It’s been unusually dry here. The thunderstorm we had on the first day of summer only brought us 1/4 inch of rain. The ground was so dry. The lawns and field grasses are turning brown. It’s starting to look more like late August than early July. I’ve actually had to resort to watering the garden with a sprinkler. On Friday afternoon we had rain – not a lot, but enough to perk things up again. Summer is moving quickly. It always does. Too quickly for me.
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| The bottom of the long flower bed. |
The garden is progressing. Some friends who own a nursery brought me their leftover broccoli and cauliflower plants on Monday – nearly 100 plants. I planted them in every nook and cranny of the garden where I could squeeze them and shared what I couldn’t fit with the Shilligs and the Goodenoughs. It looks like we’ll have a bumper crop of broccoli and cauliflower (if we can avert all natural and animal disasters).
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| The last of the peonies, Sarah Bernhardt, my favorite. |
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| The first of the somniferum poppies. |
The Thayne family arrived at six o’clock in the morning on Friday. They drove straight through from Tennessee. It took them 11 hours. When they got here, Rachel and Tabor went straight to bed. Uncle Josiah kept the girls entertained until their parents had rested. We’re so happy that they are here. Hazel and June are such cute girls and so smart (an unbiased grandfather’s opinion, of course). There’s never a dull moment with them here. Hazel now must accompany Josiah to do the chores every day. She collects the eggs. Kohl’s boys, Wade and Reed, love to play with Hazel and June (they are second cousins). They all spend a lot of time on the Shillig’s swing set next door. Dinners flip back and forth between the Shillig’s house and ours, and there’s so much good food. Most evenings we sit and play games. I love it when family is here. Company and summertime go together.
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| Josiah entertaining Hazel and June. |
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| Hazel collecting eggs. |
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| The cousins collecting bugs. |
Saturday was a busy day. Stacey was up early making cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Rachel, Josiah and I took a short bird walk before breakfast. After breakfast Tabor and Josiah went fishing over at Uncle Dick’s for a while. We decided to take the children – Rachel’s two and Kohl’s two – to the matinee to see Finding Dory. That was an adventure. It was the second time I’d seen it and I fell asleep. The children were more interested in their candy than the movie. Stacey had to take June out because she was making too much noise. But it was fun in a strange way.
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| At the movies. |
Tomorrow is Independence Day, which always seems like the middle of summer to me although it really comes near the start. I love Independence Day. When I was young, it was all about the big family gathering that took place on that day. To be with my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and most of all, my cousins was wonderful to me. And the food – hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad, pickled eggs, potato chips, cake, and most of all, homemade ice cream – it was all so wonderful. Then, in the evening we would go see fireworks – a magical ending to a wonderful day. I never remember it raining on any Fourth of July in my childhood. My memories of the day glow with a nimbus of perfection. As I got older, my appreciation for family, food, and fireworks never diminished, but my appreciation for the reasons we were celebrating increased.
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| Relaxing at the Shillig's house. |
I worry about our country. I think a lot of people have forgotten why we celebrate Independence Day. To so many people it means putting up red white and blue decorations, flying a flag on the front porch, uttering a few patriotic platitudes, maybe singing America the Beautiful (or maybe not – I find that most people don’t really know all the words anymore), and there’s always the food and the fireworks. Although we may put on a good show these days, I don’t think the average citizen is truly patriotic anymore. The meaning of patriotism is often misunderstood now. To some in Politically Correct Society, it has become a bad word akin to cultural elitism, imperialistic aggression, and even racism. By definition, patriotism is love and devotion to one’s country. These days with our historical revisionist inspired national self-loathing, I think that the patriotic feeling of love and devotion has been diluted to the point of obscurity. Modern patriotism, if even attempted, is just a lot of show with little substance behind it. To me a true patriot loves this country enough to know our history. They know the Declaration of Independence and what it really says. They understand and love the principles of government established in our Constitution, the document designed to protect our liberty. But like faith, patriotism is a principle of action – it goes beyond just knowing and requires and compels us to do something with it. It compels us to strive to be true citizens, to be informed, active participants in government, to vote, and be valiant in defending our hard won and fast vanishing liberty.
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| Sunset on Saturday. |
In the eighteenth century it took a war to create our nation – a war of ideas that became a war of deeds. Our ancestors sacrificed much, shed blood, their own and the blood of their oppressors, to gain their freedom – our freedom. Then they wisely created a government designed to protect the liberty they had won. These days most people, including many of the politicians appointed to govern our nation, don’t know or understand the Constitution of the United States of America. A belief has taken hold and is growing that our Constitution is outdated and not applicable to our modern society. We’ve strayed far from the original intentions of the Constitution. Jefferson, Washington, and Madison would be shocked to see what we’ve done with what they did.
A true patriot loves liberty more than comfort, or false security, or even life itself. They understand what Thomas Jefferson meant when he said, “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.” So flags, family, food, and fireworks still make the Fourth of July a fun day for me, but above all on that day I celebrate independence from tyranny past, present, and future. I celebrate the true patriots who gave us the great gift of liberty. And I resolve to better dedicate myself to becoming a true patriot.
I wish you a happy and patriotic Independence Day!
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| After church today (June was taking a nap). |
