2022 begins with yet another friggin’ dry January. Helped along by a seven day delay while we were in town, I can safely report that, so far, it is going well. However miserable life is without wine, I do try to attempt to abstain every winter. Some years there is more success than others. It is a stupid concept and I am completely against its creation.

E figured out the problem with the water in the bunkie and why the taps froze despite his efforts to wrap all of them in foam. Between the foam wrapped pipes and the access to the bathroom in the bunkie is a particle filter which the water must pass through. It was not wrapped and, when E went under the bunkie to check on things, it was apparent that the water in the filter had frozen and the bottom was blown out, probably from ice. Next year, we will have that issue resolved.

Speaking of the cold weather, let us, for the purposes of documentation, discuss just what exactly went on here on the island in December.

The highest temperature in December was on the 1st at 14.6 degrees. The lowest was -6.5 on December 27th.

The strongest sustained wind was on December 11th at 38.9 kmh from the Southwest and the strongest gusts were felt on December 27th at 58.3 kmh, also from the Southwest.

The total rain accumulation for December was 103.64 mm.

What looks like a Black Imperial pigeon has taken up residence on our deck.

It is not banded and seems lonely. Every time it strays too far from the deck, the eagles swoop by thinking he looks yummy. So he sleeps on our rafter and dines on our suet and shits on the deck. He doesn’t make any sound at all so, other than the deck poopage issue, I don’t mind him hanging around until the weather warms up. In the meantime, it is good for the dogs to learn patience as they learn to sit quietly watching him on the feeder.

All of my seeds have been ordered for the summer’s garden. Lots of new varieties to try this year, along with some favorites from last year. Every year I swear I am not going to plant more than fifteen tomato plants but I have ordered seven different varieties, so it is unlikely I will be able to stay under thirty.. Fortunately, I learned last year that the peppers grow way better in black plastic pots, so that will free up some space. I am not going to grow potatoes this year so will use the cloth bags for three different varieties of pumpkin. One I am particularly eager to try is called the Pepitas pumpkin and is grown specifically for roasting its hull-less seeds.

Vegies will be started in the house next month and moved, to the new greenhouse, in March if all goes according to plan. I am definitely looking forward to having a full season with the greenhouse to aid me.

We moved here to have things to do and problems to solve but this year we are really looking forward to a summer with no large projects demanding our time. I anticipate days and days puttering in the garden with evenings following on the deck, wine in hand. Don’t get me wrong, there is lots to do, but mostly simple jobs and maintenance issues. Next year we can deal with the studio roof. We just need

a year off