It is a wet Wednesday here in the Carondelet Garden in South Saint Louis.  The rain may be heavy, which we have already witnessed a few times.  There will be a chance for some afternoon thunderstorms as well.  Some storms may be severe, so be careful out there.  We may get another one to two inches of rain.  We welcome the heavenly moisture but could use it spread out a bit more.  

​Today would have been my mom's 89th birthday.  It's hard to believe she has been gone for 20 years now.  She loved flowers and especially the color pink.  So here is a tulip for you today.  April 30th has bittersweet memories as today is also the 10th anniversary of the passing of my father-in-law.  I was definitely not his first choice as a son-in-law but over a long marriage we grew to care for each other.  The weather is appropriate for today.  

Losing those we love is simply something we have come to accept as we are getting older.  We are at that age where we attend more funerals than we do weddings.  Yet, the one thing I have learned is that when we count getting older as nothing but a series of losses, we lose sight of its gains.  FDR once said, "the only thing to fear is fear itself."  I believe my job right now is to simply not fear the fear.  Embracing the signs of change in me, embracing the very things I fear losing.  These things are a call to new beginning.  I'm getting slower and slower.  I don't have the stamina I once had.  My memory is not what it once was to be sure.  But I still get up every morning with a sense of what's going to happen today?  That is a blessing!

Keep moving!  Stay as active as I can.  Try to do the things that interest me and, hopefully, enrich the lives of those around me.  That's the goal anyway.  Be good to yourself and stay safe on this wet Wednesday the last day of April.  That's all the news from here in the Carondelet Garden.

A beautiful, sunny Monday morning here in the Carondelet Garden in South Saint Louis.  The skies should be sunny to partly cloudy all day with highs in the upper 80s.  Extremely warm for this late April in South Saint Louis.  Winds could occasionally gust over 40 MPH.  Of course, this means that thunderstorms are probably on the horizon.  Buckle up! The weather is going to change soon enough.

Some of our Roses have come into bloom this early Spring and they are glorious!  There is something that feels so perfect about a blooming rose.  The beauty, the scent, the velvet texture all combines for a bit of grace.

I was thinking about the Gospel reading from this weekend.  John Chapter 20 seems to have it all!  We have Mary Magdalene finding the empty tomb first! Jesus Christ has risen and, of course, my favorite Thomas the doubter!  What an amazing story it is!

Yet, for me, Thomas stands out. He was not there when the other disciples encountered the risen Christ.  They told him they had seen the risen Jesus, but Thomas was there on that Good Friday.  He saw the suffering.  He witnessed the horror. He heard the cries of anguish.  He saw it with his own eyes.  He wasn't going to pretend that didn't happen.  He saw his friend murdered.  It was real.  That is hard to forget even when your friends tell you that he's back.  How could that be, I saw him!  I saw it!  I was there!

Then it happened.  Jesus appeared again.  This time Thomas was there.  Jesus wasn't angry.  He didn't say you are worthless because you doubt.  He offered himself to Thomas.  Here, put your hands on my side.  Touch my hands and feet.  Touch me!  The horror of Good Friday was real, but it wasn't the end of the story.  The real story was just beginning.  Amen.

A few sprinkles around the Carondelet Garden on this last Friday of April.  We should see cloudy skies with a few thunderstorms developing later this afternoon.  Highs in the upper 70s with winds out of the WNW at 5 to 10 MPH.  I love the smell of rain and Spring in the air.

I am weary and sore this morning.  It has been a good week of work in the Garden.  The beauty of the Garden pierces the pain.  It reminds me of who I am and invites me to reconnect with my soul.  Our eyes "see" but don't always perceive.  I find that to be true of my relationship with the Creator.  Saint Ignatius of Loyola told his followers to find God in all things, and if we are to find God in all things, in our daily, ordinary lives, we have to quiet the world and listen.  Listen in the silence of our hearts.  It is when I am most busy, most distracted, most buried in my own pain that I fail to listen.

Luke 11:9 tells me that if I seek, I will find.  But I often do not really seek the Creator.  This week I've tried to quiet the noise.  I took solace in the Garden.  A bit of time to pray and seek and find a bit of peace.  This week I consciously turned my eyes toward the good in myself and others.  This week I searched for beauty and found a bit of solace.  

