It's Only the First Day of Winter

My brother lives in Lemoore, California. The weather there is a little different than it is here. I just checked the weather report for his region. He’s suffering in 56 degree weather right now with light rain. He made a point to let me know he just received an heirloom seed catalog and is very excited about it. He, like me enjoys gardening. He’s always been resourceful so growing food for himself and his family is a given.
I love my brother but right now I am saying things under my breath. While he is tending his winter garden probably filled with cool weather crops like spinach, lettuces, herbs, carrots and radishes I am lucky to be getting baby carrots from a diligent farmer in Big Prairie whose season extension methods far surpass my own.
My mailbox is yet to be filled with seed catalogs. They usually arrive in February just as madness begins to set in. They will pull me out of my doldrums rather quickly and I will dream of warmer days and green things.
I walked to the compost bin this afternoon to drop off several days’ worth of kitchen scraps. There’s not much activity at the top of the pile but I managed to open the bottom door with a few gentle steel-toed kicks. Delight filled the nineteen degree air as I saw a bit of steam rise from the lower part of the pile…I did have to poke it with a stick. The smell of earth and the sight of worms was enough to make any gardener smile.
Winter is difficult for gardeners. We sit around thinking about all the things we could be doing. It’s too cold to fix the fence. It’s too cold to do much of anything outside. As I watch the birds, squirrels and barn cats I realize what a wimp I am. Granted, I do adapt and don’t complain too much about the cold. In fact, I really love the snow and how it blankets the Earth with its whiteness. Still, winter is long and I long for dirty hands, muddy boots and perhaps a new shovel this spring.
Christmas is coming and it helps to put a lot of woes out of my mind while I fill the house with cheer and watch magic appear in a wide-eyed little girl who is probably as anxious as I am to get outside. Her hula hoops and pogo stick are put away for the season. I reluctantly brought her bicycle inside but it doesn’t cruise well amongst the furniture and throw rugs.
Sled riding is certainly in order and the fresh air will do us both some good. Fashion and winter do not exist in our home so we will don our ear flap hats and the extra long scarves my mom made for us. It’s so much fun going down and so much working coming up but its winter. What are you going to do?
Before long February will arrive and my letter carrier will be faced with the mountains of seed catalogs she must stuff in my mailbox. So what if my brother has tomatoes months before me. So what if he can garden all year while I must wait patiently for my spring to arrive. To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under Heaven.