Using the Harvest

It is the middle of December and I still have some of these wonderful tomatoes left to eat from last summer’s garden. This variety is Golden Treasure and keeps really well.

The potatoes are slowly but surely getting eaten. So far they are storing well in this potato bin.

The onions are almost gone. Soon I will have to buy some. Wish I had enough to last me through the winter but I don’t.

I do have enough tomato sauce frozen to get me through the winter. And using home grown garlic, home grown peppers which I froze and the last of my onions I made shrimp creole this week. I also used some parsley that I dried and I snipped a couple of bay leaves off the bay plant that I haven’t managed to kill yet. This is a great recipe.

1 ½ cups chopped onion
1 cup finely chopped celery
2 medium green peppers, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
15 ounces tomato sauce
¼ cup butter or margarine
1 cup water
2 teaspoons snipped parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne red pepper
2 bay leaves, crushed
14 to 16 ounces fresh or frozen cleaned raw shrimp
3 cups hot cooked rice

Cook and stir onion, celery, green pepper and garlic in butter until onion is tender. Remove from heat; stir in tomato sauce, water and seasonings. Simmer uncovered 10 minutes. Add water if needed.

Stir in shrimp. Heat to boiling. Cover and cook over medium heat 10 to 20 minutes or until shrimp are pink and tender. Serve over rice. 6 servings.

Green Point Nature Center in Saginaw Michigan

Green Point Nature Center is a great place to cross country ski in the winter. Get there at the right time of day and you will see plenty of wildlife.



And yes,de Tocqueville did visit here, so you can think that you are skiing in the footsteps of history as well.

Okay, I know that the following pictures of some of the deer I saw at the Nature Center this morning seem a bit remote from the world of gardening. And you may be asking yourself, what the heck?

Well, other than the fact that I am glad the deer live at the Nature Center and not in my backyard, no, this doesn't have much to do with gardening. Deer may be majestic and regal, but not when they eat the hostas down to the ground. So I, for one, am thankful for the Nature Center as it provides a nice home for these beautiful creatures which leaves my garden in peace. I am always happy to have one less pest to worry about as there are already quite a few I deal with.

What is the difference between poison ivy and grape vines? If I remember correctly, the poison ivy has all the hair and the grape vines don't. So I didn't touch the plant growing up the tree with the red mark.



The Tittabawassee River is now frozen over. At least I assume it is as a deer must have crossed it recently. I decided to stay on my side though and will just drive over to the Shiawassee Wildlife Refuge when I am ready to ski there.

So this is what a gardener in Michigan does in the winter. Ski, ski and ski some more. I know many people don't much like snow, but heck, I need a break from all the digging and Michigan is good at giving it to me.

The Garden in Winter

The garden can be a beautiful place once the snow starts to fall. Planting evergreens such as Arbor vitae and Boxwood will give you that Christmas look at the right time of year. If you leave your ornamental grasses uncut until spring they will give you additional winter interest. I took these pictures this morning which was the first serious snow we have received this year. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!