Okay, this is getting ridiculous

Four of five more inches of snow today, which made for slushy and slippery footing out on the streets. On top of the few feet of snow we've had so far, and the deep freezes, the alleys are rutted iceways that make for exciting navigation and very slow approaches to the intersections.

The photo above was taken Saturday, before the recent snow. Now the piles are more than two feet tall.

Anyway, I'm starting to think about the garden. If we could just get a couple weeks of mild weather, the snow will melt and we can get the first crop of spinach into the ground.

Back in the Sunshine State

Merry Christmas Eve!
I arrived back in Sarasota, FL yesterday, on a thankfully uneventful, and un-delayed flight. After Freddy was through seeing his psychiatric patients, we had a relaxing day of grocery shopping, watching The Planet Earth (a gift from Kevin and Carolyn), cooking, and gardening. Freddy made a Red and Green Winter Soup, loaded with kale (and I LOVE kale). Our garden feels truly complete now, with the addition of our new watering can, T-Runk. Tomorrow's Christmas dinner menu consists of left over soup, crab cakes, zucchini bread, and a mixed green salad straight from our lanai garden. We miss all you Barry's, but I have to admit I couldn't be happier in the warm Florida humidity.

Mystery Diagnosis Case

I am seeking the opinion of the polished botanists out there. Our unfortunate tomato plant, just days after suffering a major amputation, has come down with some sort of opportunistic infection. This pattern is found over about 25% of the plant's leaves. If anyone has seen this sort of blight before, we would appreciate your differential diagnosis and treatment plan. Thanks!