Sunday, December 4, 2011

Waiting for winter

All right....It's Dec 4th, and we've had just a little snow. It's been wet and grey outside, and it is a little sad to see all the beautiful greenery limp over. However, the kale, collards, parsley, and the tatsoi are all still hanging on. I also have a short row of heirloom carrots that I haven't dug up yet...maybe tomorrow. The herbs have all succumbed to the frost...the sage, thyme, chives and lavender are all curling up, sleepy for the long winter ahead. I did dry out some oregano and sage. I chopped and froze a bag full of chives - ready to be tossed in some soup.
I still have to empty and move the rain barrel and re-attach the longer pipe to funnel rain away from the house. I attended a beginner's permaculture workshop a few weeks ago, and was inspired to capture the water that is pumped out of the basement by the sump pump and to direct the water toward the garden. A project I'll research a bit more over the winter.
Dan did give me a new pressure canner for my birthday...so I will be doing more home processing in 2012. I have also begun some seed shopping online...some might call it seed porn/voyeurism...can't bear not to see vegetables and flowers blooming somewhere...and how I might buy a few more varieties that I've never grown before. Seed giving will definitely be part of my holidays.
Lastly, I was able to transport two of my large snake plants to my Mother's apartment today. This is part of our strategy to baby proof the living room. I was grateful to my friend Jana, who gave me three cuttings from her elephant ear plant, so once they've rooted, I can plant them and hang them from the ceiling in a nice 70's macrame plant hanger, carefully out of the reach of baby.
Thanks for reading! Happy Yule everybody!