marching along

There's been a lot of variation in the weather lately.

Snow, rain, ice. A couple of warm days. Then more snow.

Very strong winds and truly, bitterly, painfully cold.

Welcome to March in Massachusetts!

The snow is nearly all gone now, and I had hoped to get a Permit to burn a big brushpile on Thursday to celebrate the return of my Occasional Helper. But now a big storm is predicted for Tuesday, so the brush may all be buried under snow again. If it was all in one place I'd clamber up the pile and get a tarp over it right now, but it's not...there are several scattered piles that will be shifted to the burn area once the fire is going well. The idea is, one person goes to and fro moving material, while the other minds the fire.

I sure hope we don't miss burn season; some years, the weather doesn't allow burning at all. This means looking at a huge mess every day for another year, which can be discouraging.

I actively battle discouragement on all possible fronts. Right now, despite several days of single-degree weather, my thoughts are turning to the gardens. And I'm enjoying the fruits of last year's gardens, which always lifts the spirits.

 On today's menu: organic popcorn! 2016 experiment.

 Also, candy roaster squash!

Decided to save some candy roaster seed.

Della seemed very interested.

"Hmmmmm..."

 "Who, me? Interested in seeds? Not at all.

I'm, ah, here to...examine this bowl.
Handpainted in Portugal, was it? Very nice."

"Also, this chair. It's definitely time to inspect this chair."

Well, I hope your weekend has been pleasant, and your week ahead will be wonderful. And now I must sign off and go persuade Della to move from her new spot.
On the seeds.

~~~~~