The winds are howling across the pond and snow is coming down in big flakes, but the fireplace is keeping me toasty warm. Our dogs are snoozing at my feet as I sip delicious tea from my favorite rose chintz teacup and dream.

The mail man’s delivery has become the favorite part of my day since he has been filling my mailbox with delightful seed catalogs. I have been flipping through them, making lists of seeds to order, and planning new blooms for my garden.

I can close my eyes and see how it will look in the spring when green shoots start poking through the ground.

Sigh!

Last year I started a bed to grow pumpkins for the goats. Ladybird thought that the piles of pumpkins on the back porch were for her to drag around the yard. I think she was jealous of the goats so many of the pumpkins had teeth marks in them from her shenanigans.

The perennials come back every year but sometimes I am too aggressive pulling weeds early and oops… there is one less plant in the ground. I will need to plant sunflowers for the birds and parsley for the butterflies and of course, a row of zinnias in the garden just for little bouquets every day. The goats aren’t picky, they love all the flowers and bushes and that is exactly why they are locked away in their own pasture. They think anything green is just for them. Naughty children!

There are always a few chores that didn’t get completed in the fall. They are already on my list of chores that will be done in the spring, and the list gets longer and longer as the weather gets warmer. My herb garden still needs lots of plants and it will be a big adventure to look for chamomile, sage, rosemary, and many others as I wander through the garden stores to discover new plants in the spring.

Now it is time for a nap so that later when the ground wakes up, I will have lots of energy to dig holes and plant beautiful things.

Grouchymama blogs at Blue Silo Farm.

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