Tuesday’s wild, windy and freezing day cemented the “In like a lion” legacy of March. I did not venture outside but kept the home fires burning. Besides loading the wood stoves all day, I used up some stored-since-summer squash. My last Queensland Blue squash held up admirably.

Marie gave me one of her last rutabagas which had been in the ground all winter (see photo). I’m very fond of the mild turnip-like root. I hate buying them as they often cover them with some sort of waxy coating.

I have a few more meals left of my sweet potatoes. Our new favorite is caramelized onions with some large hunks of the potatoes. They are remarkably sweet.

I grew two types: Beauregard from Louisiana and Georgie Jet. They do very well here in our hot summers. I believe they take 90 days to mature from slips planted in early June. Both have red skins with deep orange flesh.

My friend, Sharlee, has kept me up with her crocus report for the last few years. In 2019 she photographed her first one on March 20, but last year’s picture was taken on Feb. 20. This year mine have barely broken ground; Sharlee has not reported in either.

I do, however, have some really early signs of the upcoming season — snowdrops are about to open and one of the Witch Hazels is in full bloom.

A week ago I forced some branches of quince and forsythia. They forsythia is very close and the quince is putting on a show. Oddly, it is a bright red shrub outside but the forced blooms are pure white. Don’t ask me why. What I don’t know is a lot.

At least a month ago I seeded some Easter Egg Radishes into large pots in my unheated greenhouse. We ate some last night in our sprout salad. The actual root was practically non-existent but the greens were great and gave the dish a little zip.

I was saddened to hear of the death this week of longtime Vineyard visitor, Vernon Jordan. In the early 90s I waitressed at the Black Dog. My most memorable night was serving then-President Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton and Vernon Jordan. They made me feel as if I’d known them for years.

Violet attended the Martha’s Vineyard Public Charter School. The new science wing was dedicated to Vernon. He attended the dedication of the building. So many of the icons of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s have gone to their eternal rest and reward. Hopefully, we will strive to continue their walk.

What a weekend in our present political situation. I had hoped against hope we had seen the last of DJT. The CPAC gathering in Orlando was old home week for the extreme right wingers. My personal favorite was the presentation of the gold statue. I guess we can call it the golden calf. That’s all I have to say about that.

I’m being generous here. Our congress people make $174,000 a year. At most they work 10 months. I’ll allow them 40 hours a week, ha, ha. That’s more than $100 an hour, not to mention lifetime health insurance. These people are happy with others working at demeaning back-breaking jobs for under $10 an hour. Maybe if we paid everyone a decent wage we could save taxpayer dollars on SNAP and Medicaid. Basically, we are giving yet another subsidy to business. Even $15/hour is a mere $600 a week which wouldn’t cover rent.

Forgive me for basic arithmetic but honestly, I’ll never understand politics or people for that matter.