I am so looking forward to the smell of dirt and the lovely color of green. However, I remember my grandparents talking about how snow made a better garden so that keeps me optimistic. ( I started to say old-timers but then I remembered that that is me now. ) I am sure everyone is doing the same things I am doing: cooking, keeping pets and livestock warm and fed, cooking, cleaning, cooking, . . . I have enjoyed my dried apples, green beans, corn, sauer kraut, beets, banana peppers that I preserved last summer. It is certainly nice to find what I need in the basement pantry without going to the grocery store and I am sure my participants feel the same way. I feel more confident this year about the GROW program and can even look at the EXCEL Reporting Sheet without going week in the knees. Letters to participants went out this morning and I still have a few new slots to fill, but that won’t take long. I met with Ted Johnson, our extension agent, last week to plan our workshops for this year. He is a wonderful resource. Our first workshop is March 18th and we will talk about planting and planning. I want to get a more accurate number for garden sizes at this meeting and remind people to report their produce in pecks not pounds. We will also need soil samples. Fertilizer needs to be ordered soon and I might have that ready for pickup on the 18th if I can work out the logistics. Enjoy those seed catalogs!