The girls in Violet’s dance carpool have been pestering me for a camp-out. I finally relented. We spent the night in the big unheated greenhouse in the middle of my vegetable garden. Unheated is the key word here. Once the sun sets and the campfire stops blazing, you can imagine how quickly the temperature plummets.

I have a whole new appreciation and compassion for the homeless and those in refugee camps. Little girls can have a giggle-fest in most situations, while we of a certain age are downright uncomfortable and prone to complaining.

At any rate, we lived to tell the tale. I am however reluctant to place as much confidence in putting baby plants out quite so soon.

My spinach and kale planted in the hoop house last fall are producing like crazy. Once the light changed they took off regardless of the chilly nights. Next year I hope to remember this successful venture and try more cold-weather plantings. It is remarkable how many weeds are gaining an early foothold in the gardens. Dock especially has taken over in some areas. It requires a shovel to remove. The tap root is easily halfway to China!

I also have noticed several blooming dandelions. I must confess I’m rather fond of them. They are so cheerful and reliable.

On Sunday afternoon, at the Agricultural Hall, the monthly meeting of Homegrown took place. A good number attended. We covered several topics and traded magazines, catalogs and some seeds. Abigail Higgins encouraged us to look up a video on the computer. She told of a woman who believes food should be grown all over and be free. The address for the video is: permaculture.co.uk/videos/propaganda-gardening-incredible-edible-todmorden.

The next Homegrown gettogether is the third Sunday of April at 4 p.m. That’s April 21. All are welcome.

I love the pickup truck that’s been converted into a chicken coop. It is in Craig Kingsbury’s big field across from the Scottish Bakehouse. It got me thinking about my unwillingness to let go of my 1984 7.150 truck. Perhaps a nice planter? On the other hand, I suppose it would bespeak my Appalachian upbringing. I grew up where it was not unusual to see washing machines in yards.

Oh, how I digress! The greenhouse attached to my house is bursting. I’ve started tons of seeds which happily are germinating. A propagating mat is a worthwhile purchase. It gives the plants consistent bottom heat.

Otherwise the temperature fluctuates in the unheated room between 25 and 90 degrees daily. Remarkably, onions, leeks and the cole crops do not seem bothered. I’m entertaining the possibility of putting a few onion seedlings right into the ground with a cozy hay mulch. I have so many — what could be the harm? I’m willing to sacrifice a few for the experiment. One year I put them out so early that they were still too tiny to withstand a heavy downpour. They literally floated away — poor things!

I’ve noticed three enormous patches of crocuses in my travels. Arrowhead Farm has an area between the house and greenhouse that has to be 30 or more feet around. Honestly, it looks like a small pond. Another is off the Dr. Finkelstein parking lot, and note the lawn full of them across from the Tisbury School near the state highway garage. I hope my groups of them get that large in my lifetime!

Sarah Palin — the gift that keeps giving. Just when I thought I couldn’t use her as material anymore, she makes her big performance at CPAC. She, like the others in her party, simply will not accept the fact that they lost to Barack Obama twice. Her Big Gulp moment was anything but amusing. The woman is remarkably fit and we know she doesn’t drink giant sugary drinks but has to get in Michael Bloomberg’s face.

Her birther and other innuendos drew crowd pleasure. Too bad, you couldn’t even finish your term, Governor! It’s terrifying to think she could have been a heartbeat away!