Pre-Holiday Musings

Awoke darn early this morning/night from a stupid dream that kept repeating in my head. When that happens, I know it is just time to get up and do something else. My friend, Paul, calls this time of the wee hours "fire watch" - when he gets up for a bit, re-stokes the wood fire and then goes back to bed. I tend to get up early and, having no wood fire to stoke, usually wind up on the computer, either writing in the blog or surfing sites and blogs that I've wanted to catch up on. For me, it isn't frustrating that I can't sleep - I just turn it into a productive time.

As I got up, I turned on a string of multi-colored "happy lights" to cast a soft glow in the corner of the front room. When I saw the colors, I got a real cozy, holiday/winter feeling - you know, that kind of mood when you just want to bask in the warmth of the moment. I guess the retailers have done their work...it is just past All Saint's Day and already I am thinking Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Here's a shot of my new lights. I have a touch of Seasonal Affective Disorder this time of year as it begins to get dark...and, like the practical, cheesy, decorator that I am, I string the lights and keep them on. The kitchen lights have been in place all year and this string will probably stay up through the dark months.


Meanwhile in the nursery and gardens...I have been avoiding going out into the nursery, both here and at Vicki's, as the weather has been about 10 degrees below normal. The long underwear has finally come out of storage and the sweaters are being worn. Where is our Indian Summer?

So much to do yet in the nursery - cut back all the stock that is not evergreen, clean up and put down weed mat in the small-potted plant storage area, move a bunch of flats off of benches and tidying up both greenhouses and getting them ready for the real winter weather that is to come. The big greenhouse, at Vicki's, will get a new configuration with the benches - just waiting for the end of the mums.

Decided to let the mums bloom - since I haven't sold them, perhaps I can sell the long-stemmed blooms as cut flowers. Mostly bronzes and oranges, they have lasted for a good week in a vase on the table. The picture shows them just going over.

 I kind of like to

let flowers go over the hill and watch them, sometimes their demise is just interesting - to see them slowly start to change and go by. Flowers are so ephemeral - maybe it is because I want to hang on to each season and not let it pass by so quickly.

The garden at the big Oakland County Community Greenhouse is growing well. The pole beans have reached the tops of their supports and are threatening to grow on anyone who stands near them too long. Have been harvesting lots of greens for salad and for braising and soups. It has done so well, that I went ahead and purchased another bed for the winter. The lease is good until mid-April. We'll have bunches of greens for everyone.

The latest venture that I have been spending lots of time on is the new Old Winery Farmers Market "store" I'll be setting up each week on Saturdays. I plan on selling fresh produce, cut and potted herbs, a few teas and some spices, plus jams and my baked goods. Have been searching out produce suppliers in the Detroit area and watching prices, collecting materials for moving and staging the products and deciding how much money I can afford to spend. Lots of brain spinning and thinking through.

Have found some interesting DIY tea bags, that come empty, are filled and get ironed or heat sealed up. So I decided to make some herbal teas, mulling spice bags and some black tea mixes. Am not big on the green teas, they upset my stomach. Also have a couple of friends that I'm trying to recruit into baking or doing some wooden, decorative reindeer for me.

It should be a time to kick back and reflect upon the summer past, but I'm not quite ready for the couch yet. I suppose when there is a foot of snow on the ground I'll be ready to sit and thumb through all those magazines that came this summer and never got looked at. Everything will come in time.

Linking to Tootsie Time for her weekly roundup of gardens and gardeners around the world. One I read is an Aussie, who has just started her spring garden on the other side of the globe! Check it out.