Ugh, the winter season is always the worst. It's cold (so my superhuman powers of being energetic go bust), the holiday season is in full swing (and since I make gifts this is the closest I feel like busy busy busy a holiday elf), and lastly, the garden goes SLOWLY.
We've had a few hard frosts here already and I've been too busy/chilly/scared to check on the plants (terrible, I know).
Hurray though when I went out today to see that my plants are winning the war against frost (uncovered too at boot!) Kales, bok choy, mustards, chards, collards, small broccoli plants, and snap peas are still kickin' it and with luck we'll see what deliciousness they will bring. If anything, I know that the mustards will make the winter gardening worthwhile. I'd like to note too that perhaps I should learn to love/eat weeds like chickweed because it's cropped up everywhere too. Damn vernalization here. Cold one day, then rainy and spring-like another. Mother Nature being bi-polar again.
(red leaf kale and blue Siberian kale)
(baby bok choy)
(baby parsley seedlings, for the monarch butterflies since they decimated my crop this year)
(tatsoi mustard)
(PEAS!)
Randomly, I had a slight beauty epiphany. I'm a little nutty but every so often a little thing in the world really strikes my eye and I am just in AWE by its simple loveliness. Today it was the peel of an onion. This was a regular yellow onion, with a coppery paper peel and the sheer color and orderliness of the lines was really breathtaking to me. (I know, I'm weird) I tried to take a picture but as usual, like the Loch Ness monster or a yeti it was impossible to get a clear shot or do it justice.
If you are needing some simple beauty today though, just check out your nearest onion folks.
On another random note, because I have been CRAP-tastic about keeping up with the blog at a good normal pace and I wanted to assure you that I have a PLAN! Oh yes, I have been writing out little notes on my tiny netbook and compiling links and information about good plant keeping, troubleshooting and eventually cataloging knowing in full depth all my plants in my inventory. I hope for it to be amazing this winter as I was starting to lose track as to where the heck I was going with this blog (winter does that to me, muddles the mind and increases my run-on sentences).
FINALLY, I have proof of my industriousness that has been keeping me from posting on this blog more! The silly gifts for my little niece that her mother (my sister) requested (about a year ago) that I failed to make until now!
It started out with my sister asking for felt cupcake things. Granted, I have NEVER made any fake felt food before, and I was feeling more inspired to make some breakfast food:
Bacon, eggs, toast (w/removeable jam and butter!) and um, a breakfast burger?
after feeling a little more confident from that, I made her her cupcakes at last after a little research:
(these still need sprinkle-age and more confections on them)
(Oh, and pardon if any of the pics are fuzzy, these are felt :)
As my sister and her 2 year old niece don't read this site (I think,) I hope it will be a pleasant surprise, because auntie endured MANY a needle prick from this endeavour!
I sent my Mother in law pics of the food and she said that she once was going to make felt vegetables for her kids once where they could pull out of felt dirt! This sounded like an awesome idea, but a time consuming project I'd like to do for my niece for another Christmas. Currently, I need a break!
