LysmachiaMoon's blog: Winter sowing carrots

I was told by the guy at the seed store that some of the Mennonite ladies have been sowing carrot seeds in late fall/early winter and that they're getting good results. I have a big packet of carrot seeds so I think I might just try a small patch and see if that works. Carrots are tricky for me. 2021 I had great results; this year, nothing. I think it's mostly due to the wide fluctuations we can get here in spring: we can have a week of cool consistently damp weather (perfect for carrots' slow germination), then suddenly high temps and windy sunshine (which effectively kills off any barely germinating carrot seeds). And I'm terrible about remembering to keep the patch watered and shaded.

Got another small section of the Pine Gap cleaned off and the honeysuckle and goldenrod roots dug out (mostly...I'm just doing a rough dig-over). It's slow going in this last and virtually untouched section. I'm working on strips that are about 4-5 feet wide and maybe 10-12 feet long, chugging slowly southward. I don't think I'll be able to get the entire remaining section of Pine Gap cleared this winter, but I've got a good bit done and ready for planting in the spring. I have a couple of mimosa, several Korean dogwoods, Burning bush, beauty bush, and rose of sharon that I can pop in there. I'm also thinking of trying some asparagus in the Pine Gap. If I have seed-started plants (will need to check the seed situation) they might actually do very well there. It's one of the ironies of my Ifonly Gardens that some of the very best soil is at the edge of the property, next to the road (i.e., the Pine Gap). It's fine loamy soil, good drainage, nice sun exposure.

I've got to make time to do some pruning on the big junipers below the deck. This is a Top Down year (last year it was a Side to Side year). This year I prune to lower the height; it's always a challenge. I'll probably do a little pruning tomorrow if it doesn't rain just so I have something to give to friends and neighbors for holiday decorations. But the main job will have to wait for dry weather; I usually end up climbing up and over the top of these big bushes and it's bad enough without getting soaked as well. I also say a fervent prayer before I start that no one sees me. Climbing around on top of those bushes is a little like bouncing on a big, poufy, uneven mattress...except sometimes the mattress opens up and tries to eat you. Very hard to remain dignified.

Had a lovely evening visiting a friend in Cumberland Maryland for her annual Christmas open house. We went out to dinner afterwards. I will not be eating again until lunchtime today: too many cookies and pizza! I met a couple at her house who were very nice people and so interesting: first, they are both twins (he has an identical twin brother; she has a twin brother). I asked him if he were still working or retired; to look at him I expected he was a retired factory worker. "Oh yes, I'm retired. I was a Surgical and ICU Registered Nurse at the local hospital." Fascinating! He got his initial medical training as a corpsman in the Navy (along with his twin brother), then both pursued nursing after their discharge. At one point, early in their nursing careers, they were called unexpectedly to the Maternity ward to help deliver a woman. He said they couldn't understand why because neither were obstetric nurse specialists and why both of them? It was because the woman was giving birth to twins AND by strange coincidence she had the same last name as the two brothers! So twin brothers helped deliver twins with the same last names. They ended up being on an old TV show called "I've Got a Secret." He said they were flown to New York City for the taping and given $80. He said they felt like big celebrities at the age of 20-something with $80 (EIGHTY WHOLE DOLLARS) in their pockets.

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So, my friends and I went to dinner at a great restaurant just outside Cumberland, called Pucchini's. Noted for their wood-fired pizzas. We're sitting in a booth talking and all of a sudden *whooosh, bang* the fully decorated Christmas tree just behind me fell over! Fortunately, it was covered in unbreakable plastic ornaments, not glass. The whole dining room was shocked silence. The big house where this restaurant is located was, I was told, a hospital following the Civil War and it's rumored to be haunted. Discuss.

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