the winter garden and other stories

The weather has been outstanding the last three days. With the solstice came a thunderstorm, rain, overcast skies, and cold. My blood has slowed and thickened, my brain incapable of processing the higher functions. A couch, a blanket and a book have been about all I've been about.

This last week of the year, coming as it does between christmas and January is a lost week. People are drained from the expectations and activities of the holiday season. It's just as well no one really expects anything to get done during this time because nothing is going to get done. Around here the cold days and overcast skies were like a hand holding me down.

It cleared up Tuesday though and started a warming trend. Tuesday all I could do was admire it. Wednesday I thought of a lot of things I ought to be doing. Today I finally shrugged off my lethargy and actually got a few things accomplished, puttering around outside soaking up the sun.

mustard greens, kholrabi, cauliflower, cabbage, turnips, mustard greens, broccoli

My neighbor Frank of the bountiful garden, whose wife recently died, doesn't seem to remember that he must harvest his produce. The chain has been broken and he has no one to bring the harvest to. I've been checking on his garden now and then and I noticed that beans had gone unpicked, broccoli is flowering. His son Alan comes over regularly and today he gave us a broccoli and a cauliflower and a couple of kholrabis.

Here's a picture of the food he gave us.

I put the quarter there to give you some idea of the size but it doesn't really convey how big they are.

So I put my hand in there.

                 

Later I picked a big bowl of spinach and lettuce from my garden. And harvested my first carrot. According to the package I should be able to harvest my carrots.

So I did a test.

It's tiny.

Perhaps they will be spring carrots.