Author: Joy Hurt

The time has come for everyone in our country to take a moment to think. Critical thinking is a lost art, but one we desperately need as the time for voting our conscience has arrived. It’s time to consider important issues from every angle.

In Nevada, voting began on Saturday with polls opening at 10 am. I’d hoped for a repeat of the primary. On that snowy night, the line of voters wrapped around the Senior Center as people stood outside in the cold waiting to cast their votes.

We’re a tiny town of 25,000 souls. Country folks are often conservative, but our town seems equally divided as the rest of the country. We arrived at the polls 30 minutes before opening to get a place in line. Even though we planned carefully, it still took two hours to vote.

Before we’d opened our car doors to stand outside on the crisp autumn morning, a random man started giving a dire warning. It seemed someone had hacked his voting information. He had already contacted the Governor, Sheriff, and the Mayor. For goodness sake, he’d even sent word to the FBI.

Having received voter ID cards in the mail with all the correct information, we weren’t worried. As much as we tried to politely ignore him, he stuck to us like glue. We’d better check. “THEY” were out to get every vote. “THEY” could change our votes, too. We never figured out exactly who “THEY” were.

Moving into line, it was amusing to listen to the chatter around us. Two very large heavy equipment operators at a local pit compared Caterpillar to Komatsu while my attention focused on a city-fied young man with a folding table. Just where did he come from and where was he going? What propaganda did he intend to set up on his black card table taken out of the car with California license plates?

In the middle of hundreds of people, we knew only one. HHH’s Spanish teacher from high school. Now, HHH is 70 (Sorry, HHH, but I must make my point.) His HIGH SCHOOL SPANISH TEACHER came out to vote. Bless her heart. As she bubbled with happiness, she told us she was there to meet a candidate’s wife who would be visiting waiting voters.

By this time, the man with the card table was identified as part of THAT candidate’s team and we sent her in that direction as the clock marched towards 10 am.

About 9:50, a few activists started spewing hate towards Israel over their bull-horn while the candidate’s wife passed out pamphlets about conservative issues. HHH’s Spanish Teacher was lost in the crowd as the clock struck 10.

The doors didn’t magically open as everyone had hoped. Twenty minutes more in the cold, the line finally began inching toward the polls. By the time we left, City Hall’s parking lot was overflowing. The lights of our friendly Sheriff flashed near the activists. Without knowing what happened, we hurried in the opposite direction towards the car.

My biggest hope for our country this year is that all voters are engaged. Carefully consider issues that matter in our lives. Personality, skin color, gender, or financial statues don’t matter. Political promises often prove hollow at the end of the day.

Search your heart. Are you better now than you were four years ago? Has your life improved? How far does your dollar go at the grocery store or gas pump. Study your sample ballot. If you are a person of faith, pray about your vote. Pray about the issues troubling our country.

Don’t wait until the last minute to vote. If possible, vote at your polling place. Be sure to smile at the poll workers and thank them for volunteering for theirs is a thankless job in an angry society.

Whatever you do, Wake Up and Stay That Way. That’s different than “Being Woke. Once awake, things become much clearer.

More tomorrow.

Our interests and commitments continue to multiply as time goes by. Yesterday, we drove an hour to the south to meet our county’s Master Gardener Coordinator. After filling out paperwork and providing fingerprints for screening, we’re on our way to completing this program. We’ll be certified by year’s end.

Master Gardener interns must complete 15 hours of additional instruction AND 35 hours of volunteer hours over the next year. We’ve been selected to teach hydroponic gardening to school-aged children at the local Boys and Girls Club in our town.

Along with the classroom gig, we’ve been asked to become caretakers for the Buckland Station community garden located 30 minutes from Winterpast. There we’ll find more raised gardens needing seedlings to be produced under our careful watch. In early February, the cycle will begin again, as tiny seeds will turn into beautiful flowers and vegetables.

There’s always a lot to do for a team of two active Master Gardeners interns.

