Even to those hearty New Englanders who are renowned for shrugging off a foot or two of snow, this winter has been trying. With nary a day during the month of January above freezing, the icicles are over 10 feet long hanging like formidable spears ready to impale a passer by. But there are few passers by as constant ice, snow and sleet make going outside a depressing and less likely event.
The snow is past the second rail of our fence, about three feet up. Only trees and bushes are above the snow line. The oakleaf hydrangeas can be discerned from a few flowing stems erupting from the piles of snow around the driveway. The same can be said of the butterfly bushes. The rhododendrons have wilted with the cold their evergreen leafs hanging lifelessly to their stems.
In the fall I remove just some of the dried seed pods from our many perennials like lillies, monarda and echinacea to leave interesting skeletons of winter texture and color. They are often food for the birds but not now as they are buried under an undulating blanket of snow. Thus the birds are hitting the feeders fast and hard. The 200 pounds of bird seed that I purchased for the season is almost gone, requiring me to soon make a trip to our local Agway.
The only solace in this weather is from the plants inside. I’m thankful now that I was tardy in getting my amaryllis started as they have started to bloom all over the house. The cyclamens are also in bloom as is a tiny but persistent bromeliad. The other plants just pump out welcome oxygen and moisture. Time to pot up more bulbs.
I haven’t given up on my cold frames but have few expectations for harvests in March save for some root crops that will keep in the tundra that has become my raised beds.
Even thoughts of flying south for the winter have been put on hold as snow and ice storms every week make any type of extended travel difficult. Most winters my wife and I have taken comfort in warmer climes to recharge and heat our northern souls that have become a bit too chilled. This year will be different not only due of the weather but because we could become grandparents at a moment’s notice. Perhaps that will be the best crop to be harvested this winter.
