Every spring I feel like the antithesis of "Goodnight Moon" as I individually remark on and greet each new leaf, bud, and bloom. Each fall I find myself bidding each adieu. This little ditty popped into my head as I walked around the garden today... In a great green garden There was a hammock And balloon flowers And a woman- Who lolled out back for hours And there were three little roses and a pile of hoses And two little gayfeather Who liked only fair weather And a little bird nest Filled with Robin Red Breast And a hoe and a spade and other tools mislaid And a giddy old lady sipping lemonade Goodbye green Goodbye beans Goodbye to my summer routine Goodbye warmth And the blooms you bring forth Goodbye roses Goodbye hoses Goodbye gayfeather And goodbye fair weather Goodbye bees And goodbye leaves Goodbye birdÂs nest And goodbye Robin Red Breast Goodbye hoe And goodbye spade Goodbye to all the tools mislaid And goodbye to the giddy old galÂs lemonade Goodbye herbs Goodbye hummingbirds Goodbye summer everywhere.

I think I work harder in the garden during the winter! I confess to kinda liking cold weather over hot and there seems to be fewer mosquitos this time of year which is a plus. Once every seedling is in the ground and all the landscape fabric is in place and the mulch applied I sorta sit back and wait for harvest. But now I am busy mixing soil, cleaning pots, digging new beds, sowing seeds in the hoophouse and shuffling plants in my limited workspace. So I wear a few more layers and ignore the loss of sensations in my fingertips. I am blessed (or cursed) with a job where I get to sit all day and monitor a computer for design jobs coming in from other states - some in different time zones. When the work shows up I have to get busy and crank out an ad for the client but for the most part I sit and wait (a kinda "hurry up and wait" sorta job). So I am allowed to play cards or surf the net or email anyone and everyone as long as I stay near the system and drop everything when a job comes through the pike. This is how I found GardenWeb and why most of my posts occur during working hours. At home I rarely go near a 'puter, I'm outside all the time. Don't get me wrong - I still need the 12 steps - but I ain't looking for a cure.

Leeks and parsnips can survive all winter here so cover them last. I have never grown celeriac. Kale is hardier than cabbage or Brussels. Here is my report from the 4 season forum from 11/16. I like to gather as much info on cold weather growing as possible. "It got down to 11 degrees here Tuesday morning so when I picked for market Thursday afternoon I wasn't sure which crops would make it even under row cover. Mizuna under one layer got touched enough to be unpickable. Napa under 2 layers was ok but outside leaves were damaged. Chard under 2 layers seems about done but a few inner leaves were fresh. Most lettuce under 2 layers was ok but some of the outside leaves died. Broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower was not dead but was soft. I didn't get a chance to check beets. Kale, spinach, tatsoi, arugula and bok choy were all quite good under 2 layers and have shown growth. Pea shoots under 2 layers were still alive and delicious. Turnips in the open didn't look great leaf-wise but were pickable. Carrots and parsnips were fine as well as leeks and scallions. Parsley, dill and cilantro under 1 layer were fine but had no growth. I plan on another picking of greens and carrots." A week after this I picked baby rutabagas that had not been covered and leeks.

CAthy, I'm happy as long as the tank heater is keeping up, I HATE chopping ice from the tank. Actually, chopping it isn't the bad part, it's dipping the ice chunks out with a hay fork, I always get wet, and it's cold. Ugh. Hate that..... Wind chill factors of 20 to 30 below zero ought to tell me, I've made a wooden cover for the stock tank with a hole just big enough for the animals to put their heads through, I'm hoping it helps, at least enough to keep the tank unfrozen. We set a bale this afternoon, a big round bale will last 3-4 days, so hopefully it'll last until Wednesday morning, when it breaks a little and will be back up to a high of 17, and no below zero temps. I can do everything else manually, but the tractor doesn't always want to start when it's that cold and I need the tractor to move those big bales. As for school, they will probably not have school Monday or Tuesday, we have so many rural students that ride busses and it's just not safe to have small children out in that weather. When it hits zero they are not allowed to go outside for recess and when it's colder, they eventually give up and close school. Annie