Along with those two projects, the brand Healing Hearts comfort group will benefit from gardening. Of this, there is no doubt. There were many hours HHH (Hubba-Hubba-Hubby) and I spent time in our respective yards working the soil. The beauty of life in the garden helps heal the heart.

The kiss of the sun for pardon,
The song of the birds for mirth,
One is nearer God’s Heart in a garden
Than anywhere else on Earth.

Our new friends at the University of Nevada Extension Office also run the 4-H program for the county, servicing 120 children. This took me back to my early days of 4-H meetings, leadership, and animal projects. During my years as a member of 4-H, I learned to cook and sew. I also learned to raise rabbits, chickens, lambs, and Guide Dogs. My love for animals and all things in nature came from this club and I smile every time I see a child dressed in white and pine green.

Strolling through the autumn of life, there are so many ways we can enrich the lives of others. Help someone get through a dark time in life. Teach some littles about hydroponic gardening. Beautify a historical spot where pony express riders would stop for a nice meal and a fresh horse. So many ways to help, and we haven’t even scratched the surface of possiblities.

If the gigs with the children or the historical garden don’t pan out, many more choices await. Bringing gardening to the Senior Center or Assisted Living facility might be fun. With so many options, how on earth did we ever have time for work?

For the next six weeks, we’ll wait for our fingerprints to be processed. Autumn will be a great time to plan.

Whatever you do today, think about ways you can get out of your comfort zone to help. There are hundreds of volunteer opportunities in any town. By getting out and about, your days will brighten. It just works that way!

Have a wonderful weekend. I’ll be back on Monday.

In what seems like a lifetime ago, during a very dark time as a new widow, I never struggled with sleeping. When the sun set, fantastical dreams danced through my head while I slept. Dreaming helped my brain reset.

During one of those evenings, the words “Grieving Gardener” came to me. Waking to the morning sunshine, those words hung in my brain. Just what did the phrase mean? Was I to use the gardens of Winterpast to help other widows and widowers heal? For some time, I thought that was exactly the meaning. I was the original Grieving Gardener.

Then, September 24, 2020 came along and Grievinggardener.com changed everything. God always intended for me to use words to help others, not a shovel or rake. I hope that there are some in this world that have benefited in the smallest way. This insignificant human has spent 54 months sharing random thoughts hoping to help at least one widow.

Another idea was incubating in the back of my brain. Our dusty little town located on a wide spot in the road off an interstate on the high desert plains of Northwestern Nevada lacks a support group for those in grief. Connecting with others in the same situation would’ve been helpful. Quarantined, that wasn’t possible.

In early summer, I mentioned this to our pastor. Why doesn’t our town have a support group? Grief exists in every corner of the world. The widowed need comfort.

As the conversation progressed, he agreed this would be great for our town. Might HHH and I consider facilitating such a group? Could we? Would we?

And so, we sit at the intersection of “We’ve never done such a thing!” and “We have some wonderful gifts to share.”

In the blink of an eye, a flyer nearly jumped out of the computer. December 2, 2024, HHH and I will begin a new adventure. Helping others in need, we’ll continue our personal healing journey.

Trying to think of a name for the group, I found some options on Google. I listed 20 of my favorites hoping HHH might help choose the perfect one. Just like that, tears came. One of the names had meaning that touched his heart deeply. Grief. The journey never ends. We just move through it one step at a time.

Healing Hearts is tedious and time-consuming work. HEALING HEARTS is the perfect name for the new group.

We aren’t counselors. No one has all the answers to make it through the wilderness of grief. We’re just two Senior citizens who’ve lived like everyone else and would like to help others. In doing that, our healing journey will continue.

Whatever you do today, consider how you might help one other person who might be a little worse off than you. There’s nothing better than sharing kindness and love. That can be as simple as smiling at a stranger. You never know how it might change someone’s day. You just might be the one to save a life.

More tomorrow.

There’s nothing better than canine kisses from our best friends. Unable to join us on our trip to a National Park, our fur babies enjoyed puppy camp. The excitement that overtakes them when they hear the name “Michele” is crazy. She’s the camp counselor they so dearly love. We’re lucky to have a safe place to leave them while traveling.

