I’m about to sit down to a plate of my own words. Last week I complained I did not get enough winter weather to force me inside. Now we are in a northeaster. So far on Tuesday we have yet to get the forecasted snow but the rain and wind are rather unpleasant. I’ve said endlessly: I hate the wind. It gives me such anxiety and wrecks stuff.

I tried to work in the greenhouse but the wind hitting the plastic is nerve-wracking.

Luckily I did get a lot done over the weekend. I got all the onion seedlings separated, seeded some more perennials on the propagating mats and loaded a mountain of trays with potting mix so that they are ready to receive.

Also I seeded some broccoli, cabbage and beets so they will be ready to set out into the garden in a few weeks. I will probably put them under a layer of Reemay for a little extra protection.

I always have great luck with the beets. I carefully transplant the tiny plants so as to not lose any. I’m loathe to thin anything. I hate their little lives to be in vain.

A beet seed is odd. Several plants can sprout from one seed. I think the individual seeds get stuck together to appear as one.

One of my favorite things to start from seed is asparagus. I use the Mary Washington variety. It comes up as a tiny, fully-formed asparagus no larger than a sewing needle. When transplanting they have a remarkable root system many times larger than the stalk. I’ve eaten some of them in just two years from seed.

My ancient bed is more than 40 years old but sadly overrun with mugwort. Nevertheless I pick it yearly. Some of the stalks are more than an inch around.

Something continues to baffle me. Every year I force a few twigs of spring-blooming shrubs. Forsythia is by far the simplest and more reliable. I also love my red quince. However, when brought inside before the buds open, the flowers will be pure white. I have them in a sunny window so it must not be the light. Who knows?

Ghost Island Farm has a few bunches of kale raab. Most of us are familiar with broccoli raab. Don’t let the name fool you. It is simply the spring shoots and flowers of over-wintered members of the brassica family. Often these little shoots appear on the dead-looking stalk of a plant left to die all winter, I have even had them appear on plants I pulled and tossed into a compost, Anyway, they are sweet and delicious, If you see them in your travels, grab some.

It’s rich that the big investors at Silicon Valley Bank got a heads-up about the impending failure at the bank and got their money out in the nick of time.

These are the same people who whine about government regulation but now want the Feds to step in and come to the rescue.

I’ve watched It’s a Wonderful Life dozens of times and have an understanding of what a run on the bank can mean.

Folks, Joe Biden is right. I’m pretty sure most of us have less than a quarter of a million dollars in a bank. Doesn’t the FDIC cover us up to that amount? Call me crazy but I actually trust the government. I get my Social Security check every month and am proud that we are supporting Ukraine.

In other news, once again, the night people steal from the morning people with the annual daylight saving time — a misnomer if I ever heard one.