Summer Showers

If it wasn't for the pollen, Spring would be my favorite time of the year. But, with my severe allergies, Spring is just barely bearable. If it wasn't for the new life and new growth, it would be my least favorite.

As such, Summer is my favorite time of year, even down here in the Deep South. "Deep fried" isn't only for the kitchen- it is YOU every time you step outside for any length of time. But I don't mind sweating (I've been in a marching band for nearly half my life). And what makes Summer so special is nature.

All sorts of fruit come to bear in Summer. I've covered blueberries in a previous post, but that is only one fruit in my backyard. Peaches, apples, figs, plums- all right outside my back door. And out in the field wild raspberries. I can assure you that none of this harvest goes to waste. My father has become quite handy with canning and persevering fruits and vegetables. He makes a mean blueberry jelly. And his plum jelly... well, its plum good.

But all this fruit would not grow without rain, and plenty of it. Summer showers bring just enough to help the plants grow- usually. This year has been short on rain in the past two months. Though today's Summer shower... As we say in the Deep South, it was a gully washer.

The sky grew darker in the afternoon and the air grew heavy. In the distance, thunder rumbled. Rain was on its way. It began with a few light drops, a misting. A tease really, of what was to come.

When the rain poured, it poured. The wind blew out of the south, sending waves rolling through the field. You could almost hear the fruit trees sighing, drinking up all that water.

It is one thing to water plants with tap water out of a water hose. But rain, falling from the heavens... You can't get that in a bottle.

Blueberry Pickin'

If you've lived in the Deep South for any amount of time, you've picked blueberries at least once or twice. I've been picking berries since I've been knee high to a grasshopper. Used to hate doing it; now I find a simple pleasure in it. The older I get, the more simple things mean to me.

Ever since my father took up the hobby of making jelly, my family has picked much, much more in the past two or three years. The man can make jelly out of any fruit, but seeing as how there is a little blueberry orchard in the backyard... We are never out of blueberry jelly anymore.

To those who do not know, there are different varieties of blueberries. I myself do not know the names of them, but I do know that usually the big berries are a little sour and the smaller berries are sweeter. As my mother says, you have to mix both to make a good jelly.

Like any other fruit, blueberries depend on a regular source of water. Summer showers usually keep the berries big and ripe, but for some reason, the summer showers haven't been as regular as the past few years and it really shows in the berries.

One particular bush that has ALWAYS produced the biggest berries now has the smallest berries on its branches. The bush that has always produced the smallest berries now has the biggest 'uns this year. There must be a life lesson in this somewhere...

As a Christian, I need "water" to grow the spiritual fruits in my life. If I receive an abundance of a water, my fruits will show. But if I receive just a little water, barely enough to survive, the fruits I produce will show that too.