It seems that all the posts I’ve written this winter have had something to do with the weather, so I’m just going to be clear (right from the title) that since winter may be prolonged until the next millennium I may as well keep reporting on this all-important factor in a Canadian’s life, whether you’re a gardener or not.
Here it is, March 28th, (by the way, happy birthday to my sister, Heather, down in New Glasgow, NS, where they’ve been suffering through an even worse winter than here, I believe!), and the thermometer says -9C outside my window. This may not be unprecedented, but it’s certainly rare. Of course I was discouraged when I woke up and looked at that, but when I finally dragged Monty out for his walk (and I do mean dragged; he was enjoying his beauty sleep curled up with my husband when I picked him up to get his sweater on for his walk), I was pleasantly surprised by how -9C feels on March 28th. It’s not cold; it’s warm-cold. By that I mean that the sun is so hot for such a cold day that it’s actually very pleasant. If it were January we’d be exclaiming how wonderful a day it was, yet it would feel way colder. I still felt the cold through my gloves, however, and that is just wrong for this date.
On another- more garden-oriented- note, I dragged out a planter that I’d put down the basement in late fall to wait out the winter. Unfortunately, I forgot about it completely and never watered it, so I’m not holding out much hope. The caladium tuber, or bulb, or whatever it’s called, that is contained therein hasn’t shown any signs of life, though I’ve been watering it for 2 weeks or so. I’m not giving up yet, but I may be buying myself a new one come spring. I love caladiums and I won’t go a summer without one on my back deck. I hope those of my loyal readers (if any) who have tried over-wintering bulbs, etc. indoors have been more on top of it than I. Also, I’d be curious if anyone is starting anything from seed indoors, how that’s going. Tell me all in the comments section below!
Well, that’s all for now, since I’m actually supposed to be working on my taxes (oh, Tax Time, how we love thee!) and also getting ready for my vacation in London, England, which starts on Monday evening when I take a flight out of this Ice Age. It may be rainy there, but at least the temperature stays well above freezing! By the time I get back, all the snow better be gone!
This week at the orchestra we’ve had the pleasure of playing Tchaikovsky’s 5th symphony with Juanjo Mena conducting. Here is the beautiful 2nd movement with the Berlin Philharmonic (Von Karajan conducting) from 1986. Enjoy!
I love to hear from you!