Sawing, Growing and Reading

 

It was a sad day here at the Lovestead yesterday when Bill sawed down a plum tree. 

The tree had died after the winter of 2023-24 along with many other fruit trees in the region.  

It was the second of our two plum trees which have yielded large quantities of bright red and purple plums over the years.

Our other, bigger tree was blown over in the strange wind storm of last September. 

As a result of losing these trees, our spring blossom show has taken a dramatic hit.  Hopefully, the service berry bushes will make up for some of the loss.  

Probably today, Bill will remove another fruit tree, a small apple tree which yielded good-sized apples, usually enough to fill a bucket.

I think this tree, which has had some problems the last few years, finally gave up with the same winter kill that took the plum tree. 

Sad to lose these fruit trees, not only for their harvest but the beauty they have added to the spring blossom show.    

I spent some productive time in the green house yesterday, putting small petunias in pots in a little flower tower. 

Most of the flowers will remain in the greenhouse until we can be sure the frost is past. 

🍊🍈🍅🍎🌽🍍🍒

And while we are talking about gardening, here's a word or two about a neat and fun project for gardeners, shared by our daughter-in-law, Debbie Love, director of the Bonner County Community Food Bank.

From Debbie:   

"Grow a Row" is to encourage individuals, families, and local organizations to plant extra crops in their gardens or farms with the intention of donating the harvest to food pantries. 

People grow more food than they need and then donate the surplus to help feed those who are food insecure. 

Most pantries rely on canned and shelf stable foods so growing food for those who do not have access to nutritious foods helps families in our communities. (So many other benefits from environment, waste, etc.)

 I’m always sharing that we can take food from gardens and fruit trees. Tomatoes, beans, potatoes, carrots, even herbs -  

These types of vegetables/fruits are usually in high demand because we do not see a lot of them.

As I told Debbie, I want to participate in this worthwhile project and am hoping that my efforts don't turn out to be too much of a "food pantry" for the Bambi's who hang out at the Lovestead. 

Anyway, if you're a gardener, consider participating.  

Your efforts will be appreciated. 

🌷🌸🌹🌺🌻

This item below, which is happening later this morning, looks interesting.

  

The Sandpoint Community Assistance League is pleased to host Rachel Jeffs Blackstone on April 16 at the Heartwood Center in Sandpoint at 10 a.m.

Rachel is an author and writer based in North Idaho. A mother of seven, she escaped a polygamous cult in 2015 and has spent the last decade sharing her journey of resilience and freedom. 

Through public speaking, she raises awareness about child trafficking and human conditioning.

THIS EVENT IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC - April 16. C.A.L. Business meeting at 9:30, presentation at 10 a.m.

Breaking Free: How I Escaped Polygamy, the FLDS Cult, and My Father, Warren Jeffs

from the back cover: 

Rachel Jeffs—daughter of Warren Jeffs, the self-proclaimed Prophet of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints—writes about her life inside, and triumphant escape from, a dangerous cult that still holds thousands in its thrall.

Rachel Jeffs grew up at her father’s side as he attained power and ultimate control of the FLDS Church, a strict patriarchal culture where the women are subordinate to the men, and everyone is at the mercy of an increasingly unstable Prophet. 

Living outside mainstream Mormonism and federal law, Warren Jeffs established a cult in which members are brainwashed to do his bidding; underage girls are married to men they don’t know; parents are separated from their children; and people are cast out forever at the Prophet’s merest whim. 

Even after the FBI placed Warren Jeffs on its Ten Most Wanted List and he received a life sentence for child sexual assault, Jeffs’s iron grip on the church remains firm and his edicts to his followers grow increasingly restrictive and bizarre.

In Breaking Free, Rachel Jeffs offers a stunning look at life inside this notorious cult from the unique perspective of being both the favorite of Warren Jeffs’s more than fifty children and the object of his most depraved “revelations.” 

Compelled into an arranged polygamous marriage, locked away in “houses of hiding” as punishment for perceived transgressions, and physically separated from her children, Rachel—Jeffs’s first plural daughter by the second of his more than seventy wives—eventually faced a terrible decision: Should she stay in this hell, or should she leave everything and everyone she’d ever known?

A shocking and mesmerizing story of faith, abuse, and courage, Breaking Free is both an exposé of religious extremism and a portrait of extraordinary resilience.

About the Author

Rachel Jeffs grew up in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the polygamous Mormon sect, which she escaped in 2015. Rachel lives in Idaho with her five children and two dogs. (Summary written in 2017). 

Speaking of trees going down, this is a portion of our God Tree, an unusual double-trunked lodgepole which crashed to the ground several years ago. 

The tree had served as an inspiring one to visit and as the location where we inducted people into our Lodgepole Society. 

We wanted to keep up the tradition, but it was just not the same when that amazing tree towered over everyone in the middle of the far pasture.

So, it just lies on the ground with huge trunks headed north and south in that pasture.  The sight is still eye-catching when one walks past it. 

Below:  I couldn't help but snap this photo this morning.  In the morning light, the house at the backdrop of the green lawn looked stunning. 

Happy Wednesday.