Thank you for the post! I did not know that about the asparagus beetles.. we just leave the ferns there all winter and cut them down when the snow melts... they are still there now, in fact.
Susan, I'm impressed (and informed) about asparagus care and maintenance. However, I'm with the anti-Resolutioner who favored January as a time to kick back and take stock. (Read, "procrastinator" or "lazy bones, as you wish.) "Let my garden *rest*," as Bernstein/Sondheim/et al might have put it in "Candide." But what really captured me this time was "The Idea Box." One task I did undertake this winter was beginning to care for my library ... okay, take just one shelf and discard or keep. What I averted my eyes from, none the less, was the three huge files of typewritten or handwritten notes from years past. There they sit, flotsam and jetsam from years of notes, memorabilia, drafts: "Reproach" isn't too strong a word! Where to even start? Recent years of collecting such revelations online in computer files - drafts, articles, minutiae - are enough of a garden to curate. I've resolved (?!) to let Time take time. As you know so well, just sit down and write, whatever the source de jour.
More great articles!! I like the idea of Not making new year resolutions in January, February or even March. Winter is downtime for the Garden, all nature really. The plants above ground have either died away or gone into a form of hibernation; a state of rest. The real action in Winter takes place below ground in the root system. It’s like sleeping for animals, the mind and much of the body is at rest. Yet the brain and other systems are busy clearing out toxins and repairing worn parts for the next day’s activities. I agree with the person who suggested that Winter be a planing time and to start your changes in the Spring as new growth emerges from the soil and buds swell on shrubs, trees and perennial plants. Oh, the wood stove beckons.
Happy New Year, Susan! I'm glad for you that the timing was right for your asparagus beds this year.
We love the Yule Lads! Pretty sure I'm the Skyr-Gobbler and our dog is Bowl-Licker, though.
I love to write resolutions, probably because of the pristine unrumpled paper in the new planner, but by March I can't remember what they were anymore. Same with a Word of the Year; it just leaves my brain before the month is out. Ah well, the year will bring its own lessons anyway!
Thank you Erin! Wishing you and yours all the best for the New Year too.
How fun to discover you guys like the Yule Lads!!! I should have known…with all your special celebrations for St. Nicholas Day, St. Lucia, the 12 days of Christmas, Epiphany and so on, you really know how to enjoy the Christmas season 😊
“…the year will bring its own lessons…” So wise and so true.
Thank you for the post! I did not know that about the asparagus beetles.. we just leave the ferns there all winter and cut them down when the snow melts... they are still there now, in fact.
Love the inspiring quotes on the resolutions and the approach of no resolutions. I'm all for it! Also, AMEN on your writing box organization.
Susan, I'm impressed (and informed) about asparagus care and maintenance. However, I'm with the anti-Resolutioner who favored January as a time to kick back and take stock. (Read, "procrastinator" or "lazy bones, as you wish.) "Let my garden *rest*," as Bernstein/Sondheim/et al might have put it in "Candide." But what really captured me this time was "The Idea Box." One task I did undertake this winter was beginning to care for my library ... okay, take just one shelf and discard or keep. What I averted my eyes from, none the less, was the three huge files of typewritten or handwritten notes from years past. There they sit, flotsam and jetsam from years of notes, memorabilia, drafts: "Reproach" isn't too strong a word! Where to even start? Recent years of collecting such revelations online in computer files - drafts, articles, minutiae - are enough of a garden to curate. I've resolved (?!) to let Time take time. As you know so well, just sit down and write, whatever the source de jour.
More great articles!! I like the idea of Not making new year resolutions in January, February or even March. Winter is downtime for the Garden, all nature really. The plants above ground have either died away or gone into a form of hibernation; a state of rest. The real action in Winter takes place below ground in the root system. It’s like sleeping for animals, the mind and much of the body is at rest. Yet the brain and other systems are busy clearing out toxins and repairing worn parts for the next day’s activities. I agree with the person who suggested that Winter be a planing time and to start your changes in the Spring as new growth emerges from the soil and buds swell on shrubs, trees and perennial plants. Oh, the wood stove beckons.
Happy New Year, Susan! I'm glad for you that the timing was right for your asparagus beds this year.
We love the Yule Lads! Pretty sure I'm the Skyr-Gobbler and our dog is Bowl-Licker, though.
I love to write resolutions, probably because of the pristine unrumpled paper in the new planner, but by March I can't remember what they were anymore. Same with a Word of the Year; it just leaves my brain before the month is out. Ah well, the year will bring its own lessons anyway!
Thank you Erin! Wishing you and yours all the best for the New Year too.
How fun to discover you guys like the Yule Lads!!! I should have known…with all your special celebrations for St. Nicholas Day, St. Lucia, the 12 days of Christmas, Epiphany and so on, you really know how to enjoy the Christmas season 😊
“…the year will bring its own lessons…” So wise and so true.