It’s been interesting to predict this winter’s weather. We seem to jump around between wet and warm to sunny and freezing. Some days I am digging into ground and then busting ice on my chickens’ water. I never mind the rain. I just think ahead to hauling hoses next summer and get relaxed and happy.

How I wish I could wow you all with something exciting in garden world but, honestly, I’ve got very little material.

Sometime in mid-December we had a couple of extremely cold days. My leeks, which usually make it through the winter into early spring, are slightly mushy on the outside. I need to pick the rest of them and whip up a large quantity of potato leek soup.

I planned to give people blooming paper whites for Christmas but you know what they say about plans. They are just beginning to form buds. Perhaps by the MLK birthday?

Oddly, I found the remains of last year’s bulbs under a greenhouse bench. They had been there since last Christmas. Not a drop of water and probably over 100 degrees some days in the summer. They have all sprouted greens about two inches tall. Wouldn’t it be a kick if they bloomed again?

SBS has last year’s seeds for $1. I bought several packages and planted them in the unheated greenhouse. Kohlrabi, spinach, lettuce, beets, carrots and radishes. I am cautiously optimistic awaiting their germination.

The spinach that I planted in November is beginning to make pickable leaves. It never moved until this past week. The subtle change in the light has triggered it into spring growing. Also, I’m now getting six eggs a day instead of one or two every couple days.

I bought a new toothbrush and proceeded to cut myself on the ridiculous hard plastic packaging. Then I was so annoyed at the irony that I struggled to open a Band-Aid with one working hand without the now obsolete red string. I’m assuming the company wants to save money on string. Too bad they are spending it all on hard plastic that I throw into the trash. What a world!

Here it is Tuesday evening and I’m trying to decide if I should watch our president attempt to gaslight the American people about the supposed “crisis” on our southern border. I finally got the picture this week. A couple in North Carolina was interviewed about the government shutdown. They are federal employees facing loss of pay. They are also Trump supporters. They actually said with a straight face: “We support DJT in shutting down the government over the wall except it affects us. We wouldn’t care if we were still getting our paychecks.”

So we wonder about the lack of empathy in our commander-in-chief. He’s clearly the result of a much bigger problem. Have mercy.