It was so warm and beautiful last Sunday that I had to get out there in the dirt. I moved a couple of blueberry bushes. They were too close to my beehives and I would not be able to tend them next summer without protective clothing. Remarkably, the bees were actually out and about. It was warm enough for them to do a winter cleanup of their hives.

They shove their dead out and leave them in little piles on the landing board. They also fly around and leave honey-colored poo all over laundry if it is on the clothesline.

At any rate, I was able to move the blueberries, so I used the opportunity to prune and fertilize the entire patch. I use ProHolly from North Country Organics.

In my perfect world I would spread several bags of the stuff around on all the evergreens, dogwoods, ferns and hydrangeas. This is the perfect time of year to do that important task.

Shortly, I hope to sharpen the saw and start the pruning of fruit trees. Again, it’s great to get some of these chores done before other spring work begins.

I planted some lettuce seeds in the greenhouse but do not expect to see them emerge for a couple of weeks. Now that the light has changed, any of the cold weather crops can be started with some protection. Artificial heat is not necessary so a simple cold frame with plastic will be enough.

I admit the polar vortex did blindside me two weeks ago so I did not cover the carrots with a nice cozy layer of hay before the frigid temperatures. I finally got to it this past weekend, so I hope the carrots will winter over and be sweetened by the cold and ready to pull by spring.

I took a trip up to Aquinnah and was shocked to see how much bittersweet is taking over the woods. Many of the stone walls are completely covered with the super invasive vine. Yikes! What’s to be done? Some of the vines are more than two inches in diameter.

In the wooded areas in Rew, Pa., where I grew up, there is no undergrowth, with the exception of princess pine and baby trees. It was so easy to walk in the forest anywhere. Here between the bittersweet and hideous prickers, one needs a machete.

I went through my box of seeds. Hopefully many will germinate and I won’t need to reorder some of them. I do keep them dry and have had luck in the past, even with those several years old.

I put together a stack of seed catalogs at the ready for some serious perusing. I plan to make some orders in the next week or so.

Not much else going on in garden world. Once again, I beg indulgence. I need to share something that has tickled me for a week.

I heard on Wait Wait. . . Don’t Tell Me!, the NPR weekly news quiz show, something impossible to make up.

A man in Australia was playing hide and seek. He stripped down and tucked himself into a top-loading washing machine. Naturally, he got stuck and firemen had to use a tub of olive oil to get him out. Honestly, that visual in my mind is absolutely hilarious.

Paula Poundstone remarked, “Perhaps Chris Christie could be engaged in a game of hide and seek and the olive oil could be held up in traffic.”