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life from the ground up

Real living in a processed world.

Walkin’ in a winter wonderland

By: Gabecomment

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DISCLAIMER: This post has nothing at all to do with my normal topics of conversation, and is merely a rant about the weather patterns of northeast Ohio. Read at your own peril.

Ahh, the sight of a fresh blanket of white covering all as you glance out your window in the morning…

Is met with much less derision come December, not October 24. I mean, I know it’s Cleveland, and we’re in the snow-belt, blah-blah-blah, but really? Eight inches of lake-effect slop for the first snow of the year (and potentially still counting)? It’s supposed to be a light covering that melts by midday, just to kinda give everyone a heads-up “hey, it’s that time of year again, better put on your winter face.” At least give me some time to get used to it again. Not just me, but everything. C and I saw a huge ‘V’ of geese out in the snowstorm, honking loudly and looking rather bewildered as they headed south. I’m pretty sure they were thinking, “Wait’ll we hit South Carolina and find that lousy travel agent who wouldn’t book our flight for yesterday… said we had nothing to worry about…”

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A DIY cold frame

By: Gabe7 Comments

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DIY Cold Frame - lifefromthegroundup.us

Since reading the Four-Season Harvest earlier this year, I’ve been motivated to try my hand at growing vegetables through the winter. In northeast Ohio, that means mostly hardy greens, and “growing” really means “not killing” – there’s not any growth taking place because the days are so short, but with some protection from the elements, things can at least survive. So while I’m not at the point where I’m ready for a hoop house, a DIY cold frame seemed like a logical place to start.

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Winterfest 2012

By: Gabecomment

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Was not as warm as Winterfest 2011. Nothing like that icy wind coming off the lake that cuts through every layer of clothing. Ahh, Cleveland.

It was still fun though. We didn’t spend nearly as much time down there this year, but got to see the lights, fireworks, and food trucks again. Several times now since then, C has associated Christmas lights with food trucks. Chip off the old block, that boy. By the time we made it back to the car, he was fussing because he was so cold, which almost never happens, but on the car ride home, we were able to reminisce warmly.

It snowed

By: Gabecomment

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We had our first snow of the year yesterday. Not much, just enough to dust the roof and some log piles. Some years it’s sooner, some later, but in Ohio, you know it’s only a matter of time. And no matter how prepared you think you are, it’s always a bit of a shock to the system. I always tell other people (and hear it from them as well) that I like having four seasons, the first snow is nice, blah, blah, blah. Sometimes I wonder if we just say that to convince ourselves that it’s not so bad, because we’re stuck in Ohio, and we know it’s going to be like this until April…

In spite of any griping, I really do like the seasonal differences, and for the most part, enjoy living in Ohio. I do think that having a winter is great, as it allows everyone and everything to rest for a bit – I don’t know if I could go full speed year-round if I lived in southern California. Winter gives us an excuse to recharge, and while the focus shifts to inside projects, it’s a little more laid-back than during the nice weather, when the rush is on to get everything done before the cold hits. It’s a time for comfort food, and an opportunity to gain any weight you lost while eating only vegetables for the past three months 🙂 And since it gets dark so early, an opportunity for early bedtimes, if only we could take advantage of it… Here we go.

Garden update 4/11

By: Gabecomment

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Things have been quite busy around here, which is why I haven’t been posting much recently. Reseeding bare patches in the yard, digging new beds, moving rocks and dirt piles, planting trees, starting seeds, chasing the boy around… There’s a lot going on.

The weather continues to be strange. Although, I’m just accepting the fact that there really is no ‘normal’ weather, just an average based on dozens of years of highs and lows and in-betweens. We had, apparently, the warmest March on record, then no appreciable rain for almost two weeks (meaning I had to water the grass seed. Every. Day.), and today we woke up with a couple inches of snow on the ground. At least I don’t have to water this afternoon.

I haven’t planted anything else outside since the initial seeding almost a month ago now. I forget how quickly things dry out inside (in some cases, I need to water more than once a day in the cool, dry basement), and I’ve had to replant a couple tomatoes already because they’ve gone crispy.

After that really warm stretch, temps have more or less been normal for this time of year, so as much as is possible, things are kind of getting back to the way they should be outside. The early start doesn’t appear to have negatively impacted much. So far.

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