Garden Pictures

Progress of the Chipmunk Buffet Garden

Dear Family and Friends,
I was uploading pictures, but they don't seem to be where they should be, so I may put them on a separate post.
The pictures are of three gardens we visited yesterday. We actually visited 24, but we wanted to share 3 of our favorites. Are we suppose to have favorites, hmmm?
One is Rose Dallas, one is Annie Nockideneh, and the third is Bishop Polacca with his family. The have all harvested lots of squash, melons, corn, onions, beets and carrots.
Out of the 101 we are watching, there may be 10 that only have a "small" amount growing, but there are things growing. It has been an eye opening experience to watch the gardens and the gardeners growing. We have 53 1st year gardens and the rest are 2nd year gardeners.
Thursday at the Provident Living Meeting, we made things with squash. We had pancakes, which were really good. We also made bread and cake. We gathered round the tables, rolled up our sleeves and put our heads together, as well as our hands, and turned out some really nice items which we divided up for people to take home. It was a yummy evening.
I tried uploading again, but still no pictures ???? Maybe I will post this and then put them on another post.
The Chipmunk Buffet garden does have some things, but the tiny watermelon we saw has "chipmunk teeth marks" on it. I will never be able to watch Disney's "Chip and Dale" cartoons with the same attitude I had before. ;o[
Darrel Maloney is another favorite. He is so proud of his garden and I could not see one weed in it either. He gave us a slice of watermelon, after he posed for his picture. There is no doubt about his love for his garden. He is going to start tilling for next year where he will extend his current garden space.
Today Elder and Sister Droddy from Upstate New York spoke. They are both converts and live about 250 north of New York City. Because Sister Droddy was baptized, they have counted 75 more people who have joined the church and they are all family members.
He talked a lot about listening to the spirit and the importance of Seminary. They are awesome and we are lucky to have them. They have served in a variety of positions, including Bishop and RS President.
They have taken over watering the other section of garden and we noticed the flowers in front were looking pretty water deprived, so I mentioned it and he said his wife had also said something, but it was Sunday, so I replied farmers learn to milk on Sunday because the cows don't know it is Sunday and plants need water on Sunday also if they haven't been watered for a couple of days. He smiled and said, "I get it!" Elder Olson turned on the water. ;o}
We look forward to getting to know them better. They are very quiet and reserved. They have an amazing testimony and knowledge of the gospel.
Yesterday we had two baptisms and I got to play the prelude. That was also awesome. It was Casey and Ramona Calamity, brother and sister. She turned 9 today.
Hope everyone gets to read Mike's comment on Facebook. We love you Mike.
We miss all of you, but the days seem to fly by so fast.
Elder and Sister Olson

2 Thessalonians 3:10 D&C 42:42

Dear Family and Friends,

Hello from down under ;o} the sun, where it is very hot. Elder Olson doesn't mind working from before first light until after dark, but I prefer first light until 9 am outside, then inside projects until late afternoon, when the sun is low in the west.;o] I do little projects like cleaning the janitor closet at the church, including the vacuum bag which no one knew was suppose to be changed. That was a gruelling task, but well worth the clean vacuum in the end. Well you probably didn't need to know that much detail, but it's our journal right? and we should keep track of things.

The pictures are of Running Lady and her son Bobby James in his garden. The squash was taken from Bobby's garden already this summer with more to come. The other is the picket fence that surrounds Betty Babbitt's house out at Red Lake. I wonder if she dreamed of a picket fence when she was little, but perhaps it is the best thing for keeping the wandering sheep and goats out of the garden.

Actually I wanted most to tell you about another favorite person I have met. Her name is Ellie, but her Navajo name is Running Lady. That is her in the picture behind the garden fence. I wanted to take it with her on the outside, but Bobby James her son wanted her in the garden, so we did it his way. She is 96 and still walks every day and her mind is pretty dang sharp. She is the one who said she wanted one of everything, when I asked which thing in the garden was her favorite.

We purposely went to see Bobby to find out where Running Lady lived and there she was sitting on the couch. I ran back outside and I could hear Daisy trying to explain that I hadn't left, but was going to get something for her. When I brought the bag in she smiled and thanked me, then quickly asked where her watermelon was. I assured her that we would bring her one.

I love the older sisters out here. They are absolutely amazing and all the history they hold is overwhelming. I am grateful that they let me take their pictures.

