The Winter Pansies we put out last Fall are still looking quite lovely here in the Carondelet Garden on this cloudy, overcast morning in South Saint Louis.  The temperatures are perfect, but storms are looming in the forecast on this Thursday in Paschaltide.

As I was listening to some music this morning, this song came on:
Open my eyes, Lord
I want to see Jesus
To reach out and touch him
And say that I love him
Open my ears, Lord
And help me to listen
Open my eyes, Lord 
I want to see Jesus.

Open my eyes. Open my ears. Jesus was sent to us not to condemn us, but that we, through Him, might actually be saved.  Loved by the Father so much that he sent his son so that we would not perish but may have eternal life.  No greater love. No greater sacrifice.  Open my eyes. Open my ears. Help me to hear. Help me to listen.  I don't always listen. I don't always hear.  I don't always see. I want to see. I want to hear. 

Lord, I believe please help my unbelieving.  It's simple, ordinary faith.  Yet, I so often lack the simple, ordinary things that I need so much.  Where in your life do you need your eyes opened to see Jesus today?  A little faith, a bit of hope and all the love we can muster on this Second Thursday of Paschaltide.  Amen!

It is a stunningly beautiful day here in the Carondelet Garden in South Saint Louis.  The sun is shining and the skies are blue.  This is one of those perfect days:  cool mornings with warm afternoons that are simply perfect for gardening or napping in the garden.

The Lettuce is looking pretty good right now.  When you have a small yard you find a way to utilize every inch of it!  We plant our lettuce along the fenceline between the fence and the sidewalk.  I think it works out pretty well.

Going to jump in early this morning and get a few indoor chores finished so I can head outside and enjoy this beautiful day.  This is a day the Lord has made.  I must be glad and rejoice in it!  Have a great day Gardening Friends!
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Happy Sunny Tuesday in Paschaltide.  It's a beautiful sunny, chilly morning here in the Carondelet Garden.  We finally have all of the mulch down and the garden is looking quite lovely because of it.  There is little that dresses up the flower garden like a fresh layer of good mulch.  The smell, the look, the texture.  The senses are in overdrive in the Garden this morning.

It's a busy day here in the Garden with errands and small jobs to do around the house.  I just want to share one of my favorite quotes from that great writer, Anonymous: "May we be the kind of gardener who seeks to plant seeds of hope inside someone else's hearts."  A good prayer for today.  Happy Tuesday in Paschaltide Gardening Friends!

Good Monday morning from the #supercoololdpeople in the Carondelet Garden.  It's a chilly start to the day but the sun is shining and warmer temperatures are on the horizon.  It's a great way to start the second week of Eastertide.  

The Money Plants were a big surprise for us this year.  They were a bit of a dream plant as they were a favorite of Dr. B's grandmother.  We have pictures of the plants from her grandmother's backyard.  Her grandmother was something of a legend.  She was a seamstress in the 1920s and worked on the Veiled Prophet gowns.  In the 1940s she volunteered at Union Station with the USO. She was a gifted baker as well as a gardener.  She was also a basketball player as a younger woman.  Quite a lady.  We are thrilled to have found some seeds to grow these Money Plants.  Such a bit of joy in the Garden.

It's the second Monday of Paschaltide.  In my meditation on the Gospel of John this morning, I was struck by this verse: "The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes.  So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."  Faith in things unknown.  I ask for the grace to know what it is I am called to do, in things large or small.  What am I being called to do on this Monday morning?  Faith.  Hope.  A little love and kindness.  Amen.

The Hollyhock is looking pretty good this Spring here in the Carondelet Garden in South Saint Louis.  Last year we had a terrible case of rust with our two Hollyhocks.  We followed the instructions and cut them down to the ground.  Burned the remains to try to stop any more problems from spreading.  We lost one but this one is coming back quite nicely.  I'm keeping a close watch just to be sure.  They are a bit fussy, but the blooms are stunning.  

As I was sitting with the readings from the Gospel of John this morning I was struck, as I often am, with "doubting Thomas."  The poor disciple gets a bit of a bad rap as far as I am concerned.  I would have been Thomas.  I am, still, oftentimes, Thomas.  "Lord, I believe.  Help my disbelief."  I think we are all Thomas at one point or another and that's okay.  We are allowed to question.  We are allowed to think and ponder.  Religion tries to tell us what to believe.  God gives us what we need to believe.  A gigantic difference.  

The storms have cleared.  The weather has cooled.  The day is cloudy and gray.  It's the perfect time to ponder and question.  A perfect opportunity to embrace a little faith in thing unseen.  Have a little bit of hope that tomorrow will be a bit better than yesterday.  Embrace love.  Share love.  Doubt sometimes creeps in.  Sometimes my faith is week.  Yet, somehow, love breaks through.  Have a wonderful week my Gardening friends.  

Happy Saturday in Eastertide from the Carondelet Garden.  It's a beautiful morning here in South Saint Louis.  There is a risk of some thunderstorms later this afternoon and into this evening.  We could use some rain.  I'm hoping for less stormy and more wee soft showers.  

