(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:
raised as part of the 2014 "Reporter At Large" planting project
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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