Where's Winter???

I live in Chicago and I am used to wearing two pairs of pants, heavy boots, and a BIG coat everywhere I go from November to well into May. This winter is sunny? It's mild mid 40s, 50s outside? As far as snow, it has only been a dusting that disappears by noon day. At first I appreciated the warm weather, especially after that awful snow storm last year. Now its January there have been no regular 30 degree temps or measurable amounts of snow. I find the warm weather strange.

I am a gardener and this would be my 4th gardening season. I had some great plans to start my an edible perennial garden before I hit the road for awhile. With the gentle weather now, I am worried what weather will spell for the coming growing season.

Why worry, you can't start planting until early June?" I normally start planning my garden about this time, and for many gardeners that's normal. I can budget what I need for the season. In addition, I can draw and redraw how I want the final garden to look. I start researching different varieties of vegetables and plants and compare seed catalogs. So there is a lot to do before I start planting seeds. Planning my garden, made me think the unseasonably warm weather now, might bring wild, unfavorable weather later.

I have to remind myself it's only January. Time will tell what the weather will be 5-6 months from now. Heck, can't tell what it will be like tomorrow. So as I am planning, it will help to have alternative plants to start in case summer is wet and cool, dry and hot, whatever. That's what life's about. You gotta roll with the punches and be prepared for anything. Instead of worrying, I will just prepare for anything that maybe on the horizon.

Happy New Year!

Hello, everyone! Happy New Year! The ending of 2011 was a whirlwind. My house had quite a few house guests stay with me with weekend.

Friday, my dog Marshall had to go to the vet and that took a big hit out of my travel fund. He had a very bad ear infection, and he was lethargic, wasn't eating, or drinking. He's better after a few days at the vet. I brought him home today. I'm so happy to have him back.

While Marshall was at the vet, my cousin and her dog Handsome stayed over for a few nights. The house was crowded, full of barking, laughing, eating and the list goes on. On top of it I got a cold, but through it all I still had fun. Handsome did a good job of keeping me company until I got Marshall back, so it all worked out.

That's Handsome below. He's a blonde Pomeranian. He hates it when people go up and down the stairs, so he barked at us every time we went to the basement or the upstairs room. Other than that, he was a good dog during his stay. When he first got to our house, Handsome just spun in circles for 20 minutes. He was entertaining.