Explosion of Red

What a difference in a day.  This morning the two blossoms are 80% open and looking smashingly RED.  Well worth the many weeks of waiting.  And this is only the first flower stalk.  I have two more to enjoy as the weeks of March move toward Spring.

Our Sunday garden column had an interesting bit of news.  Maine is rated fifth in all of the states for the rise in warmth due to global warming.  Which is why we actually have Spring now.  When we moved here 20 plus years ago there was summer (the Fourth of July), fall and winter.  The month or so before "summer" was called "mud season" and was cold, wet and stinky.  Really.  It smelled BAD.

Now, May and June are an absolute joy to behold.  Unless it rains for most of June as it did last year.   But, last year, customers at the greenhouse were dressed in shorts and flip flops in April.  Awesome. Pretty soon Maine will be the most climate comfortable state in the US.  No 90's or 100's in summer and a short but snowy winter (great skiing) plus the bonus of a gorgeous Fall.  Perhaps we will finally have more than 1.25M people in the state.  Yep.  That's how many of us live here.

I have to go out to the grocery as I have nothing (which isn't frozen solid) to make into dinner. I have a desire to make a huge pot of meatballs and marinara.  And I am thinking about buying a package of boneless chicken thighs and making a curry.  And some eggplant to bread and fry up for lunches or eggplant parm.  Big cooking day.  And I can freeze what we don't eat.  I also need to make G a new dessert.  He finished the giant New York cheesecake last night.  Maybe a carrot cake.  I don't think I have ever tried to make one without a mix.  I think I will start making a list of what I need.  Get out of my pj's and get going.