Gentleman Farmers morning devotions....

...at 4:30 am.

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"O GOD, thou art my God; early will I seek thee:"

Psalms 63:1

The desert shall rejoice

"...the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose,"

Isaiah 35:1

Babel - ing!

English is supposed to be one of the easiest languages to learn!

Try explaining these sentences to a foreign student!

1) The bandage was wound around the wound.
2) The farm was used to produce produce .
3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
4) We must polish the Polish furniture.
5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.
6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present
8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.
9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
10) I did not object to the object.
11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row ...
13) They were too close to the door to close it.
14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.
15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.
16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
18) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.
19) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
20) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

Let's face it - English is a crazy language.

There is no egg in eggplant, nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple.
English muffins weren't invented in England or French fries in France ..
Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat.
We take English for granted.
But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.
And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham?
If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth, beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese? One index, 2 indices?
Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend?
If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?
If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?
Sometimes I think all the English speakers should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane.
In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell?
How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites?

You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which, an alarm goes off by going on. English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race, which, of course, is not a race at all. That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible.


Here’s another article that lovers of the English language might enjoy .. There is a two-letter word that perhaps has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that is 'UP.' It's easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP ? At a meeting, why does a topic come UP ? Why do we speak UP and why are the officers UP for election and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report ? We call UP our friends. And we use it to brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver; we warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen. We lock UP the house and some guys fix UP the old car. At other times the little word has real special meaning. People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses. To be dressed is one thing, but to be dressed UP is special. And this UP is confusing: A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP. We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night. We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP ! To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP, look the word UP in the dictionary. In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4th of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions. If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used. It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP, you may wind UP with a hundred or more. When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP ... When the sun comes out we say it is clearing UP...When it rains, it wets the earth and often messes things UP.When it doesn't rain for awhile, things dry UP.
One could go on and on, but I'll wrap it UP, for now my time is UP, so........it is time to shut UP!

:~P

"Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they many not understand one another's speech."

Genesis 11:7

A Note of Thanks!

Two notes of Thanks, actually!

I recently won a giveaway from Tami

at A Mermaids Tale, for one of her

pretty handmade totes and matching key fob!

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I love it, Tami! I love the soft colored floral fabric,

perfect for summertime!

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Dear friend Lori blogged about her pretty

peach hollyhocks. I made such a fuss over them

and she kindly sent me some seeds!

I can't wait to plant them and hope I can

get them to grow as lovely as she has!

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They were sent in a sweet card and homemade

seed packet!

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(Shameless plug for my Seed Swap blog ~

If you would like to receive/exchange seeds from

other gardening bloggers, please come to

Lady Farmers Seed Swap

and sign up! It is so much fun to receive them in the mail!)

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Thank you both, Lori and Tami! It is so fun to get to know you better

through our blogs and in the mail!

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"We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brethren, as is only fitting..."

2 Thessalonians 1:3

Something Fishy!

Something fishy goin' on over in The Pantry!

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"Simon Peter *said to them, "I am going fishing." They *said to him, "We will also come with you." They went out, and got into the boat; and that night they caught nothing.

But when the day was now breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus therefore *said to them, "Children, you do not have any fish, do you?" They answered Him, "No." And He said to them, "Cast the net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you will find a catch." They cast therefore, and then they were not able to haul it in because of the number of fish."

John 21:3-6

Seek Him with your whole heart

"Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart."

Psalm 119:2

The Fruits of Progress

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"The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life."
Proverbs 11:30

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Companion posts in The Barnyard
and
The Pantry

37 years ago today.....

"...for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God."

Ruth 1:16

Sequim Lavender Farms

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On the shores of the Strait of Juan De Fuca is the Dungeness Valley

of Washington's beautiful Olympic Penninsula. Therein lies the little town of

Sequim (pronounced 'Squim'), the Lavender Capital of America.

