“As the days begin to lengthen, the cold begins to strengthen.” - old time folk saying shared by a friend on February 2nd

It appears that the old timers are spot on this year, at least in our area. We have more snow in the forecast for the coming week than we've had all winter, and high temps predicted to be in the teens with lows in the single digits or below zero. (Meanwhile, my southern friends are sharing photos of their spring flowers in bloom.)

I'm not exactly looking forward to more cold, but we can use the precipitation. The water level in the ponds dropped over winter, leaving the ice on top oddly concave. That's the first time I've seen that happen. The ground was bare and awfully dry for much of the winter, which is hard on overwintering plants. We've had some wicked winds, too, which sucks even more moisture out of everything.

I feel like I've been doing "push ups for my brain" lately, trying to wiggle in time for book writing in addition to other tasks. I find that I don't tolerate sitting for longer periods as well as I used to (given that sitting zaps your metabolism, this is probably a good thing to note). I've been taking more exercise breaks and getting back to resistance training and breathing exercises. Duncan and I have started doing tai chi, too.

As much as modern society loves to compartmentalize everything, it's important to remember that everything is connected. Keeping your body active helps to keep your brain active. Helping to lift someone else's spirits often helps to lift your own spirits. The physical act of planting seeds may also help you plant new ideas and goals in your mind.

Speaking of planting new ideas, I'm join other experienced gardeners to bring you the 2025 Spring Garden Summit.

• The Spring Gardening Summit will run from February 24-27, 2025
• Each day will be packed with amazing speakers who are ready to help you learn the skills to grow more successfully, preserve your harvests, attract pollinators, and so much more!
• There is a pop-up Facebook group where you can connect with other attendees, ask the speakers questions, win prizes, and more!
• The summit is absolutely free to attend, but you can choose to grab the Gardener’s Success Kit for ongoing access to presentations, bonus resources and an upgraded event experience.

The Gardener’s Success Kit is currently available at a special price, and it will disappear once the summit is over, so start thinking about it now!

You’ll get all the details and a special offer once you grab your free ticket to the Spring Gardening Summit here.

My presentation, "How to Get Rid of Your Toughest Garden Pests" is on day 2.

​Grab your free ticket and join me and 20+ gardening experts for a one of a kind event that will help you to have your most successful season yet!

Helping you create resilience and abundance,

Laurie (and August IV, August V, and Duncan)

P.S. - Don't forget about Herbal Academy Virtual Herbalism Conference February 16 -21! As a fun addition to the conference, they've added an Herbal Self-Love giveaway.

One lucky winner will receive:

The Sacred Heart Kit from Anima Mundi, an exquisite collection of aphrodisiac and mood-elevating herbal blends to awaken your senses

A FREE Introductory Herbal Course and textbook set (or $550 course credit) from Herbal Academy, guiding you deeper into the art of herbalism and self-care

​Enter to win by February 9th (tomorrow) here, or register to watch the free conference here.

This week's featured articles...

When I saw my friends down south showing off their daffodils, I knew I needed to make time to freshen up the Common Sense Home Garden Planner. I ended up completely revamping it and adding lots of new pages, plus two different covers (so you could choose your favorite) and a binder edge labels for your 3 ring binder.

With the Super Bowl this weekend and February being National Snack Month (as if we need such a thing), watch for sales on "snack" foods. While we avoid a lot of what's out there, you may still be able to find deals on foods like avocadoes, which are useful for more than snacking. Ripe avocadoes freeze well, so if you end up with more than you can use right away, simply chop them up and freeze them for later.

It's also citrus season, so watch for deals on oranges and other citrus. You may can citrus for later use. Check out our canning instructions here. Home canned oranges are so much tastier than their commercial counterparts.

If you have Azure Standard in your area, my friend Dorothy said that she ordered some of the organic oranges in January and they were wonderful. Her toddler typically gets a sore bottom from regular oranges, but she was able to eat the Azure oranges with no issues.

For a not so sweet treat for Valentine's Day (or any day), check out these chocolate chip cookie dough truffles. Another family favorite is these super easy to make brownies.

Just one more thing! (I promise!) This past week I read about a study that "showed that the elderberry juice reduced participants’ blood glucose levels by an average of 24%, indicating a significantly improved ability to process sugars following carbohydrate consumption. Results also showed a 9% decrease in insulin levels."

If you think that you might like to add elderberries to your yard, check our our elderberry growing guide. Drinking plain elderberry juice might not be for everyone, but once you get used to the flavor, it's okay. Remember, it's best to heat process your elderberries to break down the compounds in them that can cause stomach upset and other issues. We used our steam juicer last year and that worked quite well.

If you want to be on the lookout for wild plants, check out our elderberry foraging guide.