What happens next?
Bleak skies between winter snows Frost coated garlic coming up in the raised beds. Something happens in the period between when the leaves blow from our yard into the neighbors and then on into the woods far beyond. When the sun squeaks through greasy skies and gives precious little warmth. It is a strange time. Not quite winter but it presages the inevitable. Most years we watch the weather systems zip around us, leaving us in a relatively snow-free bubble. It might seem that would be desirable, but one of the things I have learned about plants is that they need snow. Snow cover provides insulation (and warmth!) and also slowly releases moisture. Without snow, what I have seen is that our plants desiccate. The winds roll off the plowed fields to the south of us, with nothing to stop the chilled air. Once it hits our property, it drops into the garden and that cold mass of air finds the lowest spots and hugs the ground. Until recently, I hadn't really seen how this ha...