(Pssst: Looking for the Grow Your Blog post? It's right here.)
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| This is how cold it has been lately. |
These days, I often remind myself to "focus in."
Keep my mind on little things.
Small, manageable tasks.
Small, quantifiable achievements.
It seems like a good way to stay positive and avoid becoming overwhelmed by...well, anything.
Just before falling asleep,
I try to jot down one thing I've done that day,
that I feel good about.
One day it was finishing some onerous paperwork.
Twice - on two separate days -
it was successfully extricating the little green sportswagon
from a mound of deep snow.
One day last week, it was cooking this squash:
The biggest of the Sow True Seed Pink Jumbo Banana squash
raised as part of the 2014 "Reporter At Large" planting project
hosted by my blogfriend Tipper at Blind Pig and the Acorn.
The three varieties of winter squash I planted in my garden all produced so little and so much later than everyone else's, I was not much use as a reporter! But eventually I harvested a few squash and carefully saved them for Winter.
Which is certainly here.
So.Much.White.
Isn't it time for a little color?
Or a LOT of color?
Isn't this refreshing to the eye?
Everything about cooking this squash -
the weight of it, the colors,
the lovely fresh smell -
reminded me so happily of the garden.
The sun, the rain, the aching back, the sweat.
The magic.
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| Summer in the garden, August 2014 |
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| Summer in a bowl, February 2015 |
And nothing was wasted,
which is always satisfying!
The seeds were cleaned and saved
for eating or planting.
The fibrous core was a treat for the hens,
who appreciate fresh vegetables in the winter
as much as I do.
And who always eat organic, even when I do not.
Happily, this time we all did.
And now, it's time to bring out my Deep Winter Survival Strategy:
the 2015 seed catalogs!
I do not even peek at them until February.
We are expecting two more days of snowstorm.
It is definitely time for the seed catalogs.
And a continued focus on little things.
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