Wintery February

We are finally getting some snow! One nor'easter after another to be exact. Where we live, on the south shore of Nova Scotia, very near the sea, the winters can be cold and long. But, that doesn't always mean we will have lots of snow and we can have 'dry' winters when not enough precipitation has fallen. The last Nor'easter was Thursday, dropping just enough of the white stuff to make me feel hopeful, we won't be struggling with lack of water from the well come summertime. Many people last year had their wells run dry, first time ever. This prompted me to wonder about groundwater levels, and the relationship with weather in the late winter and spring months. I am far too lazy to make the effort to research just so you know. However, I was pleased to read a piece written by the author Katherine Swift. (If you haven't read her books, have a google.... I love her writing). The author had contributed to a British Garden magazine noting a dry February was thought to be a particularly bad sign referring to old rhymes about 'February fill dyke, be it black or be it white'. So even though, it is tough going some days, local roads icy underneath and covered with snow, and more shovelling on the horizon, I am trying to be grateful for these February storms and not grumble.

On a positive note, the snow is happily keeping the garden warm, nestled under its soft pillowy blanket. The mice are probably making 'runs', scurrying at ground level a foot or more down, to and from the sleeping beds, gathering lost seeds, and eating whatever they can find I expect. In the spring, when the snow does melt, the evidence is quite clear, as there are many mouse highways across the lawn where they have run so many times, the grass is flat and poor.

For the first time in many years, I did not extend the garden season inside the picket fence, choosing instead to give it a rest. Also, the two raised beds which are about thigh high, (above photo) have not been planted/extended either. However, one of them, the one with the Lexan cover, can be seeded very early as it acts not just as a raised bed but also as a cold frame. (One of the wisest choices we ever made was building this.) A gift of "Celtuce" seeds arrived just the other day and this is definitely going to be one of my 'something new this year' to try. Not sure I am up to the task but am intrigued by it's growing requirements and the fact that one eats the stem more so than the leaf. I did note one can make a pesto from the leaves but really, this most unusual lettuce grown more for its stalk has me hoping to succeed. Below are the packets that arrived from our local Nova Scotia seed producer Annapolis Seeds. Excited!! If they can grow these plants here in Nova Scotia, gathering the seeds to share with us, then surely there is hope for success.

Meanwhile, the kitchen is fragrant with the smell of what appears to be the largest hyacinth I have ever nurtured in my life. Grocery store bought, when it was only just pushing itself out of the pot, this harbinger of spring entices memories of days soon to come, while the seeds promise a bounty yet to grow.

Onion seeds have sprouted under the lights downstairs...oh how I love fresh grown from seed onions. I can tell the difference, yes I can!

They are as crispy as an apple when you pull them fresh from the soil, and although this variety, White Wing, is also a keeper, mine never make it that far. White and glossy with their green grey stems, Onions are as beautiful as any hyacinth!