The story that really made an impact this week is something that happened on Thurs. Elder Olson and I had been outside working for a couple hours, so it was round 8 am. A gentleman came by through the alley behind our apt and saw us and said, "I'll clean your hold yard for $10." Well I had been working several days on it and it was a very tempting offer, and worth a whole lot more than $10. Elder Olson and I talked for a few mins. (You have to know that pulling weeds, raking them up, and forcing yourself to put them in the dumpster instead of the compost pile is not Elder Olson's favorite thing to do.) So we said we could use his help. He threw his backpack over the fence and said he would be right back.

He didn't come back for a while, but we did have his backpack laying there. I started to worry just a little because a few weeks ago someone came running through the alley and asked if we had seen a young man running that way with a blue backpack that he had just stolen from him.

Well he did appear with a short handled rake, and hoe. He jumped the fence and started with a vengence pulling all the tall weeds along our side of the fence. I told him that if he pulled the tall ones I could weed whack the shorter things. He kept telling me he worked cheap, well his work ethic was astounding to say the least. Ten dollars an hour would have been a huge bargain.

He visited about a variety of things as we worked and he said that he had worked the day before for a meal. I asked if he would like breakfast and he said, "Yes, please" I fixed breakfast which he wolfed down. That man worked until 1:45 non-stop except for breakfast and a lunch the Wilson's offered. That fence line has to be a little over 100 ft and I had done about 30 ft. already.

I followed him with the weed whacker and soon realized that I am only capable of so much since it was well after 9 am. He was working so hard and asking so little, so I asked if he wanted to weed whack after he pulled the weeds and I would pay X amount. He seemed delighted and continued working.

He asked if we knew anyone else who needed help for food or money. I called Sister Margaret at St. Jude's and gave her a head's up on his work ethic. She had to leave at 2 pm so at 1:45 I insisted that he stop and go over there so he could visit with her and make some sort of arrangement to help pull weeds in their garden. I waited until the next morning when it was cool to finish raking and throwing the weeds in the dumpster.

This man did not ask for a handout, He was willing to work hard for a simple meal. He could be the "poster man" for doing whatever he could to earn a few dollars and a meal. I know we did not pay him what he was worth, but I know the Lord has blessed him far more than we could pay him.

We ran into him again when we were out checking gardens on Sat. He was with a friend, he referred to as "Biscuit" He asked if he could come back and work for lunch which he did.

I will not mention his name because of some things he shared, but I hope you will keep "Working Man" in your prayers. He could work along side of Elder Olson any day which is saying a lot. We saw him later that day "stomping aluminum cans" for another person.

I guess you could say he is an example of "those who are not idle and who wear the garments of the worker very well."

If more people were as willing to work as hard as he did the world would be a better place. I wish I had taken a before and after picture.

I hope all of you are taking the time to read the Sunday lessons each week and go to class prepared to make comments and share insights you have had during the week. The classes here have great teachers, but you have to be prepared to teach at any given moment. I wonder if that is why we are often referred to as the Minute Man church.

Our Stake President's surgery went well and he acutally wants Elder Olson to give some thought to having his surgeon look at his MRI pictures, which is very tempting.

We love all of you and hope you are noting the miracles that occur daily in your lives. We have been truly blessed and know that life is good and "things" don't happen by coincidence.

Hope you will overlook any spelling errors and fill in any missing words. My brain is not what it use to be and neither are a lot of other body parts. ;o] We love you.

Elder and Sister Olson

Where we started to where we are now.

Dear Family and Friends,

The picture just above is where it started and the top is where we are now. The one to the right shows what can happen in the middle of the rez.

When we first started it was difficult to envision what could actually happen. I could not find the picture for the starting point of the one on the right, but I think I posted it previously, so look for a Manygoats pic.

The title puppy herds and Garden Demos is what happened this week. We were asked to go to Lukachukai, where Elder Olson and I met, then on to Chinle where I was baptized on 14 Feb 1969. Both places have changed tremendously, but it was very fun to go back and check things out.

We started out at 7 am, planning to arrive at Lukachukai around ten, checking places out and meeting Brother Clement at 3. Well that didn't quite happen the way we planned. We had several people stop by to visit, so we left around 9, but still had plenty of time.

I was reading scriptures outloud as we were driving. Check out Helaman 58:10-11. The truck started to shimmey, so Elder Olson checked under the hood and under the truck hoping he could see something that would indicate what was wrong. Neither of us could really see anything except a dripping liquid. He touched it and smelled it and said it was probably water. After tasting it (a really smart move on my part) I verified that it was water.

