One of Mike’s new hats from Lids at the airport!

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Churchwide

We're just back from Churchwide in Orlando, Florida....high humidity, high prices, and high room numbers!...When we boarded our flight in Minneapolis...the Delta Dame said - we will pre-board those that need extra time because of wheelchairs, walkers, crutches.  We will not pre-board families...This whole plane is full of families!  Oh - and she called us forward - a first for me - and bumped us to first class to put families together....wasn't that too bad?  :)

We were at the Marriott World Center - (where name badges have the employees’ home towns - so they don't all say Orlando! –“ oh you're from Minnesota - you have quite a commute to tend bar” – “well I've lived here for 13 years!”)  The Marriott is a world unto itself...you can't walk anywhere; matter of fact...not even a good hike...CVS was closest and that was 15 min. by cab.  Of course protesters could get to the entrance!  So my Iowa naiveté was shocked with $15 burgers AND our room number had 5 digits - so I had to carry a crib sheet to get to the room!  Can you tell I don't get out much?     

I had crab cakes twice and salmon twice plus food from around the globe at mission encounter events, shrimp cooked before me at a Japanese SteakHouse and it was all good

Worship was glorious.  Mission Encounter fabulous.  There was wonderful music by the Global Mission Band.  Heidi, a youth director told me they were dancing salsa-ish…and Prs Kroona, Sherer,  Mike and Heidi were spotted in the conga line.  We met Karen a missionary to Chile whom we hope to see soon in Chile.

I attended my first churchwide assembly ten years ago in Indianapolis and now my second one …bookends to Mike’s service as bishop.  At both there were protesters – at the first the theme was let us in and at the second, keep them out.

At the first I sat on a bus ride tour with Ione, who was gracious and welcoming to this newbie to the bishops’ spouses “club” and this year our conversations were equally delightful.  Her husband was elected presiding bishop at my first churchwide!  He is great.

Prairie Work

Sunday, May 8^th I broadcast an acre of big bluestem, rye, wheat, and switch grass seed on our prairie restoration.  A strong wind made broadcasting a simple task.  I was reminded of the sower in Matthew with seed landing on rocky soil, the path, and good soil.

Our prairie restoration is now going on 6 years.  The top of the slope had soil removed so the black fertile soil was gone.  On one steep slope we erected an erosion barrier.  Each spring I wait to see what comes up, where there are still bare spots and where unwanted non-native plants are thriving.  The prairie teaches patience, usually an unwanted lesson for me.  The prairie changes subtly from May to June to July to August to September to October.  In addition to native grasses I’m trying to keep native forbs growing…. forbs are the flowers of the prairie.

Loon Lake in August is glorious and frustrating; glorious because so many prairie forbs are in bloom and frustrating because so many weeds are thriving.  Last year I targeted yellow clover and this year there is less….whether it was due to my diligence at chopping down or because it is a bad year for yellow clover is unknown.  This year I have put the white clover in my cross hairs.

 The blooms include black-eyed Susan, purple and yellow coneflower, evening primrose, blue lettuce, maybe prairie ragworts, coreopsis, liatrus and Canadian anemone.  The big bluestem, little bluestem, and Indian grass appears to be thickening. 

This year’s winding path seems especially inviting for me.  Each year we mow a different path to reduce stress on the native prairie plants that come back and so we explore different areas.