Good things about February

I've said it before and I'll say it again - February is the longest month of the year, at least around these parts. Seeds and plants are ordered but it is too early to start transplants inside. The only "gardening" fun I have is eating all the goodies I put by last year.

We have had snow, which some people think is a bad thing, but it is actually good for the garden. Snow shoveling is also handy for keeping the gardening muscles in shape. That said, I am still grateful for the help of neighbors when the snow is heavy and/or too thick.

Garden Rant has been hosting a series of posts extolling or berating the concept of "winter interest" in the garden. I don't plant for winter interest, but I think if you have snow, you can't help but find the yard interesting to view. Better than the usual brown and gray.

Finn suffers from cabin fever, punctuating my day with requests to go out, then two minutes later, come back in. Despite having a litter box in the laundry room, he still prefers the outdoors as his potty. And sometimes he even plays in the snow a bit.

Best of all is the recovery of the Meyer lemon tree, as demonstrated by its current vigor and recent blossoming. If you recall, the poor plant was looking pretty peaked a year or so ago when I took some drastic action. It produced no fruit at all last year, but things look more promising for 2015.

The whole room is filled with the sweet scent of the blossoms. Not every flower will produce a lemon, as the plant is smart enough to "self prune" by dropping the fruit it can't support to ripening. Harvest won't occur until December.

That's a long time to wait, but well worth it.

White on white

Look what greeted me this morning:

And WeatherBug indicated the snowfall would continue for a while:

Even though the temps were in the single digits, the wind was too, so it was not too bad out. I shoveled the front walk and back patio. The Best Neighbor in the World happens to live across the street from me. He blew my driveway yesterday, even though there was not much there, and I expect he will do the same today. (In fact, there he is now!)

To add insult to injury, I feel like I am coming down with a cold. That would explain the little headache I have been nursing for the past few days, plus my general lack of energy.

The cold temps this past week did not delay shipment of garden seeds. I could not help but wonder whether that was such a good idea. If the seeds don't germinate, I will complain.

Speaking of complaining, Finn is *not* amused by the cold and snow, keeps crying for more catnip. I guess his solution is to remain as stoned as possible for the duration.

If I lived in another state, I might consider that a viable option, too.