Weathering Winter: A Gardener's DaybookIn winter, when the only things growing seem to be icicles and irritability, what pleasures exist for a gardener or for anyone who lives in a northern climate? In his distinctive daybook, Weathering Winter, Carl Klaus reminds readers that the season of brown twigs and icy gales is just as much a part of the year as when tulips open, tomatoes thrive, and pumpkins color the brown earth. From the first cold snap of late December 1994 to the first outdoor planting of onion sets and radish seeds in mid-March 1995, Klaus kept track of snow falling, birds flocking, soups simmering, gardening catalogs arriving, buds swelling, and seed trays coming to life. Gardeners, lovers of the out-of-doors, and weather watchers will recognize themselves in the ways in which Klaus has come to terms with the harsh climate and chilly truths that winter embodies. His constant, careful checks on the temperature and on the geraniums overwintering in the attic, his contentment in the basil- and garlic-flavored tomato sauce he cooked up from last season's crops, and his walks with his wife in the bitter chill of starry January nights reflect the pull between indoors and out, the contrast between the beauty and the cruelty of the season. |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
afternoon arctic arugula attic backyard beans beginning Big Dipper bird feeder bitterly cold catalogues cellarway checked chill chives clouds coming cymbidium early edge El Niño endive especially fall February feel flood forties freezing freezing rain frozen gazebo going green ground house sparrow inches Iowa JANUARY Kate Kate's Kobe landscape last night late lettuce light look March mid thirties midafternoon miles an hour MONDAY month moon morning moving National Weather Service Niño northwest onion sets onions overcast pale pepper Phoebe plant predicted put Pip radishes rain row covers row-covered season seed seedlings seems snow snowfalls soil soup sparrow spinach spruces started storm stuff summer SUNDAY sunny sunrise talking temperatures there's things thought tomato tree turned vegetable visible walk Weather Channel weather reports Weather Service WEDNESDAY weekend wind windchill winter wonder woodpeckers yesterday છૂટ વ્હ સ્ફુટ