Remember the beautiful Amaryllis that Priscilla gave me for Christmas?  Well, it is getting ready to bloom again!!!

 

Two stalks with 4 flower buds each!!!  I’ll show you again when they open.

 

What a sweet treat in the middle of winter.

 

HAPPY FEBRUARY!!!

 

I got my Brent and Becky’s catalog the other day.  Yay!!!  

 

So many pretty pictures, and great information about all the plants in the catalog.  Information includes sun requirements, drought tolerance, critter resistance, and pollinator friendliness.  

 

You can get one too;  just go to https://brentandbeckysbulbs.com/?v=7516fd43adaa

and request a catalog on the home page.  

 

I lost a few plants during that Christmas freeze;  maybe I will replace them with bulbs.  

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

 

 

 

Have you heard this Old Wives Tale?  Ten days after a thunderstorm in the winter, it will snow.  

 

Well, on January third we had a thunderstorm, and on Friday, January thirteenth it snowed.  My sisters had thunder storms on the third, but no snow on the thirteenth.  They live in Virginia and Mississippi.  It snowed here in the mountains, so maybe it is a mountain old wives tale.

 

There wasn't enough snow to make a snowman, or go sledding down the road, but it was pretty enough to take pictures.  Thought you'd like to see the garden in the snow.  Can't wait for more.

 

HAPPY JANUARY!!!

 

Just thought you'd like to know, when I went out to the compost bin yesterday, I noticed my daffodils starting to come up.

 

It is early, I know, but I think it is time for them to start emerging. And the best part is:  the deer don't eat them.

 

This makes me so happy.  I love knowing that we will have daffodils soon.  OK, maybe not real soon, but soon enough.  

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

This is what's left in the garden:  10 ft. tall stakes for the sunflowers.  Jon had to use the 8 ft. ladder this past summer to install the stakes.  So instead of going through that process every year, we will just plant the seeds next to the stakes, and be happy with that.  We love our sunflowers.

 

Oh, yeah, there is also garlic out there, but there's nothing to see yet.  The cloves are 2 inches under the ground and mulched with another 3 inches of leaves.

 

So everybody here is taking a little rest from gardening.  

 

HAPPY JANUARY!!!

 

 

 

This picture is from last week's snow and freezing weather.  See the Brussels sprouts?

 

I reported last week that the kale was sad, but not dead.  Brussels sprouts were in that same boat:  sad, but not dead.  Well, just a few days later, after the freeze, we noticed everything in the garden was beige, and rubbery.  DEAD!!!  And the whole garden smelled like we were cooking collards.  It was weird.  

 

We learned first hand that Brassicas can take a little frost, but not a freeze.  

 

Oh, well.  We cut them all down, and put them on the giant compost pile.  And we will start again in the spring.  AFTER the frost date.  

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

Rainy days aren't so bad.  We don't walk the loop, but we still have fun.  Scrabble, sewing projects, crossword puzzles, and cooking.

 

Yesterday we made pasta.  We added kale powder to the dough:  turning it green, a little bit healthy, and pretty.  After we roll it and cut it using the pasta machine, it gets hung on this rack to dry.  The drying process takes a while, like 8 hours, so we left it on the table overnight.  This is what we found in the morning.  Some still hanging, some crashed onto the dining room table.  

 

Gizmo?  No, he doesn't get on the table or chairs.  The New Year's Eve elf?  I doubt that.  ;)  Or maybe just successful drying.  

 

I hope you are having some kind of winter fun.

 

HAPPY JANUARY!!!

 

Yep, I took this picture on the loop just a couple days ago.  Even though it's been quite warm, there is still some ice on the north side of our mountain.

 

Just a reminder, I guess, that it is still winter.  At least the days are getting longer.  Let's be happy about that.

 

HAPPY JANUARY, 2023!!!

 

I guess we weren't the only ones having a little too much fun last night.

 

Look who we found right next to the empty Champagne bottle.  I don't remember emptying it ourselves;  it must have been the elf.

 

Wishing you ALL:

 

A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

 

HAHAHA!!!!  We walked the loop two days in a row, wearing shorts!!!  

 

Our temperature yesterday and the day before got up to 64 degrees.  That's warm enough to wear shorts, especially when you're moving.  

 

It was also warm enough to sit on our neighbors' porch for happy hour.  Gotta love warm Winter weather.

 

HAPPY WINTER!!!