Today in every single blog I visited, the authors all wrote about the horribleness that is the end of winter.
Kids are sick or grouchy or uncooperative. Every single one of those small people. Parents are tired, stressed, and anxious to feel a little sunlight on their face. Every single one of those taller people.
The end of winter doldrums, February Funk, March madness, cabin fever, tax season. These are all synonyms for the same sad malady we’re all feeling.
(Except you lucky sons-of-guns in Florida. So just hush up all you Sunshine state residents, I don’t want to hear one thing from you. Unless it’s how much tax money you owe to the state.)
Every year I know this time is coming. I make plans, I try to encourage myself by thinking, “This year will be different.” But the truth is, it rarely is.
So we do the only thing we can do. We go into survival mode, which differs for each of us.
This weekend I’m going to persevere the only way I know how: I’m going to eat large quantities of jelly beans, I’m going to scrape the snow off one of my garden beds and plant peas, and I’m going to read a good book while snuggled under a blanket.
This combination doesn’t always work, but it’s a pleasant way to get through the winter blahs.
What’s your coping mechanism, gentle reader?
I would love to actually grow a garden this year. Every attempt I’ve ever made has failed, mostly due to lack of help and enthusiasm from my family. So do you really plant peas this early? Move the snow and everything? My snow has melted, not that we won’t get more, but peas are one of my favorite green treats! I recall that lettuce is also a colder garden plant. What else gets planted early?
As long as the ground is not frozen solid, you can plant peas, lettuce, spinach, potatoes, carrots, and broccoli in March. (We always shoot for the Ides of March.)
Save me some black jelly beans!!! They are the best!
You can have ALL the black jelly beans. Gross out!
I’m also curious about the peas. Will you really plant them this weekend? How much room do they need? I only have small square foot garden plots, but I’d love to try peas – they can grow up trellises, right? Maybe I should consult google… Love hearing about your garden, especially since I’m in Indy too.
I’ll make sure the ground isn’t frozen solid and then I’m totally planting those peas. They do grow up trellises, ladders, or anything vertical. I plant my peas about 1 1/2 inches apart (this is closer than the packet says- but I don’t have tons of space so I put them closer.) I use a trellis/laddery thing and put a row down the front and a row up the back of it. I put the trellises/laddery things about 18 inches apart. I’ll try and get some pictures up next week. As long as you get the peas in sometime in March you’re probably fine.
I’ve been dreaming up our garden, too!
My coping mechanisms are versatile: prayer, reading good books, chocolate, a little bit of rocking back and forth, you know the drill.
Know the drill and do it often.