We decided we had better turn around and limp our way back which we did. We called Brother Butler and he recommended Barlow Towing and Repair. We drove about 45 mph and everyone was passing and giving us "the look" We explained what had happened and handed John Yazzie the keys so he could take it out on the road, which he did. He drove right back and into his shop. Then he put it up on the rack thingy. ;o} He showed us the back left tire and explained that it was separating. Can you imagine what would have happened if we had passed someone and it blew out? Be sure you read the scripture above.

It took quite a while to fix, but after we had called the Seeleys and told them we weren't sure we could follow through and they in turn had called another couple to cover for us, we decided we would have two "free" days and went to lunch. Well Seeleys called and were happy to know it was a tire problem and not something much worse and asked if we could call the Kirks and tell them we would do the Demos after all, which we did. We jumped in the truck (Elaine may have jumped in, I was too busy hauling my old body up into the cab to notice; RLO) and headed out, arriving at 5 instead of 3.

We were able to see 4 gardens before going to the "Demo Garden" to do the Demo Presentation. That was a "Classic" demo garden. I found one tiny weed hiding in the onions. It was truly a show case garden. We dug a hill of potatoes so everyone could see what was happening underneath the plant. One brother said, "You mean there's more than just the two I found under the plant. I need to go home and find what else is there, I need to leave right now." We all laughed. The one picture that I will try to add is the shovel full Elder Olson was able to find under the plant. I guess you will be able to tell which picture that is.

When Elder Olson tossed the biggest spud to the demo gardener, everyone cheered and whistled. They were so excited and so were we.

We left Lukachukai about 8:30 and headed over to Chinle. Bishop Begay and Brother Clement wanted us to come back Thursday which we did and went out to 7 more gardens. I was able to make a Power Point Presentation that we sent to the Seeleys. I am still figuring things out, but it turned out pretty good for a Senior Missionary. :o}

We headed back to Chinle and Elder Olson got a well deserved nap before the demo at 7 on Thurs. We met some great people in both places and I guess we appeared to know something about gardening. I had major notes to read from, trust me.

Now about the puppy herds. Every female on the rez has had puppies I know. At two gardens there were 7 puppies each and they were just at the stage where they want to play under your feet. I know there were only 7, but it felt like a whole team of football players trying to attack the opposing team and lay them flat. Fortunately, I managed to stay upright, but it took great skill to manuver around those herds. They were all about as cute as chipmunks, and just as innocent looking also. ;o}

Lukachukai has changed a great deal, but the spirit of the people hasn't, you feel as though you are among the best saints ever in the church. They are humble and striving to do what the Lord has asked, to become self-reliant and help their neighbors, which they are doing in an awesome way.

We are blessed to be a small part of a great part of church history. We love our mission. Elder Olson added a few comments when he edited, but I am sure you will know which ones he added.

Elder and Sister Olson

Unpublished Posts

While trying to figure some things out, it appeared that I hadn't sent two other posts, one for May 8th and another for Jul 6th plus the picture I put on today, so there may be several posts out of order. Hopefully the dates will appear with them and you can figure it out. Please overlook any typos and other mistakes. I didn't take the time to edit them. Hopefully you can supply any words that I left out or spelled wrong. It has to be the keyboard, you know how often they make mistakes. :o}

Floyd's garden

Floyd Manygoats garden When the rain came they didn't think they needed to water, but the leaves were dragging the ground, so they watered again and they sprang right back up, it was pretty amazing to see how life came back into the plants. If you look closely you will see the second fence that is about 3 feet away from the garden fence. It's the defensive line they need to keep the wild horses from eating their corn plants.

Over The Hill and Far Away

Dear Family and Friends,

I think I have finally figured out how to upload the pictures. You decide which ones you want then post them from the last to the first and the first will be last. Amen. ;o

This post should come with the one I worked on earlier this week, so you get two for one this time.

This is the 1,500 ft line that Elder Olson put in for George Babbitt's corn field. The picture was taken at dawn, so he left here well before dawn and was able to watch the sunrise as he started to work another day on the project. The others kind of explain themselves as he goes up and over the hill burying the line, so it won't be stepped on by wandering horses, sheep, or goats.

The last photo is at sunset near the top of the hill. When we got the paperwork for this mission it said, 4 hours a dat, I'm pretty sure they forgot the 1 in front of the 4. That seems like a very long day, but amazingly enough you have the strength and endurance to do it again the next day. Whatever the Lord deems necessary, we seem to have the ability to do. He has blessed us greatly as we have served His children here on the reservation.

