Happy New Year! Planning Ahead

Happy New Year! January came in with wind and snow that started soon after midnight. Our bonfire crowd drew indoors soon after midnight and continued the stories and songs around the fireplace. I will post photos and more tomorrow after my computer recovers from too many downloads by grandchildren (who are accustomed to DSL and overwhelmed my satellite storage allowance—who knew there was such a thing?).

After the last of our visitors left today, we tidied up and enjoyed the snow falling so gently all afternoon. Not enough to amount to anything yet, but perhaps by morning it will make getting to work a challenge.

I used this quiet time to begin making lists of seeds to plant in the Spring. I’ve decided to have a little greenhouse once again after a five-year break, and it’s interesting to see what new varieties are being offered. I’ll share my lists when I’ve weeded them down—right now they’re wish lists that cover several pages of my notebook.

But the quiet and the catalogs inspired this poem:

Seed Catalogs

The first day of a new year.

In the vacuum left by departing visitors,
I huddle with quilts
in the warmth of a golden fire,
colorful catalogs on my lap.

Cocooned by snowfall
from the chatter
of everyday,
I plan

a summer of bounty and color.
A garden rich with green grows
amidst the swirling cold and white
of January.