Christa Snaps

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January 6th, 2011

Yesterday I got a little (okay, A LOT) grouchy from sitting at my computer and at my desk—just ask Gavin and Nancy.  This morning on the way to work I made a side trip to the Rodale farm for some fresh air. The same old cold chilly January greeted me when I got out of the car, but I grudgingly admit the frost looked very pretty on the lawn.

The dirt/potting mix/growing/life/soil smell inside the greenhouse brought me, well, back to earth. I took off my wool coat and scarf and wandered a slow loop. Ah, moist air and sunlight!

This place will be jam packed in a couple of months, but right now the flats are full of lettuce, microgreens, chard, and coleus cuttings–a mix of purple and green.

This mini field trip got me thinking about other winter escapes I could make—the Fernery at Morris Arboretum, a trip to Longwood Gardens—but this morning’s detour on the way to work was a good break. Even the outdoors looked more sunny and cheerful when I left to head to the office.

Tags: Emmaus, farm, fresh air, greenhouse, greens, grow, January, photos, soil

January 3rd, 2011

It’s a new year and I’m back in the office after a long winter’s nap. It is COLD today, which is why I saw the seasonal curling of my rhododendron leaves. Normally I would panic and think the plant was dying, but I’ve learned a thing or too from my Organic Gardening stock searches.

Rhododendron leaves curl up into tight little cigars to reduce the amount of exposed leaf surface—it protects the leaves from drying winds. The editors told me this is called “transpiration”. I took a couple of pictures of the curled leaves, then I too curled up tight and headed to work.

Tags: cold, January, observation, PA, plant, rhododendron, transpiration