Early Birds

A week ago someone sounded astounded that stuff is still growing in our garden beds. For lunch I've been reaping the benefits of our mild winter, having shopped the garden for lettuce, carrots, parsnips, and radishes.

Seventy degrees today called for weeding and lettuce planting. I responded. But I didn't plant peas. Didn't seem right to put them in so early. Frost might kill their blossoms. On the other hand, I might regret this when it hits 90 degrees for ten days in a row in April.

Our free, except for shipping, Craigslist 24-foot sailboat needs a permanent home. We dug four more holes yesterday and planted six posts in concrete, realizing there was no full moon so they may not stay put. At least that's what our childhood neighbor, Rev. Soldner, told us. Sometimes we'd hear him digging holes in the dark. Those 6 posts will dock the boat after we jack it up a foot or two. The bottle jacks we bought to lift the roof of our front porch are coming in handy.

In a couple months, we may have greens growing out our ears. May have to sell them at the farmers' market. The greenhouse plants rise quickly in this kind of weather, instead of slowly as they normally do in the wintertime -- peas, lettuce, spinach, kale, carrots, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, onions and cabbages.

"The early bird gets the worm," says Virginia.

Don't count on it.