Mild Winter

A nice benefit of the mild winter we've been having in Washington, DC is that the middle of January is not too late to plant bulbs. It might be too late for anything to grow from the bulbs, but that is an open question that will be answered in the spring.

I planted bulbs for the first time last year -- tulips and daffodils, I believe. The bulbs were like a secret I kept with the earth. All winter long, my front yard and I shared conspiratorial glances, savoring the surprise we had in store for the people walking by our house towards the metro or the bus stop.

In the end, it wasn't much of a show. It certainly paled in comparison to the obvious parallel in our life: the gestating Boy.

But with the baby and a hectic work schedule late last fall -- I still had my day job then -- I never got a chance to put the backyard "to bed" for winter. Looking out the window to see large clay pots filled with the blasted husks of dead tomato plants and withered pepper bushes was getting on my nerves. And the volunteer pumpkin plants that dominated the small backyard all summer had rotted back to reveal wet clay underneath. And the dog poop. We're talking about a 500 s.f. backyard, so it was all getting to be a bit much.

It's amazing what you can accomplish when you know your baby's nap will only last 25 more minutes.