It's chilly and gray this morning, but the gloom is brightened by the first daffodil, blooming bravely along the woods. We won't have very many this year, because of our long drought. Daffodils are hardy, but the bulbs do need a minimum of soil moisture to persist and multiply. They didn't get much in the summers of 2008 and 2009. The bluebonnets are looking very good, though--the December rains made for strong germination, and the nearly 3" we got last week will encourage good root growth.
Got home from New Mexico last Monday, to a huge pile of mail, laundry, housekeeping, and the usual stuff that accumulates over a six-week absence. I was expecting to see the copyedited manuscript of The Darling Dahlias and the Cucumber Tree, but it's not ready yet, so I'm pushing ahead with Mourning Gloria. Also helping Peggy with the SCN conference, coming up in just under three weeks--worked on the 20-page program yesterday, getting it ready for Robin, who is setting it up for the printer. What in the world did we do before email? If we had to rely on the telephone (who remembers?) or face/face meetings, we could never pull something like this off. Just too complicated, too many details. Do check out the program: it's very strong this year.
Out in the garden, the spinach, carrots, and kale look good, the lettuce is a little woody but will probably be okay if I make wilted lettuce, the way my mother used to make it. Think we'll have that tonight. I need to start weeding the paths between the raised beds and putting down some new mulch--newspapers topped by shavings from Bill's wood-turning enterprise. I've ordered seed potatoes: the folks at potatogarden.com are truly helpful and offer varieties for many different parts of the country. I like the way they list their seed stock, by early/mid/late varieties. Makes choosing easier. I've also got to clean out my seed-starting area and set it up for spring seeding. Too much to do, but all exciting. There's nothing like a new gardening year to rev up my enthusiasm, and the prospect of real rain this spring (thanks to El Nino) is helping mightily.
Reading note: We learn from our gardens to deal with the most urgent question of the time: How much is enough?—Wendell Berry