I do enjoy a good snowfall, especially the first of the season. I love the way it covers a multitude of sins, so to speak. All the neglected weeds are covered with only the spent flowers showing. The low-lying afternoon sun makes for a beautiful end of the day.

Especially nice is the complete melting by Tuesday. Good thing, too, since I still have quite a few unattended outdoor chores before a true hard winter might set in.

There is a large holly on the left at the intersection of the Edgartown Road at the turn onto State Road. It puts my poor one to shame. It is covered with berries unlike the poor showing at my house.

Hollies need a boyfriend in order to produce berries. The mate has to be of the same cultivar, for example a Blue Princess needs a Blue Prince. The male can be a small nondescript bush but needs to at least be on the property.

The window boxes at the Copper Wok are always nice and change with the seasons. I like the winter theme this year with the cut cedar logs.

Reuben made an interesting discovery this week. He had a very green banana which he put on the defroster on the truck’s dashboard on his way to work. The peel turned black and the fruit inside was totally ripe in less than a half hour.

At dusk this week I was driving on the lower end of Lambert’s Cove Road. There was a huge number of winter moths fluttering around. I only had a few at my place. Hopefully, this is because I had it sprayed last season. With my luck, however, the ones on Lambert’s Cove are heading this way. I think I’ll get on the Vineyard Gardens spray list again. I was very pleased in the fall to have a sizable apple harvest for the first time in decades as a result of said spring spraying.

I’ve been busy cutting hydrangeas. I like to worry free the dead stalks at ground level. There seems to be a huge number of pill bugs in the debris. I grew up calling them armadillo bugs. Some say roly-polys. Anyway, I went on the Google and discovered that Armadillidium Vulgare is actually beneficial to the garden since they eat debris and rotting vegetation.

Rusty at Ghost Island Farm plans to stay open all winter. I bought a few packages of locally-raised organic cranberries. I popped them directly into the freezer to use in smoothies and breads.

He also has several different varieties of his own greens. They are growing happily in the hoophouses.

Last Saturday, sadly, was the last winter farmers’ market. It is a great place to catch up with locals who finally have time to catch a breath.

Once again we cut a Charlie Brown tree. It was a tiny cedar growing poorly in the shadow of another. It fits perfectly, albeit crookedly in its assigned spot. I love the idea of giving a sad little misshapen tree its one shot in the spotlight.

By the time this hits the newsstands folks will be in full preparatory mode. For our family this means some serious rearranging of furniture to accommodate Christmas Eve dinner guests. My friend, Sharlee, and I were lamenting our lack of proper dining rooms. All my relatives growing up had them. It was simply a matter of moving some papers from the table and washing the “good” China.

Growing up, we went down in the valley to my Dad’s folks place. He was one of 12 and everyone was there with their spouses and children. Fortunately, we drew names so only gave and received one gift each. Good thing as there were several dozens of us.

Grandma Kate and the aunts made piles of food. There were two adjoining dining rooms. As children, we never saw the considerable effort that must have gone into that huge meal and gathering. Now that I’m in the role of grandmother, I wonder if I let people know I appreciated that effort. Probably not, I’m sorry to say.

At any rate, here we are once again wishing eternally for Peace on Earth, Good Will to Men.