There is always something interesting in the natural world, especially in the garden if you are paying attention. Last weekend was so beautiful I spent quite a bit of time in the vegetable garden. What started as a day to put things in order for the coming winter turned out to be simply a day of continuing maintenance.

I found a spent leek flower from last year’s crop. It was a plant I never bothered with all summer. I noted its beautiful pale purple flower in passing sometime in July. Anyway, on Saturday I found that flower on the ground with a perfect circle of tiny leek plants surrounding it. Never one to miss an opportunity to plant something, I painstakingly separated them and planted a bed. It will be interesting to see if they winter-over since they are so tiny. Then, will they grow to be enormous by next fall? Talk about a head start on the spring season. I must say it was a hopeful and thoughtful time spent.

Afterward I spent some time wandering around enjoying and observing. Wouldn’t you know it, I found an absolutely perfect early Jersey Wakefield cabbage. It was hidden in plant debris and weeds. I promptly prepared it for my next night’s supper. I am not fond of coleslaw but love raw cabbage with a touch of vinaigrette. It’s also a favorite in our family steamed with butter and or olive oil.

We finally polished off all of the Thanksgiving leftovers that didn’t make it into the freezer. After boiling the carcass, I decided I had no energy left for soup making so I dumped all the side dishes from the big meal into the stock and let everything simmer overnight in the crock pot. It turned out to be one of my best. The different flavors of butternut squash with maple syrup, creamed leeks and celeriac and sautéed kale, garlic and onions took on a life of its own. I could see a nice puree with the hand-held blender but it didn’t last long enough.

Another post-holiday meal which I’d forgotten to make for years was hot turkey sandwiches. I went immediately back to my childhood in Rue, Pennsylvania. We ate gravy on bread or biscuits on many nights. My mother made a killer chicken gravy. I must confess I make gravy maybe twice a year but enjoy those times immensely.

Violet and I got a kick out of the open sign at Ghost Island Farm. Rusty carved the letters into four pumpkins. Swing in for some great root vegetables and seasonal greens. It’s at the Nip and Tuck Farm stand.

There is a geranium still in full bloom on the Egartown-Vineyard Haven Road across from Skiff avenue. Who knew geraniums were so hardy and reliable? We’ve frozen several times here in V.H.

I bought several lime-green, please-don’t-shoot-me hats for family members. If only they would wear them in the woods the next few weeks of hunting season.

Before the election I mentioned Proposition 37 on the ballot in California. It was a bill which would require Big Agriculture to label foods which have been genetically modified. It was considered a shoo-in but the opposition poured over a million dollars a day into advertising. That’s 46 million; five times what the measure’s backers could afford. Of course, there were misrepresentations, deceit and downright lies and the bill was defeated.

Here’s the irony. Two states decriminalized marijuana but California couldn’t pass food measures. Go figure.

I can’t decide if I’m more annoyed about the fiscal cliff or the national debt. First of all, is there a cliff? All the political posturing is for the bases of both parties.

The whining about the national debt has gone on for my entire life. I’m sick of it. I wrote a check to the U.S. Treasury and had them apply it to the debt. If I really believe I am part of We The People, I owe some of the debt as well. I’d rather send a check than see them cut Social Security or the Department of Education. I want my grandchildren to have first-rate educations and help in their old age!