Cold Weather

The weather has been quite frigid here lately. A few nights have dropped down into the teens, and I think that every night this week has been in the 20s at least. Pipes have frozen, although thankfully we've had no burst pipes so far. The animals, who are not accustomed to such wintry temperatures, are complaining. Our cats, with the exception of Spunkabitty, are spending all their time indoors. Bitty has a desire to hunt that sends him out in all weather, and he also possesses a thick, fluffy coat (and a significant layer of fat). The horses have grown their winter coats, but we like to put on their insulated blankets when we bring them into the barn for the night. Abby, the Golden Retriever, has a lovely warm layer of golden hair to keep her cosy, but poor Bunny is slick and shiny with hardly any hair. She shivers and looks miserable, so we bought her a winter coat. Bunny loves her little jacket!

Sadly, our garden has suffered from the cold. I'm not sure what will be left when things finally warm up a bit. The strawberries are doing well, however, thanks to the layer of black plastic with which we covered them. The first blooms have made their appearance, so the berries are on their way.

Yesterday, I started the seeds for our summer garden. It seems odd to be doing that while the temperatures are so low, but I am excited. We purchased some new varieties of heirloom tomato this year, as well as some old standbys that are proven to be delicious. This year, I am going to try growing paste tomatoes so that we'll be able to make tomato sauce. Polish Linguisia and Cosmonaut Volcov are my choice for paste tomatoes. I also started seeds for three different cherry tomatoes: Black Cherry, Sungold, and Mexico Midget. The Mexico Midgets grow to be just half an inch in diameter! I think that they will be perfect in salads. I started eggplants, hot and sweet peppers, kiwifruit, and a garden berry called Chichiquelite Huckleberry. I am praying that God will bless my seeds with abundant growth.