Standing at the Trailhead of Winter

The new fireplace is just wonderful. Having a fire on chilly evenings . . . there's something magical about it. A fire offers much more than simply warming an area. It whispers, "Relax. Slow down." The next few evenings and mornings are supposed to be much cooler, so I'm stocking up on kindling and firewood. I have several books stacked on the side table, just waiting to be selected and enjoyed. This time of year is my favorite because it's like I'm given permission to wile away the hours without feeling any guilt whatsoever, and now I can do it in front of a lovely wood fire. Today I cleaned the garden of the tomato, green pepper, and poblano pepper plants. And the basil. I clipped the basil stalk at its base then brought the bushy plant into the kitchen. Its aroma filled the whole house.  I left the lettuce, spinach, and kale in their bed as they are still going strong. Some carrots and beets remain as well. This weekend, I'll sow more carrots and beets ...

 

 

Over the last couple of weeks, I've been able to make lots of progress on the stairwell to the basement. It was just a shell, basically nothing more than the frame and outside walls and roof. My vision was to put in insulation then cover that with plywood, which would give me a much more functional space. Sometimes when I see a space that's not being used for anything I get a little verklempt. Unused space is a waste.  So I went to work and this is what I now have (yes, I totally neglected to do before pictures). I'm able to hang a lot of my garden tools in this space, freeing up area in the garage. I'm thinking I might also hang my bike here, moving it out of the guest bedroom. I'm so loving having this space be functional. And the doors. Painting them then hanging them to replace the awful doors is like the icing on the cake. A few weeks ago, I guess more like a month ago now, my brother and sister-in-law stopped by on their way home from visiting their daughter i...

March! So good to see you. You are my favorite month, you know that, right? And you didn't disappoint yesterday with the mostly sunny day, warm enough to get a lovely long walk in, to roll down the Jeep window while I drove to the store. Warm enough I only had to wear a long sleeved shirt. No sweater. No sweatshirt. You are a month of change, handing the reins that'd belonged to Winter over to Spring (though I hear Winter is having a bit of a fit right now, not wanting to give up the reins, threatening to bring cold and snow again tonight and tomorrow). I don't envy you your job, having to convince Winter it's time to rest. She is quite headstrong and full of energy. And she really does have three more weeks to spread her fun, so you can't be too hard on her just yet. Between you and me, I like your style of sprinkling in a warm day here, a warm day there, just to give Winter notice. Well done, March, well done. For today, I chose to stay inside and work. Catchi...

Wednesday, after two days of 25 mph winds with gusts to 32 mph, I awoke to stillness. Hubby was already awake, as usual, and whispered, "Winds are only 4 mph." I looked at the clock: 5:45. The battle began--get up and go or snuggle under the covers and sleep for another half hour? Then I remembered I had to stick around to call my son out of school, so I snuggled under the covers, hoping the winds stayed calm. Once the youngest was dropped off, once I finished my oatmeal with banana and a pre-workout nutrition bar, I was ready to go. As I walked my bike off the deck and out the gate, I examined the tree tops across the street, trying to gauge how much the wind was blowing. Nothing. I set off, deciding to take my fave route of going west then north to the lake then around the lake then back home. When I made the turn to head north, the wind turbines were still, like sentries standing guard over the farmlands. The turbines usually won't begin turning until the wind blow...