NOTES,  21 MARCH 2022

Welcome, blog reader, on Monday, March 21, 2022. Spring is here! Now, the queen of seasons, bright. Did we ever need hope, new life, and brightness more? I think not. We have been in a long, dark, and terrible winter for so long. In a way we still are. Nature has shown itself at its cruelest. Some human beings are now showing themselves at their worst. One we curbed by modern technology, the other is infinitely worse because of modern technology. One declined because of right choices people made. The other started because of wrong choices people made. Perhaps Charles Dickens's famous remark on the Ancien régime is appropriate now, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."

Anyway, it is time to check in on the topics we have been following.

PANDEMIC. The COVID-19 plague is still going on but as the fourth great surge dies away, it seems that the pandemic may be waning. It has been going on in earnest for two years this month.

The numbers are staggering. In the world, over 6m people have died in this pandemic. America continues to be the hardest hit country. Here, a quarter of the population has contracted the virus and nearly 1m have died. Both South Carolina and Alabama have suffered their shares. In SC, over 17k people have died, in AL over 19k.

Barring some new variant, it does seem that the pandemic may be dying out. Daily cases, hospitalizations, and death are far down. Restrictions have been repealed in most places. Many churches have returned to "normal" practices. There are even churches offering common cup communion. I for one am not ready for that, not even intinction. Why risk ingesting a highly contagious virus when the bread alone is enough? The pandemic is not over. People are still getting sick and dying every day.

SCHISM IN SC. Still waiting on the SC supreme court to issue its decision. It has been a month and a half (Feb. 9) since Episcopal attorney Utsey asked the court for guidance on their request for info on the 1987 diocesan adoption of a "Dennis Canon." Crickets.

Meanwhile, the two parts of the schism are moving on with new leadership, both from outside the diocese. However, there is not much either side can do until the SCSC clears up the property dispute. God only knows when that will be. As we know, it was a two year wait on the 2017 decision. 

THE ADVENT. Matters have quieted down in recent weeks at the Episcopal Cathedral Church of the Advent, in Birmingham. The search committee promises it is busy at work seeking a new dean. It will soon be a year since the last dean departed. Under the interim, Craig Smalley, parish life seems to be settling down more in the mainstream of the Episcopal Church.

THE RUSSIAN WAR ON UKRAINE. Satanic. Evil. Nightmare. Choose your own word. Who can look at the images on TV or computer without getting sick? Every time I think the Russian forces cannot go any lower, they do, killing innocent civilians in hospitals, schools, theaters, insane asylums, homes for disabled people, apartment buildings, you name it. The theater in Mariupol was clearly marked front and back with the Russian word for "children." The Russians deliberately destroyed the building where over a thousand people are still in the rubble. Barbaric.

So far, there has been no serious sign that President Putin is willing to negotiate a peace. On the contrary, he is stepping up the targeted slaughter. If he continues this, his next choices could be chemical and biological war, and even nuclear attacks. The next few weeks will be crucial in the direction of this war. If Putin starts gassing children, women, and the elderly and/or dropping atomic bombs on the people, it will be extremely difficult for the U.S. and the rest of NATO to stay out. Right now, Putin is in the driver's seat and is apparently increasingly unstable. If this is not enough to keep you awake at night, I do not know what would be. God help us through this madness.

I must say we should be proud of what our church leaders have done and are doing, especially Pope Francis. Contrary to historic roles of popes in the past in similar situations, he has been remarkably engaged and outspoken. More power to him. Likewise for the Eastern Orthodox and Anglican leaders. They have all been active.

So, where is this war going? At this moment, it looks only as if it will get worse. There is no end in sight. There is no solution on the horizon. We have no choice but to endure and do the best we can for the sake of humanity.

Meanwhile, I find myself more and more in my garden. It consoles me to know that in the midst of the worst evil somewhere, the goodness and beauty of God's creation goes on as always somewhere else. The spring equinox occurred yesterday morning ushering in springtime in the Northern Hemisphere. Of course, in my neck of the woods there have been signs of spring for weeks even though frost continues and probably will continue for another couple of weeks. Here are some pictures of my garden yesterday.

Being a native Floridian, I am partial to tropical and evergreen plants. I am fortunate now to live in a transition zone where certain tropical, non-tropical, evergreen and deciduous plants grow. Although the ubiquitous Sabal palmetto (state tree of SC and FL) grows in my county, I prefer the smaller and thinner Windmill palm (Trachycarpus fortunei) for my yard and garden. It grows fast and is very cold tolerant. This one, outside my kitchen window, is nearly full grown. The green shrub in lower left is gardenia. It should be planted near doors and windows to get the heavenly aroma.

Pearlbush (Exochorda x macrantha "The Bride') is one of my favorite spring blooming shrubs. Similar to azalea and covered with pure white flowers. For whatever reasons, every azalea I planted, and there were dozens, committed suicide. Azaleas grow in abundance in my area but not in my garden. After numerous failing efforts, I threw in the towel. I still have no clue why they were so unhappy in my garden.

Leatherleaf mahonia (Mahonia bealei) is a holly-like shrub that blooms in winter and produces attractive "grape" clusters. To me it is a beautiful garden shrub, but to the authorities in AL and SC it is not. It is on the invasive do-not-plant list because it is self-sowing freely in the woods of the southeast. 

Pear trees are popular in the south because they become "white clouds" in early spring. This is Cleveland Pear, an improved variety of Bradford Pear, the bane of the existence of my horticulture friends. Bradfords are short-lived, weak-limbed, and given to storm damage. They can also be invasive.

Flowering quince is another popular shrub that blooms in early spring. This one is peach colored.

Alabama Croton is a rare semi-evergreen shrub, in fact, on the endangered list. In early spring it puts out yellow fringe flowers above leaves that are green on top and silver on bottom. If you want an unusual "conversation" shrub in your yard/garden, try this.

If azaleas hate my garden, the other ubiquitous shrubs of the lower south, camellias, love it. I have two dozen bushes, all blooming prolifically. Go figure. This particularly lovely one is "Nuccio's Pearl." 

Camellias come in a wide variety of sizes and colors. If you have a small and shady spot in your yard/garden that needs something, try this camellia that grows only three feet tall, "Emmett Barnes." In winter, it will give you an abundance of pure white flowers.

One corner on the back side of my garden is anchored by a windmill palm. The large evergreen shrub is Chindo Viburnum, a recent import from Korea. It starts a screen of evergreen bushes around the back side of the garden. Just beyond, on the left here, is a ditch that runs rushing water down a hill through winter and spring and becomes a dry bed in summer.

So, just when we thought we were getting over one emergency, the plague, here comes another, the worst war since WWII. No one asked for these. They were given to us for the living of our lives. We have no choice now but to respond to them. It is how we respond that matters. And, I am greatly heartened by the wonderful responses to adversity that I see all around us: who cannot be inspired by President Zelensky, by the fortitude of the Ukrainian people, by the bravery of the protesters in Russia, by the incredibly generous welcome to refugees in Poland and the other border states of Ukraine, by the aid workers inside Ukraine, the words of the pope, and so on? Even in this darkest of hours, the light of grace abounds. No evil deeds, not even those of Putin, can overcome the goodness of God and the people who do his/her work in the world. Peace.