A bit of musing, music and seed-wish-listing for 2011

The snow is falling so softly and in huge clumpy flakes this morning. There is a muted rustle as the flakes fall into place on the patchily covered ground that is almost so quiet you could mistake it for the sound of blood in your ears. There is no wind which has made starting the fire difficult this morning, but it allows the snow to gracefully blanket any surface it comes in contact with. I'm hoping this will finish with another clean slate sort of snowfall so that I can once again look out around the yard and not cringe with the number of tasks that lay ahead of me.

Jeremy and I are listening to our new Decemberists album "The Hazards of Love" for the first time. My brother gave us the album for Christmas and so far it's pretty good. I tend to think of the Decemberists as storytellers. I have a hard time listening to their music and doing anything else at the same time. They have great historical influences and aesthetic, while remaining very solidly in the category of contemporary music. I know a lot of people disagree with my music tastes, but I think the only contemporary musician better at storytelling than the Decemberists is Joanna Newsom. She has a very intense, unique and sometimes grating voice, but there is something very colorful and equally intense about her lyrics. I love the contrast between her voice and her harp, and she is more eloquent and articulate than any modern songwriter.

Anyway, this morning my parents began their trek back to New Hampshire and I began transitioning back into my regular routine. I have loved having them both here, and it was nice to talk a bit of garden with my mom early this morning. She has been my gardening buddy since I was a kid, and since their move back in July I've found myself missing her whenever I'm planning the garden. It was great to have her around for the preliminary garden planning this morning, and I helped her figure out a less rigid plan for her 2011 square-foot garden.

So after my parents left I started some serious planning for the veggie garden over on the Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds web site, using their wish-list function. It's difficult to forge through their site and not just put everything in my shopping cart, so I've started using the wish-list to sort of digitally dogear the varieties I'm considering before committing to buying them. So far my wish list consists of:

Beets

• Crapaudine (what a great variety name!)
• Chioggia
• Bull's Blood
  

Beans

• Old Homestead
• Golden Wax
• Purple Podded
  

Broccoli

• Early Purple Sprouting

Brussel Sprouts

• Long Island Improved

Cabbage

• Early Jersey

Carrots

• Lunar White
• Cosmic Purple
  
• Atomic Red
• Parisienne
• St Valery
  

Cucumbers

• White Wonder
• Telegraph Improved
• Beit Alpha

Obviously I've only made it to the C's in their alphabetized list of vegetable seeds. I'll be sure to post my final list eventually.