oh, the weather outside is frightful...

just like much of the country, we've been bowled over by an Arctic blast that seems as if it's here to stay. it's been very cold around here, and that's putting it mildly.

by Friday morning, the temperature was -2 degrees! that's plenty cold, by any one's standards! but even though my thermometer says that it's WINTER...

my mailbox says that it's SPRING!

in the last week, we've gotten no fewer than 7 seed catalogs in the mail! we have been enjoying looking through them, imagining what we'd like to plant in the garden this year. but better yet, we can look forward to the warmer weather that will be coming- and that will be before we know it, too!

and of course, no respectable gardener would purposely overlook the sage advice contained in the Farmer's Almanac. if you're not already overwhelmed by the plethora of seed choices in all your seed catalogs, you can always finish up that job with the helpful tidbits contained in this book:

the 2009 Farmer's Almanac advises such things as planting your crops that grow above the ground when the moon is waxing, while waiting until the moon is waning to plant your root crops.


it also tells me that one pound of okra contains a mere 140 calories, although i am left wondering who in their right mind would willingly eat that much okra?

if i can 't decide when to wean the baby, cut G's hair, butcher my extra roosters, start a diet or go to the dentist, there is a handy little chart on page 44 that will advise me on all these things, therefore taking out all the guess work and indecisiveness.

besides the expected table telling me when to plant my vegetables in order to avoid the frost, there is also another chart in the back that gives me the expected weather in my region for each month of the year. I've been assured that the weather for January 2009 will be warm and dry, with temperatures above normal.

which just goes to show you can't believe everything that you read these days!