GuardNGuy.blogspot.com

This isn't about gardening, but I hope you enjoy it. People talk sometimes about some year’s Christmas being the best one.   Actually, that phrase comes up a lot in commercials trying to talk us into buying something that will make Christmas great.   I don’t think that’s usually how it works. When I try to remember my best Christmas ever, my years as a little kid, with lots of toys under the tree, don’t rise to the top.   The years when, as an adult, everyone was there on Christmas morning, were really good.   Since then, my dad has died, and one brother-in-law is no longer around.   I could say that the last Christmas with my dad was the best, but I didn’t know it until he was gone. Since his death, and my mom’s passing 19 years later, that side of my extended family has fractured a bit, so gathering at Christmas isn’t likely to happen.   Of course, I have my own family with daughters, sons-in-law, and grandchildren to make the day festive and exciting...

Our gardens have successfully made the transition from autumn to winter.  What had been filled with pale greens and tans is now white.  Cold, and white.  Any thoughts of doing any more work out there this year have been dashed.  I hope the snow will stay, and be insulation for the plants that remain. I've been to all of the "Sun Belt" states, and I confess that the idea of spending a winter season without any coat, but just a light jacket, sounds appealing.  The thought of doing some gardening in January sounds good.  The thought of not shoveling snow is an idea I could get behind. That being said, there really is nothing like stepping outside on a crisp December morning with fresh snow and 20 degree air.  Twenty degree below zero air, with 20 mph winds is a different story all together, of course, but winter does have its charms. In an ironic twist, both the seed catalogs and the forms from our tax preparer generally come during the week before Christ...