Yesterday, along with the two Elders, and Mike and Mae, we tilled four new gardens in preparation for the 2012 growing season. I was able to take pics of 3 tillers going while others were raking or throwing out fertilizer and manure, everyone did whatever needed to be done and no one complained, they just helped. One of the four prep gardens was for "Pastor Johnnie" I did pause just for a moment when Mae asked if we could put his in, but then I remembered that I had never read of the Good Samartian stopping to ask which church the man he helped belonged to before he helped him. Who knows maybe he will be converted and bring his congregation along. ;o} it has happened before.

After we tilled from 8-3 we headed back to check some gardens and spray squash bugs, which are becoming a real pain. They can demolish a squash plant pretty quickly. They lay their eggs underneath the leaves, where the larva hatch and eat away. We have actually sprayed twice, but they are resistant or persistant, not sure which but they remain a problem that we continually address.

The Seeley's have asked us to do two demos, one in Lukachudia on Wed evening and a second in Chinle on Thurs. We will actually stay at the Best Western in Chinle both nights because it is so far away then return on Friday morning. Elder Olson says we are getting a vacation and perhaps we are, but I suspect they have squash bugs there also.

There were 118 people at the 2nd Ward Sacrament, last week there were 119. Three young men bore their testimonies and are planning for missions.

I got up also and if you have time read D & C 18:34-36 The church is true, the scriptures bear solemn witness of the divinity of Jesus Christ. We can bear the truth of the gospel without fear of men and what they may say. Jesus is the Christ and will come again, we know not when, but we can look forward to that day knowing that He is our Lord, the Son of the living God.

We each have our individual roles to fulfill and we need not compare ourselves to others, for we are uniquely different and our roles are uniquely different. It matters not where we serve or in what capacity we serve. We need to focus on the tasks we were sent to do and spend less time worrying about other's tasks. The Lord loves us as individuals. May we strive to live a little better each day and serve wherever we are and in whatever way is necessary, being confident that the Lord will bless us in our individual roles to fulfill His work.

We think of you often and pray for your welfare.

Elder and Sister Olson

Dear Family and Friends,

The first picture is just one of the amazing sunsets that we have here on the reservation.

The others are of a garden for George Babbitt, one of the people Elder Olson met on his mission in 1968-1970. They still remember him from way back then.

George's daughter wanted to surprise him, so they started working on this small portion of a much larger area that George use to plant corn in as a young husband and father.

The pictures are out of order, but they show where it is and what he did if you look closely.

The picture with the small trench is actually a 1,500 foot trench where the water line will be buried. Elder Olson has buried about 5oo feet so far, so there's only a 1,000 ft left. ;o}

The rain water comes over the top of that rock you see and made it necessary for him to devise a plan that would direct the water into the beds and not wash away everything. He put flat stones at the bottom that sloped to the left then fed into the first trench, it then flows to the right, turns and goes back and then turns again at the left, much like a meandering creek. We had a storm and he went to check and it appears as if it will work..

We knew that Bessie, George's wife, was watching because she was out every day herding sheep and we suspect that George knows also, but we would like to get his picture when the corn is up about 6 feet tall.

One of our other gardens has 7ft tall stalks. When we went out mid Jul it had rained so they didn't think they needed to water. The squash plants leaves were touching the ground. We explained about the need to have water soak down about 20 inches. I used an umbrella to show how plants will wilt if the bottom roots don't get enough. When we went out this week the squash leaves looked like huge umbrellas fully extended. I will try and put those pics up next time.

I am working on a power point presentation with before and after shots of our gardens. I think I might be getting a little possessive of the ones we have worked on, so I will say "the" gardens least I should take ownership. ;o}

They are however, "our" people and we love them. Martin commented that his mother-in-law has been freed from her imaginary wheelchair. She is 85 + and use to get up, go to the couch and sit all day. Now she gets up and goes to the garden with her hoe. Weeds do not have a chance in "her" garden. She lights up like a Christmas tree when "her baby" comes. That is Elder Olson's name around her. You can tell she loves him very much. He has massaged her feet with essential oils, and when he puts "Sacred Mountain" on her she calls it "Good Stink" The Navajo's do not have a name for perfume or fragrance, but there is no doubt when she says "Good Stink" that she is saying she loves it.

The days continue to be long, but oh so rewarding. The new couple are Elder and Sister Droddy, from upper state New York. Sister Droddy is an aunt to Jimner Ferdet, the BYU basketball player. Hope I spelled his name right. Everyone hopes he comes to visit them.

We love you all and hope things are going well for you.

Elder & Sister Olson