Yesterday was a typical first day back home. Dogs are so much like children. For the first half of the day, they raced around greeting us with happiness at every turn. Around 1 PM, they began to crash into afternoon nap time while HHH and I worked to catch up on gardening.

Today we’re expecting three consecutive freezes with highs in the 50s. Winter is just around the corner, and with that comes many chores. The biggest is turning off the irrigation water system.

When I moved to Winterpast, the water system was a huge mystery. There were the normal leaks that could throw me into tears. More than that, two electronic boxes controlling 8 stations watering twice daily took time and patience to learn. Drip irrigation is wonderful when it’s working and frustrating when it’s not.

These days, working with HHH, the water system is no longer a mystery. Winterizing the irrigation system is a systematic process that makes perfect sense. Turn off the main valve, and drain the system in for winter. In the spring, do the opposite.

The roses are giving us the last show of the season. With each passing day, there are more dying blooms. They’ve had the last feeding for the season and will soon fall into dormancy until spring. This year, we doubled the number of bushes in our yard. Next year will be even better.

Every day, more of the yard art and empty pots are washed and put away for next year. By mid-November, we’ll be ready to dig out the Christmas lighting and begin preparing for the holidays.

If you live in an area with severe winters, remember to empty fountains and store away your pots and tools. Make a list of tools needed for next year. Christmas is just around the corner. Gardening implements and decorations make great gifts. I’m already preparing my list for Santa.

Ollie and Wookie plan to warm themselves in the last of the autumn sunshine. Their coats are growing thicker, even though they wouldn’t know what to do if forced to sleep outside. So spoiled, they are back with their pack and ready to snuggle with us in the autumn chill.

Whatever you do today, take a few minutes to make of list of your autumn chores. Fall cleaning is always a great place to start. Take time to enjoy autumn’s night sky. If you’re lucky, you might just see the comet.

More tomorrow.

Of all the roads both east and west

The one that leads to home is best!

It’s official. One year has passed since HHH and I exchanged wedding vows in a tiny little church on the high desert plains of Northwestern Nevada. The year flew by, packed with lovely adventures and two beautiful trips to Yellowstone National Park.

Yellowstone.

If you haven’t been there, you need to go. If you have, your heart is probably aching to return. (At least it’s that way for us.) It’s one of the most beautiful places in the entire world. In October, that is. At times it seemed we had a private viewing of this majestic place with the first snowfall arriving this week.

While in Yellowstone, we observed wild buffalo, antelope, elk, and mountain sheep from the safety of our car. We saw the elusive Big Horn Sheep, which rested by the side of the road. We even saw a lone wolf in Lamar Valley.

The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. Stunning. Something found nowhere else in this beautiful world.

Old Faithful didn’t disappoint. On our second visit there, a sister geyser blew up before her.

We walked along the Grand Prismatic and were mystified by the Dragon’s Mouth and it’s stinking steam.

Every day, we picnicked, talked, and laughed as the hours passed, enjoying another beautiful trip during the last days of our honeymoon.

To put a bow on the entire trip we stopped at Yellowstone Bear World, where bear sightings are guaranteed. (71 of them to be exact). There, I bottle-fed five “little” bear cubs each weighing more than the combined weight of Ollie and Wookie. The handlers told us about “their” cub which they’ve mothered for ten months. Everyone behaved well, as difficult as that was for five boisterous little bears and five equally excited tourists.

By yesterday’s sunset, all laundry was finished and suitcases put away until our next adventure. After enjoying a simple dinner, our anniversary melted into a lovely evening of star gazing.

365 days filled with love, God, gardening, and travel have come to an end. We’re on the road through Year 2.

Life.

Love.

Loss.

Grief.

New Life.

With one foot in front of the other, we move towards a beautiful new life. Although you might not see it yet, peace and beauty are right around the bend. Keep moving.

Just a year ago, as two newlyweds, we took off on the adventure of a lifetime. Marriage! Honeymooning in West Yellowstone, we were stunned by more intense beauty than one place should hold. Driving through Nevada, Idaho, Wyoming and Montana, we stopped to see everything time would allow.

