It rained all day, and everything is puddled. It was a winter rain, it couldn't be described as a spring shower, at all. But I used the oven and made chicken tetrazzini, to warm us up.
The crabapple tree is full of crabapples - I don't know what to do about it. They should have been eaten, or fallen down, right? In a month, these trees should be blooming, and will the fruits get in the way? Will they cause a problem. I'll have to go outside and examine it up close. Did they go bad? We'll have to find out.
And on the subject of trees, our young kousa dogwood seems to have the bark gone near the bottom part - we assume it's our rabbit neighbors, since they're known to eat tender bark in the winter. We'll see how that tree does, if it can continue without the bark. Also, my brother says they chewed his blueberry bushes down to the nub. Live and learn. We enjoy our rabbit friends, and we'll work on ways to live together.
From this morning's reading, on John 13:34 -
"God is love. God is self-emptying on behalf of the other. But this means paradoxically that to have God is to be what God is - and that means giving one's life away.
Now we see the link between joy and commandments; I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. And now we begin to understand the laws, commands, and demands of the Church. All are designed to make us more adept at love, at giving ourselves away. Don't steal; don't kill; don't covet your neighbor's goods or wife; honor your mother and father, worship God. All of these commands - positive and negative - are meant to awaken love and make it possible."
- Bishop Robert Barron
I know this is a late comment and what I say is probably irrelevant by now. A few years ago one of my crabapples didn't lose its fruit over winter. The frosts weren't severe enough and the birds weren't interested. This resulted in not much blossom in the spring. The same thing happened a couple of years ago so I decided to pick off as much of the old fruit as I could and fortunately I did it early enough and there was plenty of blossom. I'm not sure if it is too late for you to try this and of course it may only be certain types of crabapple that behave like this.
ReplyDeleteClare, it's never too late to learn something valuable! I actually saw a squirrel in the tree, presumably eating a crabapple, even thought they're all withered. I haven't picked them off yet, but I won't expect many blooms, and will have to pay better attention next year.
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