Pruning

 Pacing the porch in the morning sun, I absent-mindedly reach down and pinch off an old dried geranium bloom and toss it into the bucket of mixed dead blooms.Before I know it, I am plucking and pinching deadness out of the whole bed of plants. Taking one dead bloom is not enough....no, the whole garden must be rid of the things taking up space and crowding out the new blossoms and fresh green leaves. When I am done, I am satisfied as I look at the planter that extends the length of our front porch. Some of the color is gone, but in time, new blossoms will burst forth. 

 The clock is moving far too fast this morning. My heart feels that familiar tug, and my mind keeps saying,"where did the summer go? Did I spend enough time with her? Can't she just stay a little longer? When can we be together again? I shoulda......I coulda.... I woulda....I hate good-byes."

I grab the watering can and I begin to pour fresh cool water over the wilting pots of little purple mums and peach and yellow petunias. Water droplets glisten on the leaves and slide down into the refreshed soil. "There, that oughta keep you happy for a day or two," I tell the bright little plants. This heat is taking it's toll on all things growing.


I feel like the heat of things is taking it's toll on me as well.....things like too much busyness and not enough God, too much focus on self and not enough on the overall view of things, and......my empty nest.