Can it get any better?

Last night, we had a beautiful downpour of snow, and today it was a snow day on a Monday. This never

happens in Memphis, and I thought the day couldn't get any better until our mail carrier, Derek, delivered my 2011 catalog from Seed Savers Exchange.

If you don't know about Seed Savers, check it out here. The company, started in 1975, sells 600 varieties of heirloom seeds, and every packet sold helps support its commitment to preserve genetic diversity. Is anything more right on than that?

How I love a resolution.

Most of the people I know don't make new year's resolutions. Who needs them, why bother, too much pressure is the general drift. I tend to swing completely the other way, making lots of resolutions so a few might stick around until spring.

I'll spare you the other lists, but here is my gardening resolve for 2011:

1) Do a little something in the yard every day. (It makes me happy and moves along the work.)

2) Compost. Compost. Compost.

3) Increase the size of my vegetable garden. (This isn't so difficult as I only planted 50 sq. ft. last year.)

4) Plant an early spring crop of greens and lettuces.

5) Landscape the beds around my new front sidewalk.

6) Collect rainwater.

7) Volunteer at Urban Farms, a sustainable community garden in Memphis, and finally,

8) Never dress up a squirrel in a New Year's Eve hat.

Santa did good.

I love having a passionate hobby, because it promotes theme gifts. This Christmas, gardening ruled. Yes, I got that composter (thank you, Pam), along with a bucket for collecting my food scraps.

My daughter Anna, who is a huge Etsy fan, also gave me seeds from "The Bear Foot Shaman," a vendor named Radonna Fox who is an aromatherapist, gardener, and collector of

heirloom medicinal, vegetable, and flower seeds. I can't wait to try to grow these beauties. Have you ever seen a watermelon more beautiful than this?


















My cousins and locavore comrades Sharon and Kristina (be sure to check out Kristina's Confections, yum!) sent a beautifully crafted slingshot and seed bombs. I'll be bombing my own yard, as well as my neighborhood.

And last, but not least, my ever-so-thoughtful husband put much needed garden stakes under the tree, along with this fabulous weeder for old ladies called the "Reach Weeder." It's light weight and expands in length so you don't have to bend over. But even more impressive is the Reach Weeder's blade. After a work out in the garden, I can take it to the beach to fight off sharks.

Happy holidays from Mother Nature.

Mother Nature wrapped up Christmas weekend for me with two happy memories. First, a little snow, just a sprinkle, but the first snow on Christmas Day in Memphis in almost 100 years. I'm hoping our unseasonably cold winter will help control the hungry garden pests next summer.

Next, on the day after Christmas, I was walking Griffin at dusk when I spotted an owl in my neighbor's oak tree. I've been hearing owl calls at my home for 15 years, but have never seen one before in the neighborhood. He (she) was quite large and made a beautiful silhouette in the tree branches. I watched for five minutes before she took off in a majestic swoop. I felt blessed.

The next day, I took a photo of the stand of trees where I spotted her to honor the feeling. And I researched owls online. I think I saw a Barred Owl, pictured above, but that's just a guess.

Merry Christmas from our house to yours.

Santa are you listening?

I'm a big talker, and sometimes (gasp!) I talk more than I do. This is especially true when it comes to composting. I've read so much about composting that I understand green matter and brown matter and hot compost and a wet compost (frankly, those last two weren't too difficult to figure out).

But have I started composting the endless piles of food scraps I throw out every week? No, because I've been stymied by what type of composter to buy. (And yes, I've talked endlessly about that decision too.)

Happily, the Christmas season has spurred me into action, and thanks to one of my favorite gardening sites (Gardener's Supply Company), I've found the perfect solution: a simple wire rectangle with a door, so it's easy to reach in with a shovel and turn the pile.

Even better, the composter costs $40, which isn't as cheap as chicken wire, but is a lot less than the $200 composting bins that are ugly as well as expensive.

I told Santa I wanted the composter, but because I know he's busy, I went ahead and ordered it myself. How's that for decisive action?

Holiday rescue.

Most of the holiday greenery at Lowe's is gone, but on my last run a few days ago, I found a rosemary plant marked down to five dollars. I guess nobody but me wanted it. (I'm a sucker for needy plants, dogs, or kids.) This poor baby was starved for water and its plastic pots was ripped.

So for a day or so, I soaked it in the sink, re-potted it in a clay pot, wrapped it in green foil, and decorated it with ribbon and a gold angel. Voila! With a little love, my kitchen table turned into a bit of Christmas cheer.