Wednesday, December 28, 2022

S words

Starlings, sparrows, squirrels, snow, subzero...


... and seed catalogs!

I abandoned growing vegetables a couple of years ago, but there is nothing like a Burpee catalog to get one's saliva flowing. Of course, I don't want to disrupt the new landscaping, but there are always containers. And container gardening must be a thing now, as many plants are designated as being container-friendly.

My tendency to go overboard is being held in check. All I really want is a few fresh veggies that don't involve a car trip to an overcrowded farmers market where there seems to be few market gardeners. I'm glad that farmers markets are so popular, BUT. Most of the vendors are not selling fresh fruits and vegetables, which is what I want. So I will grow a few of my own. In containers. Like green beans, ONE tomato plant, some herbs. We'll see how that goes.

I'm also dreaming of populating the "meadow" - the corner of the yard that I reserved for my own puttering. Coneflower, rudbeckia, ironweed, monarda, penstemon, cupplant, etc. I'm sure there will be some volunteer sunflowers as well, as the birdfeeders are in that area.

With our recent polar vortex, the starlings finally showed up en masse. Ugh. Besides the usual fox squirrels, I've seen a gray squirrel (with white ears!) and red squirrels (very athletic). Today what I assume was a Coopers hawk flew through the backyard. Last November I heard sandhill cranes flying overhead - their "song" sounds like gargling.

Meanwhile, I wait for my shoulder to heal. I have one good day and think the worst is over. But I'm still not sleeping well, simple tasks take forever because of being limited to one arm, and yesterday the physical therapist made me cry, partially because what she was doing HURT, but also a brutal realization that I am not as tough as I thought I was.

What gardening dreams are you having this winter?

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