christian counselor and prayer warrior for probably 30 years. John and I live to put God first in our lives, and in our dreams for this small piece of earth of which we are the caretakers.

We call our place "5 Acre Farm." John's father took this barren, overworked field from a larger parcel of farmland in the mid-70s. He fenced off about three-quarters of an acre for the house, and added plants, flowers, and trees. Elsewhere, he transformed the property through years of hard work, adding an apple orchard, peach trees, pears, two fig orchards, grape vines, and a greenhouse. John and I have been trying to continue his father's work on this land, adding to it with our own hopes and dreams, and our late-in-life efforts. Not a day goes by that I don't feel great respect for John's father, for the man he was, for the work he did here, and gratitude for the bounty we reap because of his hard work.

John and I are in our 50s, just starting life together, but with age and health trying to work against us. We aren't ready to sit down and take it easy. We have a goal to become self-sufficient by growing our own food (meat and vegetables), and getting off the grid. The challenges we face in doing this are age, health, and finances. John's inventiveness is being strongly applied, as is my gift for budget stretching and frugality. Our strength? The love we have for each other, and the trust that we are working inside the will of God.

One of the things we ask ourselves now and then is this: "Is it worth it?" I never had children. John's son has set his own path with family and career. There does not seem to be anyone we can leave this property to who will continue the work and the dream; one of John's grandchildren, perhaps, but they are very young right now, and do not yet notice or care.

So, is it worth it (all the work and expense) if there is every chance this land will end up in the hands of developers after we're gone? Well, our answer to that question so far is always "Yes, it's worth it." It's worth it to us, because of what we are accomplishing here in our lifetime. It's worth it because what we grow here we share with family, with friends, and with our community. And not just what we grow, but our faith and philosophy, our hopes and dreams, and our very desire to leave at least our little part of the world better than it was when we found it. We are living - consciously, and deliberately - a lifestyle that expresses who we are and what we believe. Does anybody care? Why don't read our blog, leave a comment, and let us know.