As much as we tried, there were many things we missed.

The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.

Lamar Valley.

The Grand Prismatic.

Of course, we plan to visit Old Faithful again.

We promise we won’t be Tourons…..

We’ll just go with the flow…

We’ll sleep in and enjoy picnics every day while we wait to see the stars of the park….

The days will end as we enjoy the night sky, something very special in a place called Yellowstone.

Upon our return, we’ll begin our second year as husband and wife. Although our year as newlyweds has been the best we could’ve imagined, life has so much more to offer! We can’t wait for the adventures that await us just around the bend.

Next week, I’ll try to sneak in updates if there’s time and internet service. If not, don’t worry. October 15th I’ll return with lots of new stories to share.

Until then…

Adventure to the Land of God.

An attempt to

Dive into something new

Veering off the normal path

Escaping to

New venues that

Tantalize the senses while

Uncovering sights never seen

Renewing the spirit and

Enriching our souls

Yellowstone

It just doesn’t get better than that! Happy Adventures to you!

In widowhood, every chore becomes the responsibility of the one who remains. In my case, car care wasn’t something I’d handled for over 32 years. Someone else knew everything automotive while remaining clueless about the washing machine.

Widowhood and relocation came within weeks of each other for me. About 45 miles away from my new home, 350 boxes waited in storage for retrieval, one load at a time. My first goal was to empty the storage unit in 30 days. Each day, I’d drive on the loneliest highway in the United States, crying a good portion of the trip. I’d load up and drive back home to unpack 20-24 boxes. I never gave the Dodge Ram a thought. Get in. Drive. Load. Drive. Unpack. Period.

After about two weeks of this daily process, I happened to look down when I got out of the truck. To my utter dismay, I saw BALD tires. Not tires with low tread. There was almost NO tread. I’d been driving 90 miles each day on a lonely desert road. Thank goodness there were angels watching over me.

If you aren’t certain about the life left in your tires, do this. Take a penny and put it between the treads. If the top of Lincoln’s head is covered, you have enough tread. If you can see the top of his head, it’s time to have your tires checked out.

Take a good look at the tires. If you have a tire gauge, check the pressure. As fall temperatures drop, so will the pressure in your tires. A small air compressor is a handy thing to have on hand. You can also drop by any tire shop filled with employees happy to help out.

Rotate the tires on the prescribed schedule. Replace tires and brakes when it’s time. Don’t wait until it’s more convenient or affordable. Tires and brakes are critical and can’t be ignored. The problem will only get worse.

With Google at your side, car care ceases to be a mystery. I wouldn’t advise tackling jacks and oil changes if you’re not fluent with wrenches and the workings of an engine. But, there are many things you should be doing at the change of each season.

Inspect the entire exterior of the car, checking for new dings or things that might be ready to fall off. Autumn is a perfect time for deep cleaning of the seats, floorboards, windows, and the mirror. Clean everything.

Test your blinkers, headlights, and brake lights. (This may require the help of a neighbor when testing the brake lights).

Wiper blades last for two seasons, at best. Google is a great place to learn how to change them. Be prepared for sticker shock. They are expensive. Sometimes, the associate will help you do the install. If not, just watch the videos on Google and proceed. Again, not a hard job.

Look under the hood.

When I first did this, I couldn’t get the hood open. There’s nothing more frustrating than searching for the final hidden latch. YouTube is your friend with videos on how to open your hood and check fluids. Remember, one size doesn’t fit all. Know your vehicle’s Year, Make, and Model before beginning.

Perform maintenance at the prescribed times. Don’t ignore the messages from your car. Many auto parts stores will check a code to tell you their meaning for free. Know before you go to a mechanic. Knowledge is key to survival in a man’s world.

If you like shopping for great deals, automotive supplies and services are no different. Walmart and Amazon offer great savings on everything from cleaners to tires. Do your homework because a great discount can save you hundreds. Find your own good deals.

