Farmgirl Meditations: The Hibernating Garden

Let us love winter, for it is the spring of genius. 
~ Pietro Aretino

In November, I am continuing to participate in the Two Pages-a-Day writing challenge.  And I must have been abducted by aliens who replaced my brain with rocks, because I’m also doing NaNoWriMo for the first time.  Someone get this girl a drink!!

I

envy bears.

Soon, they will toddle off to a deep, dark cave.  They’ll curl up in a big fuzzy ball and sleep until spring.

Sleeping for a couple of months when the temps drop into the 30s sounds really good to me.  And I say that before the holiday madness has swung into full gear!

As a gardener, you would think that the coming winter is my least favorite time of year.  But it’s my second favorite season, autumn being my first.  Despite the insanity that are the holidays, winter is a time for rest and relaxation.  Much like the human body repairs itself while we sleep, the earth renews herself as she rests in winter.

Seeds fall and burrow deep, to wait out the cold. 

Bumblebees crawl into earthen holes and lay their larvae.

And gardeners clear the garden, layer it with compost and hay, hang up their shovels and rakes, and pour over seed catalogs, planning the spring rotations. 

Image credit: majune23

With Thanksgiving and Christmas coming fast, it will be busy, yes, but the best kind of busy.  There will be parties to plan, feasts to prepare, and loved ones to visit. 

And once the festivities die down, and no garden to tend, there will be books to read, books to write, letters to pen, and life to ponder.

I can’t wait for the first snow.  Can you?

Oremus pro invicem,

~ Mikaela

Have you received your seed catalogs yet?  What fun and relaxing things do you plan to do during your winter hibernation?