Winter Wonderland

“Dance, winter wonderland. 
Ha, ha, dance 
Winter wonderland.”^*

That’s the made up song I find myself humming these days. Why?

Mother Nature is making up for the mild winter we had in 2017. It’s been cold—COLD—and snowy this winter but I’m not complaining. Why? For a few reasons.

First, in Taylor’s Encyclopedia of Gardening, snow is called “the poor man’s fertilizer.” From what I understand, as snow falls through the atmosphere, nitrogen (which is essential to plant growth) and sulfur attach to the flakes. When the snow melts, these elements are released into the soil and absorbed by plants. Pretty cool, right?

Second, I’m always hopeful that cold and snow will help in my never-ending battle against cucumber beetles. After our mild 2017 winter, there were at least three generations of cucumber beetles in my garden.

Finally, snow makes everything pretty and sort of quiets the world. While I’m not a huge fan of super cold weather, it certainly doesn’t stop me from my daily wanderings around the garden and yard. Here are a few highlight of what caught my eye outside this week:

 

 

*I may dance my way around the garden while humming Boogie Wonderland. If you’re feeling cold and want to get your blood pumping, get up and dance! This Earth, Wind & Fire Boogie Wonderland video should help.