Sunday, February 28, 2010

Cabin Fever and the Obligatory Countdown

 
The difference between cabin fever and a healthy outlook 
towards winter often hinges on your choice of hobbies.
Take Buddy, for instance. His idea of a good time is to watch and wait for the orchids to re-bloom. That takes about 6 months so winter boredom is not an issue for him...
  
I am considerably more productive. 
Not only am I watching the Orchids. 
I'm watching the Azaleas, the Cyclamen.....
And the African Violets, too.
 
And, I'm watching the countdowns. Hard to escape that info! Seems all of my garden buddies have installed cute little counters on their blogs ~ bragging up the fact that spring is just days away.

Which prompted me to create my own little widget. But, after I plugged in all of the pertinent details, and discovered it was still 90 days 'til planting season, I had a huge change of heart. Best to ignore this information. For at least another month, or two. :(

32 comments:

Amy said...

Your photos are stunning - you capture the season beautifully! Your new widgets are so funny!

We are also in a challenging climate for gardening, but in the opposite temperature range. We go from "Winter" to 100 plus temps overnight, and water is an issue as well. That means we garden in a "natural" style with lots of critters to join in the fun! It also means that many of our plants are basically "bonsaied."

I'm a relatively new reader of your blog and I do enjoy it immensely!

Melanie J Watts said...

Kate, my planting dates outside are the same as yours, suitably far off.

Kate/High Altitude Gardening said...

Thx, Amy;
That's very kind of you to say. Like you, I don't have a real springtime. It snows and snows and then boom! It's summer. We don't get 100+ temps, but water shortages are common. Thanks for stopping by. Heading over to visit your blog right now...

Kate/High Altitude Gardening said...

Hey, Melanie;
Are you starting any goodies indoors? I've started some of the bigger tomatoes from seed. Sweet Peas and Zinnia seedlings are also percolating nicely... I can't safely put those poor things in the ground until 5/31 so I may have zinnia flowers indoors!

Monica the Garden Faerie said...

So your cat and dog get along with one another? My James is terrified of dogs and Fiona has a rather low opinion of their intelligence. I try to get her to see some good points, but she won't, LOL! Love all your indoor plants. And you're right, the countdown is too depressing in the zones where we live!

Lona said...

Hi Kate. Your violets are so pretty and love your miniature roses blooming. House plants are wonderful in the winter and you have some beautiful blooms.
Lona

Kate/High Altitude Gardening said...

Hi, Monica -
My dog is afraid of cats so they have him right where they want him.

PS: Guess what I'm doing today :)) Researching all those free seeds I offered to give away now that you've alerted me to the fact that Dame's Rocket is a blinky no-no. Thanks for the tip. I think that's the only bad one so I'm working on a substitute.

donna said...

Did you hear me laughing out loud as I read this post? Your humor helps make this dreary weather go by faster.

donna

Kate/High Altitude Gardening said...

Thx, Lona;
As long as I can play in the dirt, one way or another, I generally have a smile on my face.

Kate/High Altitude Gardening said...

Hi, Wisconsin Girl!
Glad I could be of help. Perhaps we should take up ice fishing. The guys seem to love it... :))

Shady Gardener said...

Kate, This was a great photo - I also have an orchid with an outreaching branch (and buds!). ;-) I've never tried overwintering cyclamen and/or azaleas. Yours are beautiful! It's almost MARCH! :-)

Kate/High Altitude Gardening said...

Hi, Shady!!
I gotta tell ya -- I'm such a proud mama over that re-blooming orchid. I'd love to set up a live orchid cam, but since she takes for freaking ever to do anything that might bore everyone (but me) to tears! :D

Gail said...

Beautiful plants!

We are all counting down to spring!

Commonweeder said...

Those are wonderful widgets. I am counting down, too.

Noelle Johnson said...

Your widget is very funny...
I do love how African Violets continue to flower, ignorant of the seasons. I love my three by the kitchen window.

Killara girl said...

oh you photos are divine, the snowflakes, you cosy kittie, the lush colours.

Anonymous said...