Search for the beauty.  Celebrate the good.  Live this simple, ordinary life to the fullest.  Be good to yourself and others as you make your journey.  That's all the news from here in the Carondelet Garden.

It is sunny out in the Carondelet Garden on this midweek morning in April.  We should see partly cloudy skies throughout the day with highs in the mid-80s.  Winds are coming out of the ESE at 5 to 10 MPH.  A beautiful Spring Day in South Saint Louis.  Time to get to work!

Before working I am admiring the Vinca ground cover in the side garden.  Talk about right plant, right place!  This lovely plant is thriving in the sunshine next to the sidewalk.  We have to stay vigilant as it can outgrow its intended use, but we could not be happier with the result.  Do you have a favorite groundcover?

"Notice how the flowers grow.  They neither labor nor weave, yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was robed like one of these."  -Luke 12:27  

I have been retreating to the Garden these past few days.  I need a break from the world right now.  Too much hate.  Too much anger.  Too much avarice.  Too much.  I need the quiet.  I need the labor.  I need the solitude.  I need to pray.  I need something to be grateful for.  The flowers are beautiful! Thank you!  The lettuce is delicious.  Thank you.  The sunshine is warming my old bones.  Thank you!  

The fact is we become what we think about.  What we seed in our souls grows in us, forms us, becomes what drives us from moment to moment.  I want to be more grateful, more loving.  If I put into prayer, love for my enemies, if I pray to a loving Creator to make me more grateful, then however long it takes it will happen.  Like a drop of rain in the midst of a thunderstorm, I will become part of the heart of love and gratitude.

It's a good day to be a little kinder.  It's a good day to say thank you.  It's a good day to look around at the beauty of Spring and pray out loud:  WOW!  That's all the news from here in the Carondelet Garden.

In 1962 Rachel Carson published her New York Times bestseller "Silent Spring."  Selling over 500,000 copies, the book raised awareness and concern for the environment and the incredible links between pollution and public health.  It's time for everyone to unite around renewable energy andaddressing climate change.

As Pope Francis implored us in "Lauudato Si" now is the time to develop ecological awareness and realize that it is our moral imperative to engage in environmental stewardship.  How we care for our common home flows from the Christian faith.  We are close to the breaking point, and we know that the human origin of global warming is now beyond all doubt.

Pope Francis wrote: “With the passage of time, I have realized that our responses have not been adequate, while the world in which we live is collapsing and may be nearing the breaking point. In addition to this possibility, it is indubitable that the impact of climate change will increasingly prejudice the lives and families of many persons” 

The clouds are thick, and the skies are dark over the Carondelet Garden on the Monday in Easter.  The clouds should stick around all morning, but we may see some sunshine in the afternoon.  The clouds are reflective of our hearts this Easter Monday.

It is a sad day for our world as we mourn the loss of Pope Francis.  He was an imperfect man in an imperfect age trying to what was right for an imperfect church.  No matter your opinion of the big "C" Catholic Church, Pope Francis brought a love of the marginalized to the forefront. He put forward welcoming the stranger as a fundamental mission of the Church.  He also championed the care for our planet.  Rest in peace good and faithful servant.  You inspired many, infuriated others, and left a legacy of love.  Gaudate et Exsultate!

"May you live in interesting times."  So goes the ancient curse.  We certainly are living in interesting times.  Today, I am praying for strength.  I am praying for wisdom.  I am praying for Faith and Hope.  I am praying for love.  Today we mourn.  Tomorrow, we go back to work.  We remember to Rejoice and Be Glad!  Gaudate et Exsultate!  

It is dark and cloudy here in the Carondelet Garden on this Good Friday morning.  The clouds will stick around all day with the possibility of a stray afternoon thunderstorm.  Fitting weather for Good Friday.  

Lent is finally finished.  The Lenten roses have given me the gift of grace and beauty over the past few weeks.  A glorious harbinger of Spring and life at the end of Winter and the reminder that life will return.  Death is here but the resurrection is coming.  The promise fulfilled!

I wish you all a Happy Easter!  Be good and be kind to yourself and others while you journey about.  That's all the news from here in the Carondelet Garden.

