Leaves, garden cleanup and yard projects can keep the urban gardener busy almost through Christmas. Then there's the freneticism of the holidays. And now...this.
January finds the urban homesteader twiddling her thumbs. I have "real work" (in our culture, this is that which involves a computer). I have long-unfinished painting and fixer-upper projects around the house. I have knitting and mending and a temperamental hot-water heater that requires many phone calls. And we all have taxes. But something is missing, and that's growing things.
It's amazing that there is still living kale in the garden, and parsnips underground (when I can get at them). There's butternut squash and potatoes from last season in the basement, and cabbage, fennel and herbs in the freezer. 2011 was my third season as an urban grower, and it went pretty well. This makes me even more eager to get going.
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But there will be nothing to do but plan for a few weeks yet. I'll be ordering the seeds from High Mowing. And the boys and I will prepare trays of seedlings in February, letting them catch the fantastic light of our south-facing windows.
Meanwhile, here's my reading list. I'm dreaming of cold frames and rabbit hutches and top-bar beehives — making lists, endless lists, of things to do starting in March. I'm guessing a lot of you are doing the same. Share your thoughts here.