Season's Greetings this frosty morn! Temperatures dipped below zero last night, but luckily, we have more than 2' of snow keeping the ground well insulated. Ralph's bird feeders are full and the trees are filled with woodpeckers, juncos, titmouses, chickadees, cardinals, jays, and BLUEBIRDS!!

I could sit here all day watching them, but there's work to be done! I've been busy in the kitchen every day putting up preserves and sending out holiday gifts for folks, and I realized I should get in touch with everybody about holiday ordering.

Whoa summers really fly by these days, don't they?!? Somehow, everything happened, and our freezers are full. October began with a misty morning, but the sun has broken through and its golden light is dazzling on the gardens. We haven't had a frost yet, and the zinnias and sunflowers are still glorious, and the monarchs and other butterflies are dancing through the blossoms.

Still waiting for signs of spring in Winchester these days. It warms a bit, then snows again, then warms, then snows. The strawberries and garlic are still sleeping hard under their layer of straw, and although there are trays of seeds on warm heat mats in the greenhouse, nothing is showing green yet. (But I have great hope that the seed coats have broken open and the tiny rootlets are burrowing down!)