Keeping busy in winter

I'm one of those people who steps into the garden to do something for 5 minutes and comes back in an hour later, grimy and happy (and a little sheepish) We're in the southern hemisphere, so its in the middle of winter here. And after the hecticness (is that a word?) of the veggie garden in spring/summer/autumn, I felt a bit lost.

So I got down to all the other stuff I should be doing. All my veggie garden planning for the next 12 months has been done - yay! (Now I must just stick to the plan....)

I've sorted out my compost heaps - I've got 2 'real' ones going and one just full of grass cuttings and fallen leaves. This last one I use to supply the others and for lasagne bed material.

It took 3 days and lots of heavy lifting (rolling) to get my rockery done - I'm thrilled with it. Can't believe I did it!

Now I must convince the hubby to get the rest of the raised beds done, so I can lasagne them before spring-planting time. I still need to figure out how I'm going to handle my tomato plants - hmm got to give that one some thought.

I know that some have already started sowing in seed trays indoors, but I think I'm going to wait a week, at least until the current cold snap passes - gosh it's so hard to be patient...

Silly me

I thought I was really kind, inviting a few friends (all over 60 yrs) for lunch, praying to be a source of encouragement to them etc. Huh! My experience with them was like opening an ancient treasure box to discover it brimming over with jewels and gold coins. I was gobsmacked. I thought that I had always appreciated older folk for their wisdom and life experience, but I hadn’t realised that I still had that touch of arrogance that comes with youth. SO, I who wanted to be the encourager, was the one who was inspired instead.The few hours I spent with them was a real eye-opener. I can’t get over how much we are losing by not realising the value of these older folk. Yes, I’m the first to admit that there are some really grumpy old men out there, but there are also those who shimmer with understanding and experience. One just has to be willing to look below the surface and prepared to open the lid.