Advent Song

 

Some of us believe that God is almighty and can do everything; and that He is all wise and may do everything; but that He is all love and will do everything—there we draw back.

                       —Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine Love

 

A simple believer in God’s own strength,
I do not fear to speak with angels,
or dream of fragrant healing embers,
or white visions that day dispels.
 
To be asked to be steadfast is nothing.
The bee steadfastly guards its honey.
Each crystal of light is more than life,
and this, too, is the task for me.
 
Now you will not hear the words of my voice.
My eyes speak, rain speaks, lamps speak instead.
All my hopes are fostered in silence.
It is by love that I am led.

Tulsi

Tulsi (Ocimum sanctum), also known as holy basil, is an herb used extensively in Ayurvedic medicine.  It is related to common basil used in cooking, and its medicinal properties have been studied extensively throughout the world.  It has many specific uses in Ayurveda, but is also known to promote overall wellness, especially in a body under physical or mental stress.  It has been shown to be effective in maintaining a healthy metabolism by improving blood glucose, lipid balance, and blood pressure.  Additionally, it has mild antibiotic properties.  Tulsi tea is good for washing wounds and can be used to make a refreshing mouthwash.  There are other benefits attributed to it, though not all of them have been scientifically verified.  It contains vitamin A and C, as well as a number of essential minerals.  It does occasionally have side effects, including low blood sugar, bleeding, and decreased fertility--at extremely high levels.  And it can also interact with a few medicines or other herbs as well, but again, usually only with very high consumption.  Tulsi can be grown outdoors and indoors.  Since it is a tropical plant, it does best where temperatures are high, but can tolerate milder temperatures as an annual.  It likes rich, well-drained soil and plenty of water.  Ayurvedic practitioners sometimes call tulsi “the queen of herbs.”

(Thanks to Peter W. for sending us tulsi seeds last Christmas.)

No Comment Needed

An Associated Press analysis reveals that in 376 counties with the highest number of new [covid-19] cases per capita, the overwhelming majority — 93% of those counties — went for Trump, a rate above other less severely hit areas. (AP News, 11/6/20)

Day Unto Day Conveys the Message

Consider, beloved, how the Lord keeps reminding us of the resurrection that is to come, of which he has made the Lord Jesus Christ the first fruits by raising him from the dead. Let us look, beloved, at the resurrection that occurs as its appointed time. Day and night show us a resurrection; the night lies in sleep, day rises again; the day departs, night takes its place. Let us think about the harvest; how does the sowing take place, and in what manner? The sower goes out and casts each seed onto the ground. Dry and bare, they fall into the earth and decay. Then the greatness of the Lord’s providence raises them up again from decay, and out of one many are produced and yield fruit.

                                                                                                                --St. Clement of Rome

Monarch

 

Amid the scores of Painted Ladies that have descended on the lantanas and sunflowers: a single, solitary Monarch.  Monarchs tend to appear around here in the late summer, especially on the fringed twinevine (the "milkweed of the desert") which grows over one of the pomegranate bushes.  They will drink from the flowers of the twinevine, and they use it as a host for their larvae, but they also like the lantanas for nectar.  Some years (the Monarchs don't appear around here every year), they form giant swarms along chain-link fences heavily-covered by fringed twinevine.  Monarchs face less danger from predators when they form large groups.  But the Monarch in our garden is all alone.  A few of the Painted Ladies make half-hearted attempts to chase her away, as if saying, “What are you doing here?”  The Monarch isn’t intimidated by them and just keeps sipping from the flowers.

     I never tire of watching butterflies as they spend their days feeding in the burning sun and carrying out mating rituals and laying their eggs, leaving behind colorful and voracious larvae.  They are truly like living flowers, including this solitary Monarch, who circles the garden for a few moments whenever she is disturbed.

Painted Lady Butterflies

 

Our garden is experiencing a sudden surge of Painted Ladies—seemingly out of nowhere.  Along with most of our usual butterflies, they have been absent all summer.  (Only the giant swallowtails, attracted by our orange trees and rue, have been abundant this year.)  The Painted Ladies are like clouds over the blossoming bushes, as they energetically flit from flower to flower.  They are quick and wary, and very easily disturbed, flying away for a moment when anyone approaches them.  But they quickly return.  Did they all emerge from their chrysalises as adults at the same time, or did they migrate here from somewhere else?  The world's most common butterflies, Painted Ladies are among the most interesting migratory creatures of the animal kingdom and travel long distances across generations like the better-known monarch does.  It's said that they can reach speeds of thirty miles an hour while migrating, and sometimes travel almost a hundred miles a day.  Like all butterflies, they love hot weather.  With plenty of nectar plants, as well as sunflowers and mallows for their larvae, the garden filled with sunshine is a paradise to them.

***

     On the evening of their arrival, however, one butterfly was caught by a well-camouflaged praying mantis (the color of a mature lantana stem), who then enjoyed a hearty meal—his own little paradise.

July 30th

Was not this entire visible universe made for your dwelling? It was for you that the light dispelled the overshadowing gloom; for your sake was the night regulated and the day measured, and for you were the heavens embellished with the varying brilliance of the sun, the moon and the stars. The earth was adorned with flowers, groves and fruit; and the constant marvelous variety of lovely living things was created in the air, the fields, and the seas for you, lest sad solitude destroy the joy of God’s new creation.

                                                                                                  —St. Peter Chrysologus