A bit of a chilly start to the day here in the Carondelet Garden.  It is still dark outside on this mid-week morning in Holy Week.  The Doodle does not believe in sleeping in.  So let the day begin with expected sunshine and a few afternoon clouds.  Highs in the mid-70s and the winds should be a lot calmer today out of the South at 10 MPH.  

"A primrose by the river's brink," said the vicar's wife.  "The river's brim!  The next line ends in hymn!" the vicar corrected.  I always laugh at that line from John Ford's amazing film The Quiet Man with John Way, Maureen O'Hara and the incredible Barry Fitzgerald.  The primrose is a lovely plant with an incredible scent that brightens the pathway into the prayer garden.  What a lovely thing to see every day.

This week I am reminded of death.  Yet not just death but also resurrection!  It isn't over on Good Friday; it is just beginning.  Whatever the many deaths of the day for us, resurrection is coming.  We know that it will because, given time, it always has before, and I have faith it will once again.  

My prayers are with our new Mayor and Comptroller.  I love this City of Saint Louis that has been my home for my entire life.  I was born on the street where I live right now here in the Carondelet neighborhood.  I believe in the goodness of this City because I have witnessed it firsthand in my neighborhood.  I pray for the resurrection of my neighborhood and my City on this Wednesday morning.  I'm praying for all of us!  A bit of grace, a bit of kindness and goodness along the way.  That's all the news from here in the Carondelet Garden.

It is dark and mild outside in the Carondelet Garden on this Monday morning in April.  A lovely mild start to the day with 65-degree temperatures already.  We won't get too much warmer today with highs in the lower 70s by this afternoon under cloudy skies.

The five senses are all in full swing in the Garden right now.  The incredible scent of the blooming Lilacs let you know, in no uncertain way, that Spring is in full, glorious splendor!  The do not last incredibly long but they are such a joy for the short time they grace us with their presence.  A simple, ordinary thing that we so often miss if we don't take a moment to stop and enjoy!

What I have noticed is that as I get older and a bit slower that if we see the Creator and the creation around us as goodness then we can see life as goodness as well.  If we see God as a kind of sly and insidious judge, tempting us with goodness in order to see if we can be seduced into some sort of moral downfall then we are stuck in a trap of negativity.  What I am discovering is that living a full life really depends more on my frame of mind, on my deep, fundamental spirituality that it does on my physical limitations.  

It is Holy Week.  The end of the season of Lent and the journey to death and ultimately resurrection.  So much can happen in a very short time.  The journey continues.  That's all the news from here in the Carondelet Garden.

It's dark and cloudy with a slight mist in the air this morning in the Carondelet Garden.  The clouds will be hanging around all day.  The highs should reach into the mid 50s by late this afternoon.  Not a bad way to finish off the week.

As I'm getting older and, admittedly, slower I've abandoned the need to get things accomplished by someone else's timetable.  Instead, I plunge in, headfirst, into a completely different time, an immense and inexorable time completely out of my control, defined by weather, my old knees and hips, and, above all, the seasons.

April is the month of SLOW GARDENING.  A time to chill out, relax, and observe.  I've come to realize that the point of gardening is the doing of it, not the having got it done.  Slow down and enjoy!  

It's the end of the week.  Be good and be kind to yourself this Friday in April.  That's all the news from here in the Carondelet Garden.

It is dark, dark, dark outside in the Carondelet Garden on this Wednesday morning.  The forecast calls for clouds and overcast skies this afternoon with highs near 70-degrees.  Not a bad day here in Saint Louis.

The freeze warning earlier this week didn't hurt us here in the Carondelet Garden.  I covered the cold frame but had a couple of raised beds that made it through with no problems.  The spinach looked healthy and happy yesterday.

A big day in Saint Louis yesterday with a new mayor and a new comptroller.  No matter our personal choices it is in all of our best interests to rally around our newly elected officials and support them as best we can.  I am praying for a renewed City!

Happy Birthday to my amazing Great Niece who turns two-years-old today.  She is an absolute joy!  We are so ridiculously blessed to be a part of her life and our incredible super mom, our niece! You two are so loved!  That's all the news from here in the Carondelet Garden.

