Harsh Winter Weather

I can just see Gina now, living it up in Chicago. She's probably curled up under a blanket, sipping cocoa and reading a garden book, pausing only occasionally to gaze out the window at the enchanting winter scene outside. The trees on her street are glazed with ice, reminiscent of a Currier and Ives Christmas Card, and everyone is in a jolly mood. And what adventure there is to be had, when she hears a loud crack, then a crash, and then the house is plunged into darkness! I assume this hasn't happened yet, since she is still posting to her blog, but I know she is waiting with anticipation to spend a few nights by candlelight in a cold house...

Meanwhile, back here in boring old North Carolina, it's another (yawn) day of balmy 80 degree sunshine. Do I get to hang out in the house eating bonbons and reading garden blogs? No! I have to do that at work, because when I get home, I have tasks waiting for me. There are leaves at the curb to be stolen, and I must be quick about it as the trees are nearly bare, and I hear the rumble of the leaf truck in the distance. I contemplate the expansion of yet a third border, and puzzle over the best placement of the five new roses I acquired from Judy the Rose Tamer. (There aren't many people who will send perfectly good roses to someone they don't know without expecting a credit card number, so that tells you what a quality human being she is.)

I have been remiss in participating in Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, and so I'm anxious to get some photos of the pincushion flowers and verbena that are still blooming, and the new pink blossoms on the creeping phlox (I am not making this up!). So, I pour a tall glass of lemonade to slake my thirst and bravely venture back out into the elements again. How in the world do people ever garden in a climate such as this!