Laura Ingalls Wilder kept me company the other evening as I waited for the last of my dancers to finish their classes.  This slim volume is a quick read, but full of little gems that are best understood when taken in small bits and really thought over.  

This passage articulates an idea that a dear friend and I have encouraged each other to embrace and to put into practice.  I lapsed a bit this week and once more, the truth of these words came back to me.  So I regrouped and am redirecting my attention. Once more I realize that the wisdom of days gone by runs contrary to what is widely circulated today.  Once more, I am amazed by how much better life goes when I follow it. 

"It is truly surprising how anything grows and grows by talking about it.  We have a slight headache and mention the fact.  As an excuse to ourselves for inflicting it upon our friends, we make it as bad as possible in the telling. "Oh I have such a dreadful headache," we say and immediately we feel much worse. Our pain has grown by talking of it. 

If there is a disagreement between friends and the neighbors begin talking about it, the difficulty grows like jimsonweed, and the more it is talked about, the faster it grows…

The same law seems to work in both human nature and in the vegetable kindgom and in the world of ideas with the changes caused just by talk, either positive or negative. Even peas and cabbages grow by cultivation, by keeping the soil "stirred" around them.

Now it isn't enough in any garden to cut down the weeds. The cutting out of weeds is important but cultivating the garden plants is just as necessary. If we want vegetables, we must make them grow, not leave the ground barren where we have destroyed the weeds. Just so, we must give much of our attention to the improvements we want, not all to the abuses we would like to correct.

If we hope to improve conditions anywhere, we must do a great of talking of better things."

Some frames of the "better" things right under my nose this week…

Yes, the weather has been all over. And yes, somehow we are still spotting a few stray insects.  There have been many butterflies in the house this fall – perhaps from the chimneys?  

Brendan is holding one of the giant sugar beets recently harvested on the farm. 

Reading book here.  Little Bob readers here.  Puzzle here.  Similar pillow here.