Nothing could possibly bring a smile to this old gardener's face more than the rays of sunshine shining down on the Carondelet Garden on this Monday morning.  After the rain and gloom of the past few days the sunshine is more than welcome.  A big old dose of grace for this second week of April.  The sunshine should stick around with a few afternoon clouds.  There is a freeze watch out for tonight beginning at midnight.  I think this urban garden is in good shape but some of our suburban friends may need to protect sensitive plantings this evening.

The Spring lettuce is coming on in full force in the cold frame.  We have garlic and sweet onions in the raised beds already.  Spring is certainly springing here in the Carondelet Garden.  I need this bit of hope in these troubled times.  The fact is we become what we think about.  What we seed in our souls grows in us, forms us, become what drives us from moment to moment.  Do we seed doubt and fear?  Do we seed grace and hope?  Faith? Love?  I am trying for love!  If I put into prayer love for my enemies, if I pray to a loving Creator to make me loving, too!

The truth is that I have to pray for the strength to do what I am meant to do.  I must ask for the courage to meet the challenges of this time.  Ask for the courage to meet the challenges of this life.  Beg for the endurance it will take to go on, even if nothing changes.  I am praying for the humility to find my wholeness in my littleness.  I am weak, but thou art strong.  

Tomorrow is election day in our beautiful City of Saint Louis.  Change is in the air, and we are hopeful for the outcome that brings a positive energy to our city and the progress we so desperately need.  Dr. B and I have already voted.  We hope you can take the time to vote as well.  It's a privilege and right that we need to exercise however we lean on the political spectrum.  I may not agree with you or you with me, but I do respect your right to believe and will fight to protect your rights.  

A new week.  The sun is shining, and the temperatures are going to get a bit warmer and more Spring-like as the week goes on.  Be good to yourself and be kind as well.  We need all of the goodness and kindness we can muster right now.  That's all the news from here in the Carondelet Garden.

It's dark out in the Carondelet Garden on this first Friday in April.  It is surprisingly mild this early morning.  The 50s are going to be the norm pretty much all day with rain moving in later this morning.  We may see thunderstorms by this afternoon with a forecast of heavy rain.  It is possible to get 1 to 2 inches before the day is over with more in the forecast for tomorrow.  Rain, rain go away come again another day!

The 'Cherokee Chief' Dogwood is in full glory in the back garden right now.  Such a stunning beauty with its delicate pink and white blossoms.  A bit of grace in the midst of the rainy gloom. 

We are over the halfway point in this Lenten season.  I'm struggling a bit with religion, not faith but the institutional part.  The "man-made" stuff that sometimes makes you scratch your head and wonder.  SMH as the kids would say.  As an old man I'm finally realizing its best to keep it simple.  Love God. Love your neighbor.  Don't judge.  Choose happiness as much as possible.  Make a difference where you can.  The rest is stuff.  Stuff that I'm afraid I'm not willing to be bothered with anymore.

Stormy weather ahead.  Be safe.  Take care of yourselves.  Be good and be kind along the way.  That's all the news from here in the Carondelet Garden.

It is dark and quite mild this early morning in the Carondelet Garden.  The weather is looking a bit frightful once again on this April Wednesday.  We should see the winds really pick up this afternoon with thunderstorms likely.  We may see some damaging winds and large hail with some storms.  The high should reach into the middle 70s.  Buckle up Saint Louis.  Here we go again.

We have added a flowering Quince to the garden this Spring.  This variety is the Double--Take Orange Quince.  Orange quince's large, camellia-like flowers bloom in early spring and occasionally in summer.  This thornless shrub variety is excellent for flower arranging.  

April has finally arrived.  The proper first month of Spring.  Today I offer my cautionary tale about the treachery of Saint Louis weather- warm and sunny one minute, frosty the next.  Wet and cold, stormy and windy.  The bane of all Spring blossoms and a dispiriting kick in the pants for gardeners who thought, a bit too soon, that winter was over and done.

The air smells different now; the scent of growth and renewal is a lovely brew that lifts the spirits after those dark, dank months of slumber.  The garden is awake!  Thank goodness for Spring!  

Be good and be kind to yourself and others as journey about on this blustery, changeable day.  Be prepared for changeable weather.  Take care and take cover if necessary.  That's all the news from here in the Carondelet Garden.