You’d think a retired person could get a lot done in January. There’s something about unstructured time. It’s great because you have flexibility. It’s not great because nothing much pushes you. Even things you really want to do can go undone if you don’t make a start and keep moving.
January is a difficult month anyway. You’re on the downside of Christmas – and some of that looks like real work, such as putting away decorations and gifts, learning how to operate new electronics, etc. And nothing much happens in the garden. My garden looks very gloomy. But not many weeks hence and we’ll notice signs of spring and begin to compare notes. We like to notice the signs of spring.
In fact, there is something interesting in my garden right now, come to think of it. I let the spinach go to seed last year, and some of it sprouted in the fall warmth. The little plants are just sitting there, apparently waiting for spring. It will be interesting to see if they make it – or if the deer eat them before they have a chance. Without some sort of fence it’s useless to plant a vegetable garden. I recently counted nine mule deer on one of our neighborhood walks.
Mike and I planted chrysanthemums last fall. We bought them at Wal-Mart – couldn’t pass up what looked like a bargain. It might have been a mistake. Apparently you’re supposed to plant them in the spring if you want them to winter over. And it looks like they require some care – dig them up, separate the plant, pinch back the new growth, mulch them, water them, feed them. I should have done my homework before we bought them! But we’ll see. Sometimes in this mild climate you can get away with a mistake. And – they were pretty last fall. KW
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