The 3rd weekend of every July, the Sequim Lavender Growers Association

hold their annual Lavender Festival.

I have attended several times, but Gentleman Farmer and I have other plans

for this next weekend (we'll be celebrating our 37th Wedding Anniversary).

We went this past weekend to several of the farms

and avoided the festival crowds.

Here are some pictures of our day.

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Our journey begins with a two hour drive up the beautiful Hood Canal

and takes us past the little hamlet of Gardener. We take a detour

down the old highway to check in on the "Troll Haven Farm."

The fence seems 'normal' at first glance....

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but upon closer inspection

you realize these are not your average fence posts!

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The estate is guarded by this fellow!

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The cattle feeding shed is supported on all four corners by

these cheery gents! (Each corner is held up by a different troll.)

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Even their neighbors are a little 'odd'!

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Cy seems to think we need to continue on our quest,

so we oblige!

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On to the Lavender Farms!

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Our first stop was Oliver's Lavender Farm.

This is one little farm I have not been to before.

The parking area is right in front of their lovely home garden.

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(Sorry, Blogger insists this photo is better turned on it's side!)

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When we entered the little gift shop, I could hear the most peculiar sound. When I inquired

about it, the owner explained that it was a Quail that was perched atop the gazebo.

I should have known as there was a metal sign just outside the door that said "Quail Run".

That bird looked just like a little weather vane on top of the gazebo

but he had jumped down to the roof

before I could get a shot of him at the top.

Can you spot him with his jaunty little top knot?

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The perfect spot for some sweet tea or lemonade!

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I can't resist taking pictures of old barns!

Perhaps, because Grandpa's barn was my playground growing up!

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As we were driving out the driveway, Gentleman Farmer spotted a

mama Killdeer and her two tiny babies.

He got a photo of one of the wee ones, not much bigger than a golf ball on toothpicks!

Squint ~ maybe you can see him!

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Next, we visited Jardin du Soleil.

After our stroll through the gardens and gift shop

we ate our lunch, all the while inhaling the delicious fragrance of

sun warmed lavender.

Mmmmmm..... Divine!

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At the far end of the lavender field, there were some

honey bee hives!

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Look closely and you can see all the busy bees coming and going.

I thought all hives needed to be white, but obviously they like lavender.

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Yep! Bees like lavender!

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Lastly, we visited Purple Haze.

(Love the name! And, no, I didn't see Jimmy Hendrix there! :~D )

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So ends our visit to the Sequim Lavender Farms for this year.

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I love lavender and love making many different things with it;

soap, wreaths, eye pillows and sachets.

(And grilled pork roast is "out of this world" with a rub of Herbs de Provence!)

Be sure to come back tomorrow and I will show you how to make something

beautiful using fresh lavender.

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"Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory did not clothe himself like one of these."

Matthew 6:28,29

Fruit

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"Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit"

Matthew 7:17

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"Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit"

John 15:8

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"Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them."

Matthew 7:20

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New post in The Pantry.

I Can't Believe It!

I've started yet another blog!

(This is #7!)

But this one is for all of you!

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Lady Farmer's Seed Swap is just that ~a place to

list flower or vegetable seeds you may have that you

would like to "swap" with another gardener!

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Gardeners are the most generous people ~ they always like to share!

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I have wanted to do this for quite some time now

but wasn't just sure how to go about it.

Mr. Linky didn't work for me so I thought I would

just start another blog just for 'seed swapping!'

If you've got some seeds to share, or think you will have soon,

hop on over to http://www.ladyfarmersseedswap.blogspot.com/

and check it out.

"Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed."

I Timothy 6:17-19

"And do no neglect doing good and sharing; for with such sacrifices God is pleased."

Hebrews 13:16

The Mighty Lord On High

"The LORD on high is mightier than the noise of many waters,

yea, than the mighty waves of the sea."

Psalm 93:4

Happy Birthday America!

"Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD."

Psalm 33:12