Hard News

Environment Canada reports that the spring will be unusually cold and unusually wet.  That would make it pretty much the same as winter, I'd think.  But the dividing point is March 1, so I guess we are now doing the unusually wet and cold spring.  The crocuses continue to hesitate to bloom.  There's color, but they're still locked up.  The daffs are up and with big buds but showing no signs of opening.  Probably cut them and force them indoors.  The rhododendrons look permanent frozen into a limp shape.  It will be sad to see, I guess later this month, what plants that usually make it through the winter haven't.  Amazingly, the parsley in a pot on the deck is still looking pretty much like living parsley, though much reduced in size.

Eventually, I suppose, we will give up obsessing about the weather, either because it improves or because we have been rendered speechless.

The community market is rumbling back into life.  It had a surprise one-day opening in February.  Surprise because the plan after the November occasion was to let it rest until Easter.  But, not.  New people in charge anxious to force its growth (probably not as easy as bringing daffodil buds into the warm house).  The February event (we attended only as shoppers) was pretty sparsely attended by other shoppers as far as I could tell, probably because all the potential shoppers were either at home hugging their warm clothes and stoves or standing in line at the parcel delivery places.

One new entry was the new enterprise, Sagewood Farms, which plans to raise edibles and sell them by subscription. (Their website is a work in progress only at this time, however.)  Subscription sales (you pay for a weekly or biweekly delivery of whatever is ripening) works other places; might work here, although the perpetually on-the-move nature of the Point Roberts population might make it a little dicey.  The Sagewood people came armed with many kale quiches which were all for sampling, and very tasty.  Maybe they should sell quiche by subscription?

The current plan is for the community market to come to life again on March 19th.  We'll be sellers again that day and see how it goes.  Of course, if it's unusually cold and/or wet, probably too early to attract many buyers.  Did I mention how problematic the weather has been?