The Press-Dispatch

Wednesday, April 12, 2023 The Press-Dispatch D-6 CHURCH Submit church items: Call: 812-766 -1611 Email: news@pressdispatch.net Ramblings of my mind By Lowell Thomas Silent Grief By Reverend Mike Miller PAWS WEEK PAWS WEEK Pet of the PAPARAZZI Dogs awaken a part of our soul that wouldn't have seen light other- wise. Keep it burning in the honor of your little companion. You never know who might benefit from it. This week PAWS is featuring a spunky young fellow named Pa- parazzi. Paparazzi is a black lab mix and loves to be out playing in the dog yard on warm days. He is a bit timid when he meets someone new but is sure to be a great companion with love and patience shown to him by a someone who gives him a chance. Paparazzi has soft, short black fur with white accents. He carries himself like a show dog and would love to find a home to call his own. To adopt this fine canine call 354-9894 PAWS is located at 4224 N. Meridan Road, Petersburg. Do you like to write? We want to publish your work! We are looking for a Stringer-Reporter to write 2-3 articles per week, with photos, covering local events in and around Pike County. Must have own transportation and camera. Please email Sherri Griffin for more information. sherri@pressdispatch.net "And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great." Job 2:13 When I look at this verse out of Job, it seems at once surprising and refreshing to read that Job's friends sat with him in his grief and said nothing. If we read on, we find that his friends are actually brimming with words that would have been better left in their mouths, but in this moment, they know that silence is the best approach. In fact, they re- main silent until Job speaks first. We live in a culture that seems to absolutely abhor silence. Everyone is talking all at once. There's a 24-hour news cycle. Social media inundates us 'round the clock. When we converse with others, we're not listening to what they are saying because we are think- ing about what we will say next. It makes sense, then, that so many people who grieve come away from interactions with others more discouraged than comfort- ed. Though we often mean well, we rarely endure the silence and process the dif- ficulties of our lives and the lives of others. In my early teens, a cas- cade of poor decisions on the part of both of my par- ents led to the loss of our home and the breakup of their marriage. My dad, brother, and I moved in with my grandparents. One day, my best friend was coming to visit, over the years I had spent almost as much time at his house as I had my own. His mother was like my second mom. As she dropped him off, Laura got out of the car and when I turned around to see if she needed something she grabbed me (she was not small) and drew me into a hug I had no hope of get- ting out of until she decided to let go. The hug was awkwardly long. I shed no small amount of tears and when it was done, she got into her car and left. She never said a word. It was exactly what I needed. During that time in my life, a lot of people said a lot of words, and I cannot remember a single one. All of us will unfortunately, at some time or anoth- er, be the person trying to encourage someone experiencing anguish. There will be great temptation to believe that our words are more important than our actions, or our silence. Do not believe it. Sometimes the most meaningful thing we can do to bring comfort to those in pain is to spend time with them, let them do the talking, and let them know, by our actions, that we are present for them in the moment and we won't let them go until it gets awkward. Greetings from the Rambler. My wife is still ailing but she has a procedure scheduled this coming Friday which should help her be a whole lot less in pain. I hope so, because while I don't mind helping her there are many things not getting accomplished. I am not a very good housewife nor nurse but I'm giving it a try. I was waiting for the rain to subside so I could go to Waglers to pick up my new mower. Of course when I got it home, there was a spring which wasn't attached and I had to have them come to the house to put it on so there was nothing wrong with the new mower and it is mowing great. To all of us who use pull behind trail- ers I will give a suggestion to check your wheels to see if they are tight enough be- cause when I got to Montgomery, I had a wheel that was extremely loose and a man helped me there to tighten up the wheel. Thank God for good people. You know there are still more good people in this world than bad people. On Tuesday we were waiting on Wagler's to put the spring on and a friend came over to help me with a wall in my shop. The wall was becoming weak in a place or two and he was able to put a 2x6 across one of the uprights and stiffen it up. It must have worked, be- cause it didn't leak during our last rain. We had a doctor's appointment for Connie and she had to go back to Evans- ville for an MRI, which showed a couple of discs messed up in her back. Hopeful- ly the procedure I mentioned at first will do the work for her. Senator Jim Banks was at Randy's Wednesday and I had an interview with him for the Press-Dispatch. It was my first ever political interview and it was fun, but I must admit that I am not a politically minded person so for me to do this interview I had to do a little re- search. The Senator's aide said I made him think, which was what i was after and although some of his answers were very broad, they were answered to the point that you could see some help coming. Our yard still looks like a lumber yard with all the limbs I have everywhere. Don't give up on me because I'm still being a 'work in progress'. I even went grocery shopping for my wife and I ended up with everything on her list, but a couple of them were the wrong brand. I had to do every aisle to get what she had written down. By the way where is the bacon, haha. On Easter Sunday we had sunrise at 8 a.m. and breakfast after with the morn- ing message at 10:30. We were tired, but had a great time at all three events. Well you know by now, to be a blessing next week and pile up the blessings you receive. Lawn watering and fertilizing techniques A lush, green lawn is a sight to behold. Ma- ny variables are involved in growing and main- taining grass, and water and fertilizer are among the most important components. Knowing how much water and fertilizer to apply and when to apply it can make a big difference in the appearance and health of a lawn. That's because a well-fed and watered lawn will develop a better root system, which makes the lawn less vulnerable to stressors like drought, mowing, foot traffic, and heat, according to the Scotts® company. FERTILIZE There is no magic formula governing when