We had all of maybe two hours of sunshine today. Typical February weather would be 60 degrees, only 2.37 inches of rain and sunshine more than 50% of the time. That is not what we have had so far. The Old Farmer’s Almanac predicted below average temperatures for February and March, above average precipitation for February and below for March. This is tracking true. What worries me is the prediction for snow showers March 15 - 20.

What a challenge this is for gardening (and the gardening business) here. We will have to capture every sunny, dry moment to plant our cool season garden. If we do not, our “window of opportunity” will pass. But then, that is part of the fun. If we plant early, if it does not rain, or snow, or get too cold we may have a bumper harvest. So this week, no matter what the weather, I have planting to do. I have waited too long and my window is almost running out.

I never believed I would ever experience the likes of the snowstorm we had here late this past week. Not that it was like anything I grew up with – eight to ten foot snow banks lining the sides of the country roads our school bus drove down were not unusual. But it was a thrill, never the less for me, as well as many a child. I did not build a snowman, but I did spend a good deal of time outside reliving childhood memories. It was so beautiful. Three days have passed – there is still snow on the ground – unbelievable.

Twice we had to knock the snow off our olive tree. It does look as if it has survived intact. Rosemary, oregano, cilantro, parsley, lovage and salad burnet are unfazed. Lettuces and peas are just fine. I am a bit concerned about my bay tree (it had been transplanted last summer); otherwise, I see little to worry about.

This morning the cedar waxwings were out in force stripping the berries off our yaupon holly. On the ground underneath were flocks of robins cleaning up the berries that had dropped. Is it possible that spring may be on its way?

One of my New Year’s resolutions (other than losing the five pounds I gained over the holidays) is to use as much as I can of what I have on hand in my pantry and freezer before buying more groceries. It is not as easy as it sounds. This morning I was looking out my kitchen window and noticed the silver-grey Bergarrten sage. What could I do with the leaves today? I needed to cook some dry white beans for a soup – sage leaves were added to the water. I fried some in a little bit of olive oil and sprinkled them with salt and pepper – these will be used as a garnish for the soup. It has been a great while since I have explored the other possibilities of what to do with sage. This week some more fried leaves will top some mashed potatoes. I know I have on hand all the ingredients to make the sage-feta cornbread from Jerry Traunfeld’s book ‘The Herbal Kitchen’. (By the way, the Sage Rush, a cocktail in the same book was our Super Bowl cocktail – it was great).

Sage needs lots of sun and very well drained soils. There have been three or four times in the last twenty-five years that I have had to replace my plant because it just up and died. Most of the time, it was because of a particularly wet winter. The blossoms are good sprinkled on salads. The best time to trim back your plant is right after it blooms. It is so easy to forget what you have…I am going to continue the process…