This morning, as every morning, Reggie and I go out to the garden first thing after our walk. It is cool with the smell of the flowers, shrubs, trees, and the slightly moist Earth. As I step out on my patio, I say “Good Morning my beautiful garden.” Reggie gives a little bark as he bounces out on the deck announcing to the garden and the neighborhood that he is here. The energy, vibration and frequency elevate as I speak and the most joyful, peaceful feeling settles over me. I am walking into a sacred place and the garden’s Spirit is welcoming me and Reggie.
I walk a certain way so I make sure to view and talk with each part of the garden – my children’s rose bushes, my mini-orchard with the garden box full of tomatoes and cantaloupe and fruit trees, my mini-forest filled with ivy, and all of the beautiful azaleas, camellias, hydrangeas, ferns, lilies, petunias, lantana, geraniums, and other flowering and non-flowering plants whose names are unknown to me.
The older peach tree is loaded with peaches. I have been checking them every day to see if they are ready to pick. They are small this year as the intense heat in July and August seemed to stunt their growth. As I step down into the mini-orchard, I see a peach on the ground and another in the Iris bed. I pick them up and smell them; they are ready. Spirit let me know it is time to pick the peaches. So, I get my big basket and pick all but the small green peaches off the tree. I have a heaping basket of peaches to share, freeze, and enjoy.
Peach is one of my favorite fruits because of its color, smell, outer fuzzy feel when held, the inner texture and taste, especially the juice. It comforts me with all that it is and all the ways that it can be used – eaten off the tree, made into pie, cobbler, jelly or jam, topping for oatmeal or yogurt, ice cream, smoothies, fragrance to be sprayed into a room, and other uses. In my curiosity to know more about the peach, I looked it up on Wikipedia; what it said is quoted (slightly edited) below.
“The peach (Prunus persica) is a decidious tree native to the region of Northwest China between the Tarim Basin and the north slopes of the Kunlun Mountains, where it was first domesticated and cultivated. It bears an edible juicy fruit called a peach or a nectarine.
“The specific name persica refers to its widespread cultivation in Persia (modern-day Iran), from where it was transplanted to Europe. It belongs to the genus Prunus which includes the cherry, apricot, almond and plum in the rose family. The peach is classified with the almond in the subgenus Amygdalus, distinguished from the other subgenera by the corrugated seed shell. Due to their close relatedness, the inside of a peach stone tastes remarkably similar to almond, and peach stones are often used to make a cheap version of marzipan, known as persipan….
“China alone produced 58% of the world’s total for peaches and nectarines in 2016.”
Such a rich history and journey from China to my mini-orchard. Reading that it belongs in the rose family surprised and delighted me as the red rose is one of my favorite flowers. Two things I love connected in a way I did not know before seems especially heartwarming to me. I thank the peach tree for bringing forth such bounty, for coming to the United States, and my garden. It reminds me of Reggie’s and my history of our journey from the Spirit world to these bodies on this Earth. What marvelous experiences the peach tree, Reggie and I have had.
The peach tree is older and somewhat frail, has produced fruit for many years, and was beginning to fall over with the roots starting to protrude out of the ground. My gardener straightened it up and tied it to the entrance arbor to the mini-orchard so it is secure. It reminds me of my Self in that there are times I need Spirit to help me straighten my Self up, reconnect me more securely, so I keep growing and producing.
The birds helped themselves to some of the peaches that are ripe on one side. I pick these also and know I can cut out the part that has marks from their little beaks. I am happy to share the peaches with them as they make my garden so joyful with their songs, nests, and little ones flying around. Spirit reminds me of the joy of sharing with nature and all, whether it be fruit, words, fertilizer, water, trimming, or sending it my Light and Love. It returns to me in infinite ways each time I look out my window, step out into the garden, or connect silently with the incredible visible and invisible worlds.
Reggie smells the peaches and decides he has no interest in eating or playing with them, which is a good decision on his part. He runs off to see what is going on in the bushes and mini-forest. He is happy in his mini-world while I am outside. When I am done, he wants to come inside with me – his Spirit has finished helping me play in the garden so he can rest now. Another early morning blessed by the peaches, the garden, Reggie, and Spirit. Nancy and Reggie♥
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