to fertilize a lawn. The type of grass and how well-established a lawn is must be considered. Experts suggest having the soil tested to de- termine its pH levels and if any nutrients are lacking. A fertilizing schedule can then be de- veloped after testing. Keep in mind that overfeeding a lawn will not make it grow any better and actually can damage the turf. Several small applications of fertilizer during the lawn's most active growing period may be helpful, advises the home improvement resource Tools Around the House. An annual application (late spring for warm-season grass or fall for cool-season grass) may be all that's needed. Certain fertilizers need to be applied and watered in. Others may be combined with weed-control products and must be set on top of damp grass. Read packaging to determine the right application. WATER The right watering schedule and techniques can help a lawn thrive. Scotts® says adjust- ing for climate and nature can help grass to grow strongly. A lawn that has a grayish cast or appears dull green is telling an owner that it needs water. Another test is to step on the lawn. If footprints disappear quickly, the grass blades have enough moisture to spring back. Water the lawn in the morning before 10 a.m. when it's cooler and the winds tend to be calm so that the water can soak in. For those who must water at night, do so in early evening so that the water can dry before nightfall and will not contribute to disease. Scotts® says to water an established lawn until the top six to eight inches of soil is wet. Most lawns need one to 1.5 inches of water per week from rain or a hose to soak the soil that deeply. Newly established lawns may require more water to keep the soil moist but not soggy. Visit a lawn care center for more informa- tion on watering the type of lawn for your ar- ea or visit www.scotts.com for additional tips. Explaining easements, setbacks and CCRs Property setbacks as well as easements and conditions, covenants and restrictions (CCRs) must be considered before renovating an exist- ing home or building a new one. Setbacks are mandat- ed buffers between surveyed property lines and permanent structures. Easements are le- gal designations that enable individuals or entities to use portions of a person's property for physical access or to build on it for one reason or anoth- er. Easements may be owned by utility companies for gas lines or government agen- cies when sidewalks are on a private property. Addition- al examples of easements in- clude greenbelt conservation easements, beach easements or view easements, accord- ing to The Spruce, a home and lifestyle resource. CCRs include rules established by many planned communities, subdivisions and planned unit developments. CCRs, easements and property set- backs can affect which type of renovations are allowed on particular plots and may af- fect the issuance of permits. It's essential to learn about property easements, CCRs and setbacks in advance and discuss them with contrac- tors when drawing up pre- liminary plans. Your proper- ty deed or plat map as well as the local building inspection offices can highlight any reg- ulations that may be in effect on your property and if they may affect future projects. How to care for perennials Perennials can add color and vibrancy to any garden. One of the more desirable components of perennials is that they come back year af- ter year, meaning homeown- ers do not have to invest in a gardenful of new flowers ev- ery year. That can add up to considerable savings. Peren- nials often form the founda- tion of beautiful gardens. Annuals only grow for one season, produce seeds and then die. However, perennials die back to the ground every autumn and their roots sur- vive the winter. So the plants reemerge in the spring, ac- cording to The Farmer's Al- manac. Some perennials are short-lived, meaning they will come back a few consecutive years; others will last for de- cades. Though planted perenni- als require less maintenance than annuals, they are not completely maintenance-free. Certain care is needed to help perennials thrive, and that starts with the soil. In fact, soil is the single most import- ant factor for growing healthy plants. Penn State Extension says most perennials grow ideally in well drained, fertile soil with a pH of 6.0 to 7.0. In addition, organic matter can improve soil texture and wa- ter-holding ability. When including perennials in the garden, make sure you wait for the right time to plant them. The ideal time is during the spring or fall. Perennials come as container-grown pe- rennials, which already have been established in the soil. Bare-root perennials are just roots that are often packed in peat moss. In order to plant bare-root perennials, soak the roots in water for several min- utes before gently planting in the ground, indicates the how-to resource Tip Bulletin. Perennials should be wa- tered deeply, especially during the first growing sea- son. However, the soil should never be overly dry or wet. Most perennials do not need to be fertilized heavily. A sin- gle application in the spring typically is all that's needed. Care along the way can include deadheading spent flowers so that plants can use their energy on seed produc- tion and reblooming. Peren- nials should be divided when they grow large, every three to four years when the plants are not in bloom. Perennials produce fewer flowers or may look sickly when the time has passed to divide them. Early spring often is a good time to divide perennials, advises The Farmer's Almanac. A thick layer of mulch can help perennials to overwin- ter successfully. Perenni- als planted in containers will need to be transplanted into the garden before it gets cold because most containers can- not thoroughly insulate pe- rennial roots. Apart from these strate- gies, perennials pretty much take care of themselves. As long as sunlight requirements match plant needs, the peren- nials should thrive. DID YOU KNOW? Though plants might not seem like the first thing individuals think of when they pon- der long-term investments, perennials can be just that. The home and garden experts at HGT V note that some perennials can live for a very long time. For example, according to HGT V, the colorful flowering plant peony, despite a blooming season that usually lasts just seven to 10 days, has been known to survive for 70 to 100 years. Hostas are another popu- lar perennial because they require little maintenance, and that extra free time can add up over the course of the hosta's life, which can exceed 15 years. Long-living perennials are not necessarily unusual, but gardeners should know that many perennials, and particular- ly those characterized as "short-lived," tend to live around three years.

• Cover