Hello, Friends.
Indiana has been cold and warm and the liony winds of March have shaken the trees awake. This edge of winter/edge of spring time of year has us all itching to plant our gardens. It's too soon! Conventional wisdom: Don't put in your garden until Mother's Day.
April showers bring May flowers. When the weather is dark or when tears come, good days follow.
April 1 is April Fool's Day. It is a day to play pranks and tricks.
April 9 is Eid Al Fitr or the feast that ends Ramadan
April 15 in National ASL Day
April 22 is Earth Day
April 22-30 Passover
April 26 is Arbor Day; plant a tree
More on the Eclipse
Get ready for the eclipse. Schools are off or are taking half days.
Planting Your Garden
An AI search (Copilot with GPT-4) generated this response:
In Indiana, the optimal timing for planting vegetables depends on several factors, including soil temperature and the specific crops you want to grow. Let’s explore the best planting windows for various vegetables in the Hoosier state:
Early Spring (Mid-March):
- Peas: Plant seeds for peas. You can choose from several new bush varieties or opt for vining varieties that require some form of trellis or stake. Expect to harvest peas around mid-May.
- Potatoes: Plant seed potatoes during this time1.
Late April to May (Zone 5):
- Cool-Weather Crops: Vegetables like kale, green peas, carrots, and radishes can be planted during late April or May. These crops thrive in cooler temperatures.
- Brussels Sprouts, Parsnips, and Artichokes: These cool-season crops have a longer growing period and are suitable for the colder areas of Indiana2.
Late April (Last Frost Date):
- Quick Vegetables: Radishes, leafy greens, carrots, chard, beets, and turnips are perfect for the cool season. Start them from seeds, and you’ll be able to harvest their yields as the weather warms up3.
Throughout the Growing Season:
- Refer to the Indiana Vegetable Planting Calendar: Purdue Extension provides a comprehensive planting calendar that outlines specific planting dates for various vegetable crops based on soil temperature and plant tolerance. You can find detailed information in their publication4.
Remember that local conditions and microclimates can influence planting times, so it’s essential to adapt these guidelines to your specific location in Indiana. Happy gardening! 🌱🍅🥕
This fun map indicates climate/temperatures.
Staying Safe
“The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it.” ― Albert Einstein
Keeping yourself (and your family) safe is more than taking action against meanness. Sometimes it is just about making good decisions in the right time.
Communication in key. How do you communicate when you are not able? Emergency bracelets/necklaces communicate health and medical concerns and allergies, but only if you wear them. These trendy looking popular bracelets from Amazon be the answer for our active, younger friends and family.
On another note, getting involved is key. Here are some sites to help you learn more and do more:
New StigmaFree Fishers provides resources for taking control of your life and/or help others get involved or overcome
Meetings and Classes
International Bible Study: Monday, 8:00-9:00 PM EST (UTC-5), Zoom
The plan was to read Mark 15 and 16. We did not accomplish this plan. We read Mark 15. We got to see the "passion Jesus" with new eyes.
Revelation 22: 11-13 Speaks about letting events play out and people act according to their beliefs and character. Jesus embodies this during his trial.
Pilot does not what to go against the popular position. He does not want to weigh in on the religion or beliefs of constituent groups, so he "washes his hands" of responsibility.
Jesus does not give the answers or behave how the people want. He knows what is necessary and what he has to do. Jesus embraces his mission.
Specific thoughts and observations on specific passages:
13: Jesus shoulders all the sin from all time. At his crucifixion he had to be separate from God and his godliness. Yet as God he is able to carry this weight assume the consequences. He anticipated this since the beginning of creation and now he is living it. As a man, this should and is unbearable.
31: Is Jesus passive? Jesus has the long view. In the people's eyes and in the eyes of evil, Jesus looks like he is losing, but in God's eyes the long plan is being fulfilled. Instead of fear and sadness, we are comforted.
34: Jesus pleads and questions God the Father. How very sad to be that parent and watch your child suffer, even when you know that he is equipped and prepared for the moment. God knows and has experienced what we face.
April 8: Mark 16 Easter and Jesus' resurrection
American Sign Language: Tuesday, 5:00-6:00 PM EST (UTC -5), Zoom
Met to share some new words and tell each other about things happening in our lives.
April 9: Bring your news and new words.
- Sign your creative work for American English and Culture?
- Pick a story or poem and sign it for us.
American English and Culture: Thursday, 9:00-11:00 AM EST (UTC-5), Zoom
The last week of March and our professional language considered options and choices and presenting ideas. The United States is the land of opportunities. How do you consider and prioritize? We had great discussions and the opportunity to talk about organizing our work on the fly.
April is National Poetry Month. We are kicking it up a notch and putting our poems to music.
April 11: Share your work, fine tune, and collaborate.
April is our month to be creative and explore what we have been learning in a creative way. We talked about singing and cadence and pronunciation. Now it is time to put your money where your mouth is and create a song. Setting your words to tunes pulls everything we have done this year with a creative project.
- Pick a tune, any tune. Don't stress about this because it seriously doesn't matter.
- Pick an overarching topic to sing about.
- Start writing...realize that this like a puzzle and will be filled with trial and error. Maybe your rhyme does not work, so the phrase needs to be reordered. Maybe the cadence does not support your tune so pick another word.
HAVE FUN WITH THIS!
Here is an example meditating on thanks and gratitude set to Bach's Minuet in G Major
Kids' Conversation and More: Friday, 5:30-6:00 PM EST (UTC-5), Zoom
We had a nice meeting. Some of our Friends were having a family reunion at grandma's house. We compared some Easter fun. Every home celebrates in a different way or does not celebrate at all. Our Friends have tests in school every week. Preparing for tests sometimes means cramming because when there are several tests, prioritizing study time is necessary. We all decided that study/sleep helps us remember. We also said we struggle with remembering what we learned. Did we even learn it to begin with? That was something we found we all struggle with.
April 12: Show up and catch up!
Words and Phrases
catch up: talk to each other to find out what is happening/current
embraces [his mission]: fully engaged in something physically, and in heart and mind.
family reunion: a meeting and celebration of family members
itching to: eager
liony: nope, it isn't in the dictionary. I am using creative license here to add a "y" to a word and magically transform a noun into an adjective! Want to know more? English-Zone.com MAKING ADJECTIVES WITH Y has a quick and dirty cheat sheet.
on another note: to change the subject
see [something] with new eyes: get a different perspective
shoulders: takes on a job or responsibility
show up: appear and engage
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