A Touch of Snow

 

Monday the 17th, we woke up to THIS INCREDIBLE SNOW!! And I even got out to take pictures in it.

COVID Update and Commentary

COVID is surging in Tennessee again, and Governor Lee has leaned into the narrative that everyone needs to simply not worry about the virus and let it burn itself out, adamantly refusing to re-declare a state of emergency which would allow school systems and municipalities across the state to implement mask mandates. Our legislature, duty-bound to Tennessee's evangelical population to exploit crises in the advancement of extreme political position, has declared COVID officially over and continues its attack on public education, public health, public assistance, and anything which might be deemed helpful or beneficial to anyone or any thing that isn't white, conservative, and fundamentally Christian.

As of today, Tennessee has the highest COVID death rate per capita in the United States, and Jack watches the obituaries for Smithville and McMinnville daily, speculating about who died of COVID and who didn't die of COVID. 

Our new normal is weird.

Bounty from the Garden

These pictures are from a few weeks ago when the fall garden was living its best life. 

We grew a GREAT crop of broccoli and expected to just "eat some along" throughout colder weather until the temperatures really dipped, but our weather was amazingly warm - in the mid-70s for the stretch of days through Christmas - and crowns started rotting on the vine. Boom! In a matter of days, our nearly perfect broccoli overshot ideal ripeness and started getting soft and mushy in the middle. DOH! We picked every bit of it, sharing with Mom, Dad, the Vernons, and the neighbors and eating lots of it ourselves. 

Steamed. Soup. Sheet pan dinner. 

We'd hoped we'd get another picking or two of sideshoots, but as quickly as the temperatures rose to the 70s, it plunged to less than 15, and the broccoli was finito. 

The bok choy was a slightly different scenario and tolerated both warm and cold better than other things in our garden, and was cold hearty even through a dusting of snow. We did finally pick the remaining dozen or so heads last week before the super-cold weather and still have a handful in the fridge. 

Our "regular cabbage" never grew that well but is hanging in through whatever weather we have in heads ranging in size from tennis ball to softball. They're mild and tender and taste great quartered and roasted on a sheetpan.