Late January Musings

Broadway, VA                        January 27                  45 degrees                   9:01pm

Never confuse motion with action.  – Ben Franklin

March 20: the date of the 2012 Vernal Equinox, and the day Cousin Effie will arrive at the Charlottesville train station. They tell me that the first day of spring and the first day of fall are the only times when the earth is truly bipolar: the North and South Poles are straight up and down with nary a tilt in any direction. Seems fitting, then, that Miss Effie should make her appearance on such a day when there are equal amounts of daylight and nighttime; a period when the earth appears to be symmetrical and everything is precisely in its place. She would expect nothing less.

According to Another Almanac, there are a couple of flower seeds that should be started indoors in January.  Took a quick peek at the calendar and discovered that if I am going to do any kind of planting in January, I’d better get started. I love Sweet Williams; they remind me of my grandmother and stir up some vague images of my great-grandmother. Anyway, they’re on the early planting list, along with Columbine, Lupine and Statice.  They also mention Zinnias, but I had great luck just tossing the seeds on top of the ground long about the last of May.  I need to figure out what type of peas to try and I guess I should put some fertilizer on the strawberry plants. Never a dull moment in the world of a theoretical farmer. Can’t imagine how busy real farmers must be. 

Miracle of miracles! Edna told me today that the guys took the roadblock down from the Kinglsey Bridge.  Either they have finally finished repairing it or they are inviting folks to take a plunge off the side into the North Fork of the Shenandoah. Think I’ll wait awhile before I try to cross it. Just in case.