Rutabagggies!

The forecast called for frost

I thought tonight

the remains of the garden

would be lost

but once again it's not too cold

I love having a garden. I started gardening in Oshkosh back in the early eighties when I lived in the octagon shaped house on Pleasant street.

I grew tomatoes next to the garage, got addicted.

This year we planted rutabagas for the first time, and they were happy.

Freakin' huge, but very happy as this pile of pixels shows.

I still don't understand people who don't plant gardens, because it's real food for next to nothing, and you get to plant all sorts of freaky stuff like castor beans, giant sunflowers and rainbow chard.

After a few seasons of watching stuff go from dirt high to frozen dead, growing as tall as 15 feet, then dying, you start to get an sense that these solar cycles we're taking for granted are a gift.

Plus, it feels good to have a basement full of salsa, tomato sauce, squash, jam and grape juice you made yourself, and a freezer stuffed with bags of hops to make beer with.