Cynthia Brian

By Cynthia Brian “Won’t you come into my garden? I would like my roses to see you.” --Richard Sheridan It’s only mid-February, yet it feels like spring. As I write this article, the thermometer in the shade reads 71 degrees. The sun is shining, the skies are clear, and it’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood. Historically the average daily temperature in our area for February is 46.4 degrees. I’m accustomed to dreary Februarys, yet this year is full of cheer. Although we sti

“Nature gives to every time and season some beauties of its own.” Charles Dickens It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Every December I utter these same words and each Christmas seems to come earlier than the previous year. Where do the seconds, minutes, hours, days, years go? When I was a child doing my best to be nice instead of naughty, Christmas took forever to arrive. Today, Rudolph and his sleigh are on fast forward. We have officially entered the season of winter.

By Cynthia Brian “Down came the rain and washed the spider out!” Toddler song Halleluiah! It is raining…and raining, and raining. It was indeed a blessed Thanksgiving weekend as the heavens finally opened and life-giving tears spilled from the sky. Our grounds have been so parched that even the amended clay soil is as hard as cement. The start of the rainy season means it is time to get garden work completed. On the first day of rain, I donned my rain gear to fertilize the la