The mums have returned for yet another season here in the Garden.  We were thrilled to see them come back.  They were an afterthought last Fall but they seem to be doing quite well.  We'll see how they handle the new conditions after the removal of the huge old tree out front.  Lots and lots of changes with the removal of the shade from the old monster.

It's been a busy week here in the Carondelet Garden.  Lots and lots of changes with a few more to come next week.  This morning is coffee, the newspapers, "Radio DeLuxe" on WNYC with John Pizzarelli later this morning, and maybe a nap this afternoon.  This old gardener is feeling his age this morning.  Even Dr. B is having a few aches and pains.  

Here's to relaxing and renewal.  Take care of yourself.  Be good and be kind to yourself and others as you travel about.  We are planning on attending "Macklind Market Day" tomorrow.  Hope to see you there!  That's all the news from here in the Carondelet Garden.

Can you believe the weather here in Saint Louis this week?  It has been so beautiful and so conducive to getting little jobs done.  The porch railings are all finished and repainted.  The Candy Onions are in their beds all cozy and ready to grow, grow, grow.  I'll finish moving a few plants in anticipation of the mulch arriving.  Things are really starting to move along here in the Carondelet Garden.

I was really taken by the reading for today as Jesus, for the third time, revealed himself to his disciples after the resurrection.  They were invited to breakfast.  Little by little Jesus revealed himself.  Little by little they began to recognize the Lord again.  Little by little they were invited to the table.  Little by little their faith was restored after the blow of Good Friday.  Little by little because we are simple, ordinary humans.  We can't handle all of the glory all at once.  It has to come little by little otherwise we are overwhelmed and, frankly, I would be way too skeptical!  I wouldn't believe it.  I need little by little because I can be dense and a bit slow sometimes.  "Let's have breakfast."  Jesus offered his disciples what they needed right then.  Simple. Ordinary.  Just a little taste so you can open your eyes and believe.  

It's a beautiful day here in South Saint Louis on this Friday in Paschaltide.  Have a cup of coffee, maybe a bit of toast or a muffin.  Come to the table.  Have a little taste.  Simple, ordinary glory for this Friday in April.  That's all the news from here in the Carondelet Garden.

It's yet another gorgeous day here in South Saint Louis.  What a great week to be working in the Garden and getting so much accomplished.  Unfortunately, my body is taking the toll.  Ibuprofen is my friend this week more than ever!  My Candy Onions have finally arrived so they will go into their prepared beds today for harvesting in July.  Work is progressing on the front porch.  Painting is progressing.  It's been a great week for those odd jobs getting finished.

It's so strange to have to water so much this early in the season.  I've also mowed my lawn five times already and it's not even mid-April yet.  The weather is certainly playing havoc with my brain this year.  

It's a good day for a good day as my pillow tells me.  We are still waiting for the mulch delivery to happen.  Lots of projects still on the list.  Prayers and plans happening all over the Carondelet Garden.  I hope you get a chance to walk and pray in nature on this beautiful Thursday in Eastertide.  I'm certainly doing just that today.  That's all the news from here in the Carondelet Garden.  

It has been a lovely Eastertide here in the Carondelet Garden in South Saint Louis.  The Hostas have returned in abundance.  Last year we had a bit of a mess as the roofers next door neglected to cover them while throwing the old shingles off the roof.  They were, needless to say, a bit destroyed looking.  This spring they are back to their glorious little selves.  As a friend told me, "You can't kill a hosta!"

It's a busy day here in the garden as we get ready for the mulch to arrive.  We are doing some painting and repair work as well.  Moving a few of the statuary and things around.  Finishing up a bit of planting.  A busy day for this old gardener.  

I have to remind myself to slow down, or I'll pay for it later.  I'm not able to do as much as I once did.  I'm reminded of that almost daily.  Yet, it's okay.  It's good to slow down and actually appreciate what I have.  To truly pay attention and be present.  To actually witness the glory all around me.  Take a bit of time and truly appreciate and see the glory about you today as you journey about.  That's all the news from here in the Carondelet Garden.

It is an absolutely gorgeous day here in the Carondelet Garden in South Saint Louis.  The tulips are stunning right now in the garden.  The birds are singing and the skies are blue.  What more could you want for a Tuesday in Paschaltide?

I was doing my daily meditation this morning.  Mary Magdalene is at the tomb filled with grief and sorrow.  The Rabbi is gone!  What? Where did he go? Who took his body?  When Jesus appeared, she didn't recognize him.  That moment hit me this morning.  How often does Jesus appear and I don't recognize him.  Jesus appears often, and I turn away because I don't see Jesus.  I see a beggar or someone panhandling on the side of the highway exit.  I don't see Jesus.  I want to see Jesus!  I want to experience the joy of Mary when she recognizes his face and grief turns to joy.  I want to see Jesus in the faces and things around me.  Yet, I struggle.  Doubts, fear, stubbornness and pride.  I struggle.  Struggle.  

"Open my eyes.  I want to see Jesus." The lyrics of the song are the words on my heart this Tuesday in Paschaltide.  Open my eyes because I want to see Jesus.  Open my eyes. Open my heart. Open my mind. Amen.