Brrr . . . downright chilly last week. Good thing I’m a hardy type and don’t mind wearing several layers. I rarely, if ever, stay indoors for an entire day. Long underwear has to be woolen to be effective. The thin silk ones may be fashionable but do not do the job.

I find that Bogs are great footwear. My feet are never cold and I can go right through icy puddles. A hat has never worked for me. It leaves a vulnerable area between it and the collar or even a scarf. I tie a cashmere sweater on my head and tuck the sleeves into my shirt. Could we call it a fashion statement?

You must know by now, I’m trying to keep some interest in winter garden chores.

Now is the time to take stock of the tools. I was irritated to find one of my favorite shovels still in the garden. I had gathered all the other rakes, shovels, long-handled weeders and pitchforks from truck beds and here and there.

I give most of the handles a quick sanding and slather them with linseed oil. A bucket of sand with some spent motor oil will clean the dirt and rust from the metal. Just shove them in and out a few times.

This is a chore I actually enjoy. It’s like organizing pots. It settles my mind and clears it of unwanted thoughts.

I cleaned off the propagating mats and started a few flats. The light change is almost imperceivable, but I was aching to get something happening. I searched through my seeds from last season. I planted leeks, tatsoi, mache, spinach and some Munstead lavender.

I will most likely clip the greens at a tiny stage right in the flat to add to salads.

It is not too early for leeks and/or onions. I need to make an order for the onion seeds as I used them all up last year. I usually get copra, a yellow keeper, Ailsa Craig, a sweet type to be used in the summer and Walla Walla sweet, a long-season variety. It can be harvested late winter. Most onions are ready by the middle of August. I still have about a quarter bushel of Copra from last August’s harvest. Sadly, many are small so it takes four or five for a dish. I will be shopping for them any day now.

I seem to have both white and sweet potatoes that will last until spring. I love that.

There are enough quarts of tomatoes and dilly beans to get me through next year for Pete’s sake! I’ve always been a “more is better” person. Why stop now?

I started the lavender because I have really good luck with seeding it. They emerge so tiny that reading glasses are required. I transplant them very carefully and painstakingly. I rip out some of the old plants every year. They get all rangy and woody. Sometimes they can be revived by cutting them to the quick in the spring. Don’t be shy. Sharpen the Felcos and have at it!

Another task which is timely from now until spring is cutting the hydrangeas. Be sure you know the variety before you go crazy.

I cut Annabelles six inches high or sometimes to the ground. They bloom on new growth.

Not so with the macrophyllus, i.e. Nikkos. They bloom on old growth, but all their spent stalks with no visible buds can be out at ground level or simply wiggled loose. Snip off the deadheads. They are no longer of winter interest and will start blowing around the yard any day now.

I made a big purchase of lime and started spreading it on the vegetable beds. It comes in 50-pound bags. They are way heavier than 50-pound bags of animal grain. I don’t know why, but this seems to be true. I moved quite a few bags around. Get me to my chiropractor quick!

It only took three days for the tatsoi, Chinese cabbage, and spinach to germinate on the propagating mat. Of course, I had set it at 70 degrees, so no wonder.

What a world! The ongoing situation in France and with the terrorist groups is at best horrifying. At least we can disagree about religion and politics and stay alive!