Finally, remember cold weather supplies. Living in a remote area, there are many times an accident can leave motorists stranded while the road is cleared. It’s good to carry snacks, water, a blanket, gloves, and a small repair kit. Being stuck in winter traffic isn’t a joke.

Car Care. It isn’t every person’s dream. Rather than ignoring the entire situation, just deal with it. Research problems, learn as much as you can, and handle it. Knowing your car will give you peace of mind.

More tomorrow.

Here at Winterpast, we’ve scheduled weekly activities. Earlier in the summer, HHH decided to golf with the Senior men once a week. That’s opened up the day for all things domestic. Such things as weekly hot tub water care, houseplant inspections, and trash consolidation are on the list. This week, I added some reverse shopping.

The name “reverse shopping” was something I came up with a very long time ago. It sounds more fun than “returns” or “errands”. It’s easy to ignore unneeded items around the house until it’s too late. I wasn’t making that mistake this week. I had a few things that had to go back to their right owners while receiving refunds.

Last weekend, we decided the ground squirrel that’s been burrowing in our yard needed to go. We’ve given him plenty of chances to move along and he hasn’t taken the hint. Once at Lowe’s, we found two options. Make him uncomfortable or make him dead. Ground squirrels are not to be encouraged, full of disease and fleas. They can destroy a yard in very short time with destructive tunnels.

The first option was the kindest. It was a solar device that claimed to emit some type of vibrational sound that rodents detest. I’d heard these devices work well for mice would rather not have squirrel blood on my hands. We bought one.

Along with the sound device, we bought poisonous bait. Finally, the rodent specialist suggested one very big neck-snapping rat trap. We took our purchases home and deployed the bait and trap. Since then, it’s been all quiet in the gardens of Winterpast. I’ll just choose to believe he decided the next door neighbor had a nicer place.

With the Squirrel-Be-Gone device and receipt in hand, I hurried off to Lowe’s for my first return. Weaving in and out of early morning traffic, by the time I got to Lowe’s, I was a little distracted. A black Suburban was also in a huge hurry as it zipped in next to me. It seemed the driver was in a bigger hurry than me.

Grabbing my returns, we exited our cars at the same time.

“Well, Good Morning! Isn’t it a gorgeous day?” I asked in a cheerful voice with smile shining.

Not meaning to startle her, I did. After giving a surprised giggle, she said, “Well, it certainly is!” Caught off guard, it did both of us good to smile and acknowledge the beautiful fall morning and each other.

A simple “Hello” changed the outlook of two busy women stopping for a moment to smile.

A cheerful heart is good medicine;

But a broken spirit drieth up the bones. _{Proverbs 17:22}

I’m not interested in having my bones drieth up any time soon. I can’t wait for the next time someone smiles because of a happy “Good Morning”. These days everyone needs to share smiles in a world that needs some HAPPINESS.

Whatever you do today, try it. Find some unsuspecting person and say “Good Morning” while smiling at them. Tell a stranger they look nice, (if they do). Smile at another driver. Just try to share some happiness and you’ll feel a little better yourself.

More tomorrow.

The day has finally come. In the last few weeks, my Android phone has been misbehaving while dropping calls and texts. Ten versions behind the newest androids, the time has come to make a decision. Do I stay within my comfort zone or change back to Apple? After careful thought, I’ve decided now is the time to change.

For years, I had a month to month account with Spectrum through Walmart. There were so many thing about that account the worked for me, but the best was the price. $40 a month, unlimited service. The phones I bought were always the oldest versions, but, they didn’t come with a huge cost. The most expensive phone I bought and paid for was $150. It worked for me.

Over years of changing technology, it became cheaper to go with Spectrum and bundle TV, internet, and phone. How do these things start out so affordable, and then increase into very large bills??? It happens to the best of us.

It seems only yesterday that Apple released it’s first version of the iPhone. Sleek and beautiful, buying an iPhone was like buying a fine piece of jewelry. With the best packaging and ease of use, Apple welcomed everyone to their side.

Year after year, Apple phones were less exciting, while the other brands came up with great ideas. How cool it would be to have a foldable screen until that screen develops a crease and stops working. Today, everyone needs the best phone they can afford because every aspect of life seems to trickle through them but when does the price outweigh the benefit?

