Yellow

 September 3, 2021

Yesterday, Linda asked me why I don’t write about gratitude anymore. I don’t have much of an answer except I write mostly about what I am reading in the Scriptures. Occasionally however, my reading falls a bit flat, at which time I revert back to my gratitude calendar, which for today prompted me to think of three things yellow for which I am thankful. So here goes:

1. This morning was pretty cool, and since we haven’t fired up our furnace or wood stove, it made for a much more comfortable reading time to light the little gas heater in our entry way. I was quite thankful for the yellow flame that danced in the stove as we sat to read and pray.

2. The goldenrod is in bloom and my bees are in full stride gathering nectar. Goldenrod is the biggest source of nectar in our area this time of year. Spring gives us locust and apple, but goldenrod has been the biggest producer for me in the past, and I expect it will be so this year also. When I kept bees before (pre-2000), my anticipation of the goldenrod was almost palpable, and in the years when I didn’t have any colonies, I would drive the countryside bemoaning all that goldenrod nectar going to waste. I am glad to be back in the business, and will check my colonies tomorrow to make sure they have enough frames and top bars to accommodate the harvest.

3. Outside our front door and cascading down the back terrace is a wild profusion of Black-eyed Susans. They are one of Linda’s favorite fall flowers, and grow with such wild abandon that we have to thin them out every so often. It’s nice to have a few flowers that don’t require a lot of attention, and these fit the bill.

4. Bonus gratitude: We don’t have a large vegetable garden. A couple raised beds that contain a few rows of green beans, three tomato vines, a couple Bell peppers, and a couple squash. The yellow summer squash are some of our favorites, especially sliced and fried. And although we don’t grow it ourselves, the home grown sweet corn we buy from our Amish friends can’t be beat! This time of year, the fresh vegetables and fruits make for a special blessing, and provide the produce for canning and freezing that will sustain us until the next harvest. The promise God gave Noah still sustains us today: 

“While the earth remains, 

Seedtime and harvest, 

Cold and heat, 

Winter and summer, 

And day and night Shall not cease.” —Genesis 8:22