How clever! Buddy is intensely following his hobby I see. What a hoot. Your own efforts look fabulous. The countdown to spring doesn't seem real, our winter here in southeast TN has been so much colder and so much more snow than ever recorded. 91 days to planting does seem daunting, best hide that one away. Good thing for your indoor hobby. :-)
Frances

joey said...

Oh yes, counting the days, dear Kate. It's sunny and the snow is melting ... I'm hopeful :) Welcome wonderful March!

kate smudges said...

Buddy has a great hobby. WIsh my cat took lessons and instead of knocking pots over took to waiting for flowers to appear. At this time of year, I try not to think too hard about how soon spring will take to arrive. (Still I have little frissons of excitement knowing that it isn't THAT far away.)

Kate/High Altitude Gardening said...

Thx, Gail! Have you been out on the ponies? Mine are pretty crazy after the long winter.

Hi, Common Weeder; I just wish the countdown could clip along a little quicker.

Hey, Noelle; My African Violets grace my kitchen window, too. Easier to keep an eye on them since they're so fussy...

Thx, Shelle! I really enjoyed your post this morning.

Hi, Frances; Your fabulous tribute to Dr. Seuss had me repeating the lines to red fish, blue fish all morning long!

Hey, Joey; Loved that Daffodil shot today! Such a cheery flower...

Not too far away, Kate. FYI, dear Buddy is no saint. He was staring at the big orchid bud trying to act innocent but I know in his heart he wanted to bat the heck out of it. :)

Gail said...

Kate, I am so taken with your sidebar photos of the crocus popping out of the snow...Beautiful photos and a promise of spring! We rarely have snow cover so the challenge to our garden plants is to survive plummeting temps after warm days.
gail
clay and limestone

sweetbay said...

91 days -- oooo, that's cruel.

You have a lot blooming in your house though. I would be worried if one of my cats was staring at an orchid, because it would be followed shortly by a pounce. lol What is the beautiful purple and white flower?

Brad said...

Sorry to hear spring is so far away for you. At least you have all of those bursts of color in the house. Spring is already here, where I live, but I'm on the coast. Makes a big difference.

Kate/High Altitude Gardening said...

Hi, Gail; I imagine every bulb in my garden has popped her head up to flower in springtime, greeted by drifts of snow. What a disappointment for them! But it's not a bad thing. As you said, the snow makes a great thermal blanket for flowers in winter.

Hi, Sweet Bay! That blue and white flower is an African Violet.

Hey, Brad; I've been enjoying the springtime pictures on your blog. Makes peering out on my drifts of snow slightly more bearable. :)

Rose said...

LOL, Kate; yes, just because the calendar says it's spring doesn't mean the days will suddenly be warm and sunny:) In Illinois, I don't feel "safe" until the first of May. Looks like you have lots of indoor blooms to keep you partially satisfied until you can get outside in the garden.

Cynthia Oakes said...

Beautiful pictures, as always. I love your widget. Helps me realize I've got a little time left to plan my first ever UT garden. Cheers!

Kate/High Altitude Gardening said...

Hi, Rose!
May always feels like spring here, too. But, I've learned my lesson. I'll get some lovely 80 degree days and then the Memorial Day snow storm. Right about the time we're all setting up our tents to go camping. :)

Hi, Cynthia;
Here's to your first UT garden. If you want some tips just drop me a line.

Will said...

Wow! Orchids, African Violets, AND a cat. How do you manage that? Our cats are always getting into the houseplants as if they think they are small enough to use it as a litter box. Fortunately they don't, just make a mess pulling out some dirt.

Carol said...

Love that first photo Kate! All your photos look gorgeous with your background color! We are still in snow here too and spring is off in the future somewhere. Sweet kitty! ;>)

Iron Needles said...

I was just thinking how many days I had left until serenity returned. 90? Really? Can't we fudge a few?

Wendy said...

wow, you've got a lot going on indoors. 15 days till spring? Wow!

Anonymous said...

I think you'll want to place a twitter icon to your site. I just marked down this blog, although I had to do it manually. Simply my advice.