A tease is the first melt of the season. With a month of snow gone, one can fantasize that daffodils, tulips and other greens will soon grow out giving way to cherry blossoms. But it is unlikely. The daffodils, in fact, have started to emerge, their enlarged buds poking through the soil. They will not […]
Baby it’s cold outside
With eggnog cartons long discarded and snow piled on the peonies, winter has settled in. There was no doubt of it this morning with a waking temperature of 4 degrees under a clear sky. Wood needed to be split and piled but I waited until it reached the balmy temperature of 20 before venturing outside. […]
A snowy remembrance
We must have done something really bad in the Northeast and even worse in my home town as Ridgefield seems to be the epicenter of nasty weather events over the last two years. We had just gotten over Sandy and had 100% power restored in the town when we got word that a Nor’easter was […]
Generating silence
As I go outside at 2 am to arm myself with a few logs to fuel the wood stove, there is an absence of silence. I am greeted by the roar of generators instead of the occasional owl screech or a soft rustle caused by wind. The evening is being interrupted by noise and needles […]
Flowers For Sandy
When I went outside this morning for the paper you wouldn’t have guessed that a Frankenstorm with the friendly name of Sandy is barreling down to whack the Northeast. Early morning in Ridgefield was partly sunny at a warm 54 degrees with the smell of rotting leaves being blown around by a light wind. With […]
Multiplying mushroom madness
The last few weeks have been difficult in the garden as relentless rain and cloudy skies have kept everything damp and difficult to work on. Grass can’t be cut, leaves raked, and any activities are a damp and depressing mess. While this weather is lousy for people, it is great for mushrooms as has been […]
Forgotten pleasures
Though I spend much of my time with my head in the weeds and hands in the soil, there are many other passive outdoor pleasures that have been forgotten. Early last week we had blistering heat in the Northeast with temperatures in the 80s and a constant dry wind. This weather called me to hang […]
A re-bolting situation
Today it is normal. It was in the mid-30s when I woke up and is supposed to reach the 50s later this afternoon. Tomorrow it will snow or rain. Typical for late March. And all my lettuce is bolting. I thought that I was poised for a good spring harvest of greens. I was feeding […]
Vacation from gardening, sort of
When it is February in Connecticut, there are few gardening tasks at hand as the soil is cold and the only thing that warms the soul is the prospect of new growth pushing through the ground in the next month or so. In the next week I will be starting flats of early greens and […]
Happy new Spring?
Yesterday I was outside clearing some brush when I quickly noticed that my trusty Carthartt jacket was way too warm as was my scarf and cap. By 10 am I was stripped down to my turtleneck working up a good sweat as I piled up brush to be later chipped; by noon I was a […]