By LYNNE IRONS

I have been wracking my brain to come up with a garden topic this week. Should I stay with some sort of winter theme or get fully into the gear-up for spring?

I think I’ll take on credit cards instead.

Here is my best shot at a segue. I use my credit cards for the gardening business: ordering seeds, plugs, and bare-rooted perennials in mid-winter and paying them off in the summer when the money starts rolling in.

By LYNNE IRONS

Last Saturday was one of those perfect winter days — cold and crisp — not a cloud in the sky. An impressive crowd turned out for the memorial service for Bob Flanders at the Abel’s Hill cemetery. It couldn’t have been a more beautiful day to be laid to rest.

By LYNNE IRONS

I have had five memorable dogs. Each has lived over a decade and a half. My all-time favorite was Emma Jones, the beagle of my childhood. After college and moving to the Vineyard, I found Emily, who was also a white beagle mutt. She helped me raise my little children. Larry, a blue-tick hound, was always in need of a diet. He was fond of lying on the side of the road, much to the consternation of passersby. He had a habit of going up to the old Woodland where he begged donuts successfully.

By LYNNE IRONS

I am a slave to tradition. For starters, I hate to shop so when I find an article of clothing that I like, I buy four or five so I do not have to buy it again for years. I am a uniform dresser (as was Albert Einstein.) I eat the same foods . . . eggs for breakfast, supper leftovers for lunch, and a chicken or pork roast for supper that lasts the week ending with some sort of soup or gruel. I have a rotary phone, hang my laundry outside, and like only the old hymns at church. I plant seeds from the same place every year.

By LYNNE IRONS

This marks my first anniversary as the writer of the garden column. I’m following in the footsteps of Jean Wexler, who wrote the column for many years. Great job, Jean, how did you do it? For me, the column has been challenging at best. Hopefully, one can forgive me my shortcomings, especially repeating subjects and waxing political.

By LYNNE IRONS

Every week I have a few moments of angst concerning writing material but have never been one to experience a loss of words for very long.