January 10, 2018 - It’s a heat wave at 64 degrees!

         Finally the cold snap broke.  Now I understand Minnesotans. When it gets to 50 degrees, they come out in their shorts and shirt sleeves.  My dear sister-in-law is dealing with those harsh winters.  Me, I know I couldn’t do it.  My living in Minnesota lasted from March to October one year and it was cold to me even during those three seasons.

         The Christmas decorations are all down and I trotted them out to the shed for safekeeping.  A quick walk-around of the property brought me the sad news of many limbs down and much garden work needs to be done.

         Since it was 64 degrees and sunny and with no perceptible wind, we sat out on lawn chairs down near the vegetable garden in the full sun with our backs up against the Leyland windbreak just to relish the break in the weather.  Sitting there up-close, I reviewed the devastation this cold weather  had on my broccoli plants.  I finished the harvest several weeks ago, but the little side shoots were still coming that I could harvest every few days.  Not now, they are all rotting mush.   Hopefully, we will have another nice day tomorrow and I can get out there and attend to that garden cleanup.

We just sat and let the sun bake on us as we watch the birds flitting about.  It is such a country pleasure.  My husband said,

“Isn’t this the life – just sitting out here – watching that robin?”

 There was a fat robin feeding on insects or seeds from the lawn the whole time we sat out.  Another bird just about took my hat off as it flew from the crepe myrtle to the Leyland windbreak. I ducked just in time.

Then, I spotted the red-bellied woodpecker twirling its way up and around the dead tulip tree and then later up an around the big maple at the northeast corner of the property.

         Yes, I am itching to get outside to clean up the fall/winter gardens and listen to the birds while I work in the winter silence.   I’ll try some Daikon radishes under a cold frame as soon as we get a good rain and the temperature is right.  They are always fun to grow.

         It looks like the claytonia is going to come along nicely and I’ve two lovely rows of spinach coming along from my Fall planting that wasn’t harmed by that Artic blast.  YIPEE.  Some years I have no luck with spinach and other times I get a surprise.  I guess 2018 spring will be a surprise year for an early spinach harvest.

         The days are slowly getting longer. Spring will come quicker than I think.  Two more seed catalog came in the mail today and I circled everything that was  new and interesting with a pen.  Later I’ll have to review them all again and actually decide what I have space to grow and purge my wish list.  But, it sure is fun making a wish list. I’ve decided this is the year to put in some horseradish roots.  I’ve never tried them before and the price seems right.

I got rave reviews from my “ice box pickles” this year from friends and family, so I will no doubt be growing ample amounts of pickling cucumbers and putting up pickles again.  And, this year, I might even make a little vegetable trolley to sell excess vegetables to my neighbors on an ‘honor system’.  Roll it out to the end of the drive under a tree in the morning and bring it back in the evening.  We have plenty of traffic.

         My next gardening project will be to sit down and draw a diagram of what to grow where so that I have appropriately rotated my crops.  I also see that the garlic came up from last fall’s planting and looks a bit limp – but then, everything looks a bit limp from the cold blast we just experienced.  A little rain, a little sun and some warmth and everything will look splendid, I’m sure.

         At the end of sitting out for a few hours, I notice that the pansies are still putting on buds and blooming.  What an amazing little plant.  Yes, that little bit of fresh air and sunshine has chased away the cabin fever for now and boosted my gardener’s optimism for this coming year’s garden.

         What is that phrase – hope springs eternal  - when it comes to a gardener. Yes, that is it - Gardener’s optimism always increases the closer we get to spring.