18th. June. 2021. Daily Devotion.
More from Peter Millar this week.
Thistles:
Unlike many plants that prefer one or two very different soils, climates and terrains, thistles do not discriminate. They are a bane that has spread right across my landscape. Yet they can be beautiful – after all I grow and carefully nurture lots of ornamental thistles like onopordum, echinops, eryngiums and glorious cardoons. And like everything else – literally everything – they are a thread in the infinitely complex web of life. Thistle seeds make up a third of goldfinches’ entire diet and are eaten by many other birds including green finches, linnets and siskins. Peacock and meadow brown butterflies feed on thistle nectar and painted lady butterfly larvae feed on the leaves, especially of creeping thistle. Overwintering insects often use the hollow stems of various thistles as a safe haven. In the fields on the farm, we try to manage the thistles by topping them. I have spent hours with the scythe doing this in the pastures where the anthills of the yellow ants mean that the tractor and cutter cannot go without damaging both anthills and machine. The old rhyme says, ‘Cut thistles in May, they’ll grown in a day; Cut them in June, ‘tis too soon; Cut them in July, then they will surely die’. Leave them till August and the fluffy white down of the seeds floats like river mist, hundreds of which seed in this garden and across the fields of the farm. Monty Don
Post Growth: Life after Capitalism:
This is the title of a recent book by Tim Jackson, Prof of Sustainable Development at the University of Surrey and I recommend it. Tim argues that capitalism as we know it is broken. The relentless pursuit of more has delivered climate catastrophe, social inequality and financial instability – and left us ill-prepared for life in a global pandemic. This passionate and provocative book dares us to imagine a world beyond capitalism – a place where relationship and meaning take their precedence over profits and power. The book is both a manifesto for system change and an invitation to rekindle a deeper conversation about the nature of the human condition. It is published by Polity Press, Cambridge, UK. ISBN 9 -781509 -542529
Casting our lot with those who change the world:
My heart is moved by all I cannot save; so much has been destroyed. I have to cast my lot with those who, age after age, perversely, with no extraordinary power, reconstitute the world. Adrienne Rich
Born in poverty; died in custody: in an age of technology. Aboriginal poster
A Celtic Morning Prayer
Christ, we rise today
Knowing that you alone
Know our hearts
You alone can change
Our sadness into joy
Forgive us our shortcomings
Teach us patience
Teach us kindness
Help us to forgive
Those who have injured us
And keep us from injuring others
Keep our way lighted
With your steadfast love Amen.
Prayer for Overcoming Life’s Hardships
O Lord we call upon you in our time of sorrows, That you give us the strength and will to bear our heavy burdens, until we can again feel the warmth and love of Your divine compassion. Be mindful of us and have mercy on us while we struggle to comprehend life’s hardships Keep us ever in Your watch, till we can walk again with light hearts and renewed spirits. Amen.
