Hello, friends. I come to you abashedly at the realization I haven’t written a new blog post in more than 6 months! In all honesty, I haven’t done much gardening at all in that time, and what time I’ve had away from the busy holidays and my work schedule has been consumed by things other than blogging.
And yet…spring is here! I’ve emerged from my winter den! The outdoors beckons, and I’d like to share it with you.
First, let me see if I can catch you up on some highlights in my little world since we last saw each other in September, month by month:
October:
We attended two weddings (those of a friend and a cousin) in two different parts of North Carolina. Voted, carved pumpkins, celebrated our wedding anniversary in the stunning fall Appalachian mountains, and dressed up as Muppets for Halloween.
The garden continued (!!) to produce a few jalapenos and I put up a few more jars.
And, in the spirit of autumn, I set out mums on the porch.
Mums and pumpkins – does anything say October more?
November:
We were part of another wedding, this time my dear childhood friend’s. Drank some tea, snuggled with some cats. Thanksgiving happened. I made a pie that went over pretty well.
This pie from Better Homes and Gardens was a big hit at Thanksgiving, topped with bourbon whipped cream!
Leaves fell in droves from the ancient sycamore at the back of our property, and we raked a lot of them.
A mountain of leaves
We took in two dogs temporarily toward the end of the month, and our household suddenly had five 4-legged friends.
Temporary furry companions joined us in November.
December:
We gathered with loved ones to celebrate Christmas. Watched dogs, watched cats. Watched dogs watch cats and vice versa. Watched Star Wars (the new one and the old one). A break-in rattled the calm of New Year’s week, but we rang in 2016 in style eating Thai takeout.
Indicative of the month of December…coziness, cats, dogs, and Christmas decorations.
January
Cold. Mostly indoors. There was one good snow.
About 8 or 10 inches fell in January…a great, powdery snow.
February
I worked. A lot. It started to warm up, and the first daffodil bloomed by our driveway!
Early daffodil
And, that pretty much catches you up. Now, onward to spring and growing things!
My carefree Carolina garden 