First Snow

The view from our front porch is quite a bit different today thanks to the first snow of the season. It is a heavy, wet snow, not much good for building snow forts or sledding, but it is kind of pretty. With Thanksgiving behind us, snow on the ground, and Christmas shopping in progress, it really feels like winter.

I got the garden boxes covered with a tarp just in time. I'm glad I took the time to do this because some of the garden boxes had blocks of ice in their water reservoirs. Even though I haven't put water in the boxes for quite some time, apparently we've had enough rain to fill some of them. I drained them the best I could and they should be OK if I can keep any more water from getting in. I also wrapped the three new blueberry bushes with burlap to protect them from deer and rabbits. The weather earlier in this Thanksgiving holiday was so nice (in the 40s) that I was able to get these chores done as well as trim the hedges in front of the porch. What a difference a day makes.

The first seed catalog arrived before Thanksgiving this year. I think this has to be a new record! The honor goes to Pinetree Garden seeds, one of my favorite suppliers. I have to admit that I've already started browsing the catalog and making a wish list. They have seeds for yellow radishes that I would like to try, and Midget sweet corn that grows only about 4' tall. I think this variety of sweet corn might actually grow well in the garden boxes and I think I'll give it a try next summer. I love browsing seed catalogs and look forward to more arriving soon. Browsing catalogs is step 1 in the gardening process, and probably the easiest step as well. Soon enough the real work will begin again, so enjoy armchair gardening while you can.