Old enough to remember back to the days of photographs, slides, and 8mm films, I wish things were that simple today. I still own an 8mm film projector because I’m the keeper of my childhood movies.

Then came the time of 35mm slides. As world travelers, my parents took hundreds of slides on their travels through India, Russia, and China. When they realized that their daughters might want to keep slides of our own lives, we each got a slide projector for Christmas.

After that came smaller and smaller video cameras, until today. Now, it’s all on the phone, leaving Senior Citizens with 8mm and slide projectors that their children won’t have one problem dumping when the time comes.

Last year, during our wedding reception, my bestie took one hundred pictures on her iPhone. Months later, we decided it was time for the transfer transfer. There began the problems for I was Android and she was iPhone. For youngsters, this would be no problem at all. For the older crowd, it took months until we could finally manipulate the photos from her phone to mine.

There have been problems sharing materials with HHH. It’s not a good thing when a husband and wife can’t share pictures of their Yellowstone honeymoon or birthday cruise.

After 17 years without an iPhone, today the conversion will occur. Not sure about learning a new operating system, there’s no time like the present to find out. There’ll probably be many frustrating moments before reaching phone mastery. Please send a few prayers that this transition will go well.

Whatever you do today, evaluate the technology in your life. If you are frustrated with an old computer, printer, or phone, it might be time for an upgrade. Especially in our older years, being online keeps us connected to the world around us. Don’t wait 17 years to change things up.

More tomorrow.

Doors open and close throughout life. Some slam in our shut, while some might not close completely. Cancer slammed the door of life in my face, not to be ignored. Widowhood is the worst hell anyone can endure, no doubt about that.

After such a loss, it took months to find purposeful direction and more time to choose a new path. Repeatedly, I reminded myself that dark days and darker nights were temporary. Time heals all wounds with faith, hope, and patience.

While I healed on my side of town, HHH healed on his. Both having lost “the best”, we also knew how to BE the best. For the two of us, life alone was a restful period to reflect and regroup. And so, we gardened. He painted his house. I blogged. He cooked three nutritious meals a day. I found Subway. He got a puppy. I tried to train Oliver. He went back to work. I worked around Winterpast. We both cried. We both asked WHY? while shaking fists at the sky. We both suffered through grief. And through it all, we strengthened our faith and healed up very nicely.

Every day, as the gardeners of Winterpast, we continue to heal as we journey through the maze of a new marriage. HHH and I are discovering healthy and fun ways to use our brains. The one place in which we don’t linger is the past. Painting a bright future together, we’ve found a way to move further and further from tears and despair while moving away from the darkness into the light.

Grief is different for each person. Some are so focused on memories that LIFE stops at LOSS. In the early days, sleep came the moment the winter sun dropped below the horizon. Hundreds of balloons were released to soar towards the heavens and away from me. Each exercise was another step away from April 8, 2020 toward the future.

Many widows and widowers disapprove of dating and remarriage. Some had advice that didn’t work for me. Quite a few just didn’t understand.

“I could never…”

“You shouldn’t…”

“How could you…”

“You already had the best…..”

Some helpful encouragement made me more determined to create a happy life different from the one I knew and loved. Not settling for a life of crochet hooks and yarn, (although I do love crocheting and plan to start again soon), I longed for a life mate. So much life remains to live.

These days, life is full of God, gardening, good food, and love. HHH and I thank God for blessing us with a chance to finish life together. Our heavenly angels cheer for us, as we find exciting new activities to fill our days as our hearts continue healing.

While planning meals for next week’s adventure, my thoughts turn back one year. Nervous about the future, I chose love. A safe life without risk is no life at all. With God’s blessing, HHH and I had everything to gain while walking through life’s door of happiness to write our own new chapter.

Life is meant to be lived to the fullest. The term “fullest” is different at every stage of life. If your heart is happy, you are in your perfect zone. But, if you wish for more, move your goal posts. After all, what do you have to lose?

More tomorrow.