I guess this past week weather-wise is called a January thaw. We did not really experience it the last several years as December was unseasonably warm.

I took a long look at my vegetable garden. One of the beds had a series of perfectly placed white discs chewed off at ground level. In December, I grabbed an armload of celeriac before the snow and a deep freeze. I meant to get back for the rest but life, as is its custom, got in the way.

The culprit was, of course, bunnies. It didn’t take any detective work since the bed was covered in little round doodies.

In the perennial bed, there are several white hellebores blooming at ground level. They are yet to fully open but what a welcome surprise. Also, looking their best were some euphorbia. There are many different varieties. These are Ascot Rainbow, an evergreen perennial. In the cold, the yellow-edged foliage turns pink. I’m pleased with myself that I neglected to cut it back in the fall. It’s especially nice with the low-lying sun shining through the leaves.

Better late than never? I’ve been harvesting seeds from Lauren Grape opium poppy. Give me a ring if you want any. They will reseed reliably for you each year. I just toss them about this time of year. The key is recognizing the baby seedlings in spring. Some thinning is important, otherwise a carpet of them will bloom at about three inches tall. Not to worry, however, they will come back next year giving you another chance to thin.

I spent two full days trying to make sense of my greenhouse. Honestly, it was a catch-all during fall cleanup. I freed up the propagating mats, so next week I hope to seed some lettuce, spinach and pea shoots. I do not bother transplanting the babies, but just take scissors to them when we need salad greens. They can take a freeze, but I usually leave them on the 50-degree mats during particularly cold nights.

I had a dwarf crape myrtle. I was very fond of it. Some critter chewed all the roots and it fell over. Sigh!

I got a rescue cat from the pound. I’m hoping to get it outdoors after it becomes familiar with me and the place.

Danny Larsen gave me a stash of fish totes when he and Marie sold the Edgartown Fish Market. I’ve been filling them with decent dirt getting them ready to receive potatoes. I pile hay on top of them, not even bothering to “plant.” I’ve had good luck for years with this method. Thanks, Dan.

How I long to settle in with my seed catalogs but my income tax work needs attention. I’ll be too busy in a few weeks, so I need to chain myself to the desk. I don’t usually mind paying taxes, but this year is so upsetting. Funding ICE is so unacceptable to my moral core. I cannot even begin to comment on the cold-blooded murder in Minneapolis. Instead, I need to address the bill of goods that we are being sold about Venezuela. Our government has a bad reputation concerning drugs. Ever since Nancy Reagan told us to “Say No,” we’ve  been deceived.

In the late sixties, the pot smoking hippies descended on Washington D.C. I know as I was one of them. As the Vietnam War was raging, Richard Nixon introduced Operation Intercept to stop marijuana from coming over the southern border. Instead, cheap heroin replaced it, I guess to keep people off the street doing opioids. Many of our returning soldiers came home from the war addicted.

I would like more of my tax dollars going into treatment facilities okay! And food and healthcare for the non-billionaires.