i'm dreaming of...

--Dirt under my fingernails
--The tractor without a snowblower attachment
--Flip flops
--Floppy hats
--Fresh herbs and veggies to pick for dinner
--The back door hanging open
--Green grass
--The smell of warm air
--Eating dinner outdoors
--Flowers blooming
--Leaves on the trees
--Butterflies

too cold to snow!

i will consider myself the luckiest person ever to have lived if i get to move somewhere that it can never get too cold to snow. that sentence just makes me want to reach into the tv screen and do things to the weather guy's neck that one person should never think of doing... even worse, sometimes it just makes me want to cry. i am officially in hibernation until it's above freezing. if anyone needs me, i'll be bundled up, in my home, warm and snug. there is no way you're getting me to go out there.

who ordered this stuff?

okay, now this is soooo the opposite of what i had in mind for today! if i didn't usually have 73 different projects going on around the house and friends to hang out with in the evenings, i might have actually seen some teevee and had a clue that this was mother nature's plan for the day.

nope, i had no idea... complete surprise. don't get me wrong, it's pretty, but it's not my 1st choice for today's weather.

If this keeps up, our house will be camouflaged.

This is all fine and good, and you know it's going to be a lovely mixture of rain/sleet/freezing rain at around 6:00 when we have a meeting we must be at. I'm so excited just thinking about getting all dressed up for this.
When i close my eyes and dream, these images don't ever cross my mind for some reason... call me crazy. how could i not want to be here as opposed to a beach with the sun shining on it with temps in the 80s. i hate wishing the days away, but blech. it's so cold and wet. well, i guess i can't put off bathing any longer. must get ready for this evening. stay warm!

site updates

I've added some additional links on the right column. Last week's weather was simply gorgeous here in South Central Pennsylvania. I couldn't help but dream of Spring and working on this site helps to feed my spring cravings. In order to keep this site going and not have it become a burden on my pocketbook, the additions on the right are affiliate-link related. Specifically Amazon.com. All the books that are listed, I do own and I do love. There will never be any books added that I don't own and highly recommend myself. They are also in the order of my favorites.

A Resources page was also added to The Butterfly Farmer site this past week. The lists are short at the moment, but I'm working on more and if you have a site you'd like to submit, please feel free to do so. I will also trade links with other relevant blogs here on this page.

butterfly garden plans

Okay, so it's the beginning of January, but now is a great time to start planning some new gardens and thinking about any changes that might be needed in any established gardens. I still have a ton of cleaning up to do in most of my gardens and much clearing in the monarch butterfly garden. The weather here was so nice all the way through Fall that the plants (although leggy and not looking good any longer) didn't die until well into late November/early December. Since it isn't good to cut back flowers until they are dead, I'll have that much more work in the Spring.

If you don't get catalogs, start ordering them now. You can also browse their sites for inspiration and some pre-ordering. It won't be long before it's time to sow seeds. I'm going to be busy planning my drying garden. I need more dried flowers for my wreaths than I grow now and I end up chopping down flowers for drying that are in gardens around the house and driveway. The soil needs one more tilling in Spring, but the plot is ready to go. There will also be more room for veggies and herbs! YAY!!