Pray For Rain

The back of my Tahoe says it all.  It's been almost a month without

a measurable rain and the earth is getting a bit crispy. God must have

heard the prayers of everyone - tropical storm Lee is supposed to give us three

to five inches of rain in the next few days.  Maybe our prayers

need to be a little more specific!

Somehow, the pumpkins are surviving and they are beginning to

produce a fruit.  We have beehives on the farm to help pollinate the blossoms.  

The first flowers are almost always male. The pollen on these first male flowers

attracts bees and alerts them to the location of the blooming vines. By the time

the first female blossoms open, the bees' route is well established and the male

 flowers' pollen is transferred to the female flowers by the bees. Male flowers bloom

 for one day, then drop off the plants.

Look at the base of the blossom - the little round ball will eventually become a pumpkin!



Now you can see the pumpkin start to form and the dead bloom will soon fall off.

First the pumpkin is green, then it turns the perfect shade of orange.

We are always amazed and humbled at the miracle of

a simple seed producing such a bountiful fruit.

"I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground

and dies, it remains only a single seed.  But if it dies, it produces

many seeds.  The man who loves his life will lose it, while

the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for

eternal life."  John 12: 24, 25