I woke up this morning and instantly knew it was bitter outside. The smell of car exhaust hangs close to the ground on days like this, burning your lungs (as it the cold doesn't do that on its own) and sticking to your clothes. I walked to the end of the driveway at 8:00am to leave something in the mailbox for a friend to pick up. By the time I got back in the house, I was wheezing and had a lopsided headache.
Yep, bloody cold. -34, "feels like -40", according to The Weather Network (and my body).
I am so glad I don't have to walk to work every morning in this frigid hell anymore, at least not for the time being...
It started snowing in earnest yesterday afternoon, continued through the night, and didn't let up until mid-afternoon today. About 20cm has fallen. I keep telling myself, "At least it's a dry snow". Not like the wet, heavy, Maritime snow I experienced growing up. Still, it is icy, it accumulates, and it has to be shoveled. It is also -18 out there. Boo, hiss.
I was catapulted out of my winter doldrums when my seed swap package from the 3rd Annual Canadian Autumn Seed Exchange arrived in today's mail! (See my earlier post about this exchange HERE). In early October, I sent in my contribution of 40 seed packs to trade (the maximum allowed), plus 17 bonus seed packs to be distributed to anyone having those seeds indicated on their wish lists. I received 58 packets back and almost every wish I had written on my list was fulfilled.
The swap package I received included:
Barley - Tibetan Hulless
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| Vermont Cranberry Beans |
Herbs - Purple Basil, catnip, White Feverfew, Italian Parsley, Garlic Chives, and Thyme
Peppers - Chocolate Ghost pepper (super hot!), Feher Ozon paprika, Gypsy, Italian Sweet, Nardello, Sweet Chocolate, and Sweet Red Cherry
Greens - Tronchuda Collards, Dwarf Green Curled Kale, and Malabar Spinach
Melon - Mini Honeydew
Leeks - Broad London
Eggplants - Black Beauty, Casper, Green Apple, and Rosa Bianca
Beans (dry) - Arikara, Kenearly, Orca, and Vermont Cranberry
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| Rosa Bianca Eggplant |
Beans (snap/wax) - Provider, Beurre de Rocquencourt, Royal Burgundy, and Tendergreen Improved
Tomatoes - Amish Paste, Aunt Ruby's German Green, Black Brandywine, Red Brandywine, Bonny Best, Early Annie, First Mate, Indian Stripe Potato Leaf, Isis Candy, Mazarini, Opalka, Rose de Berne, Rutgers, San Marzano, Sweet 1 Million, and Yellow Pear
Pumpkin - Sugar Pie
Squash - Buttercup and Red Kuri
Flowers - Polar Bear Zinnia, Starlight Rose Zinnia, Pink Snap Dragon, White Snap Dragon, Pink Double Poppy, Purple Peony Poppy
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| Starlight Rose Zinnias |
The majority of seeds I received were ones that were new to me. Some varieties I have never heard of and look forward to researching. I can't wait to grow the zinnia seeds that were included with the package. Nicky, the seed exchange organizer, included a note regarding the Chocolate Ghost Pepper seeds. *If* I plant them, it will be using tweezers and wearing gloves! Apparently, even the seeds are ridiculously hot. The peppers have a rating of 1 million SHU, for those of you familiar with this term (I am not - yet).
Very glad to have participated in this exchange, and I plan to join in again next year!
