All Things Winter

As days go by during the winter I find myself doing a little reflecting and even more planning. One thing leads to another in my head. I reflect on the springtime and my gardens both flowering and vegetable. Then there's the farmers market and the new friends I made while visiting. Last but not least the shopkeepers, where I never failed to find something I had either never heard of before or something that brought back fond memories of our family getting together for various occasions. We did a lot of that.


I look at the canning jars and begin to make a list of what we have chosen to eat first and what seems to stay on the shelf for another day. So far the tomatoes are going fast and the salsa, well, it's almost gone. Note to self... make twice as much salsa next year! We went through 8 jars of pickled squash last winter. This winter, there are at least that many still on the shelf. hmmmm, perhaps we burned out on it? It happens.


There are plenty of jars of corn and green beans though I know they won't last as we move into the final months of cold weather. Warm, buttery, salty corn can't be denied its place on our table and the green beans taste as fresh as they did the day I bought them from the farmers market. The ones I grew are in there too... there just weren't as many of them as I would have liked. Pesky rabbits!


With the gardening magazines and seed catalogs I again get out my list. I like to try growing something new every year and last year it was tomatillos. I set them out too late so just about the time they started coming in like crazy, so did a killing frost. Another note to self... set them out sooner!


What will it be this year? I've no idea but I'm always up for suggestions. Perhaps purple hull peas or the white zipper peas we shared with Doug and Rebecca while they were visiting. Neither had ever tried them before and both enjoyed them thoroughly. Doug even said he was going to see if Publix carried them... guess he really liked them! I told him to try the farmers market for the freshest he could get but apparently there isn't one close to him?


That's a shame. He's in Florida. They have the longest growing season of all and yet no farmers market?? Truly a shame.


The farmers market here isn't huge but the quantity of fresh produce the farmers bring is vast not only in volume but in variety too. Have you ever tried zipper peas? Do you know what they are? Sometimes they're referred to as creamer peas. They have a white, papery sort of pod and the peas themselves are white too. When cooked, they get creamy - hence the name variation. Quite a tasty little vegetable and so easy to shell and freeze. Bonus... your fingers don't turn purple!


In my flower gardens I had just enough time to add a few new perennials before the cold weather set in. I planted lots of hostas that were shared with me by my friend, Claudia. She's a very giving friend and already has more starter plants to share when the weather warms. I planted the hosta around the trees in the shady area by the flag pole. There are probably four different varieties which will, hopefully, provide lots of color and give a cooling effect to the garden when the heat of the summer tends to make plants wilt.


I planted some hibiscus plants; one white with purple centers, one purple with dark purple centers. They didn't have time to bloom before the cold came so I'm anxious to see how well they do come spring. As a flowering shrub, I'm hoping they'll also add a little more shade to help protect the ground plants.


As most gardens go, this one is already in need of redesigning. Some of the bulbs need to be moved into a group to better show off their colorful bloom time. Problem is, now that it's winter, I don't know exactly where they are LOL That's okay, I can move them after they bloom without doing any harm.


While this, the coldest winter in twenty years, slowly moved across the land I watched in awe as many things changed outside and in. Running the water 24/7 for three days is something this Florida girl never had to do before. Leaving the cabinet doors open? Who ever heard of that? Well I know now what it means and just how important it is. I even know how difficult it is to walk past those cabinets and resist the urge to close them. Trust me, the OCD kicks in making it darn near impossible!!


The winter is pretty with the dusting of snow and sparkling of the ice crystals in the sunshine. The mist hanging in the trees on the hillside gives me a view I've just never seen anywhere else. I rarely stop looking out the window and am glancing there now as I type.


The magazines I saved through the summer have been poured over and finished. The stack of books I bought is dwindling in size as the cold keeps me on this side of the doors. I'm a avid reader and a huge fan of James Lee Burke. If you've never read one of his, I highly recommend you do. He's a great story teller. If you have favorite authors, I'd love to hear about them so I can maybe add them to my list for next year :)


Winter also brings birds to the porch and the feeders. The great red-headed woodpecker has been back for a couple weeks now. He's not shy and flies right over my head making a funny 'chow-chow' sound as he goes. The junco, nuthatches, chickadees and bluebirds are now plentiful and apparently hungry as they rarely leave the feeders. The doves pick up what all the other birds drop from the feeders. They love to sit on the hitching post and are so fat I wonder how it is they don't topple over!


This winter was also a challenge for me as I have been trying to harvest my first deer for three years. The day finally came and I couldn't have been more excited, a little nervous but mostly excited. It's not that they aren't plentiful, indeed they hang out in the yard in numbers most days. It's just the fact that for the price of one bullet, I put a bunch of meat in the freezer. The meat is tender and not too gamey tasting. I'm learning not only the skills of skinning and gutting but also new ways to prepare this meat and learn about the nutritional value of an animal that is vegetarian. Such a great experience for me!


So we have a couple months left of this quiet, cold time of year and I plan to enjoy every day of it. I know what's coming and I look forward to it but I'm not one to rush the seasons. I love them all equally for the education they provide and the balance on which they insist. The winter may keep me inside but it also keeps me reading and writing which are things the summer has no power over. I'll get my hands dirty again before too long but for now, I'll keep turning the pages.




"In the winter she curls up around a good book and dreams away the cold." ~Ben Aaronovitch, Broken Homes