Preparing the Soils

The great southern snow storm of 2011 has given me a little extra time this morning to make a couple of soil preparations.

First, the soil of my heart:

My Bible reading plan has me on Mark chapter 9, and this simple response from Jesus struck a chord.

Mark 9:29, "He replied, 'This kind can come out only by prayer'."
In context, the disciples were questioning why that had been unable to command a demon out of the boy- Jesus had to step in. In principle, what sin am I struggling with, what trial is threatening to overwhelm me, or what relationship is causing me to despair, that might only require prayer.

If you're like me I'd much rather be actively doing something or even trying to ignore it til it goes away. ANYTHING but the most logical: PRAY. Thank you Lord for that reminder!

Next, the soil for my seeds:

I have it on good authority, the United States Postal Service, that my annual seeds have left the Birmingham post office. Which means for me that today or tomorrow, I will receive my seed order. Now, I have thus far, in my short gardening experience, always started my seeds too late. For instance, I have a lot of little green pansies, none of which are blooming! I'm guessing they'll bloom about the time everyone else is planting their summer annuals :/! And of course there is the baby pie pumpkin that has finally ripened in the window - not quite in time for Thanksgiving....

So, if I'm going to err this time it will be on the 'too early' side of seed starting. I'm posting a few pics of my DIY seed starting method. As always, I've gathered my facts from GOOGLE and modified with what I have on hand. There is definitely a learning curve.