Frozen!!

We are all anxious because there has been a freeze warning! So, of course all our yards look as if strange ghosts have appeared - our sheets and beach towels are covering our favorite plants. They are kept by clothespins from blowing away in the wind.

We have unearthed strange arrays of clothing layers Floridians wear in case of freezing in emergencies. Usually these are florals and plaids and/or really ugly reindeer sweaters that for months or years hide quietly in the back of our closets, discarded a few years back because they were so ugly and still are, but you have to keep them "just in case".  So, if you go to a local Walmart in Florida during cold weather, you'll see us, wearing that riot of stout colors..

No matter what the forecast says, we are looking forward to spring. There are azaleas blooming in our yards and buds are swelling.  At some point we can get back to shorts and flip flops.

Wherever I go there is small talk about local gardens, chicken trading, livestock issues and lots of comments about rural political concerns.  So different from my last past urban life!

Our community/school garden is doing well. Patty (one of the garden ladies) and I met early this morning at school before the cold front came in, and we spent a companionable hour weeding and checking and being entertained by the sandhill cranes who are in the vicinity in huge numbers. They have drilled hundreds of holes all around the garden, but they seem not to have wrecked any of the raised beds.

As the new semester unfolds we will continue to have our junior garden club meet after school. Looks like we'll have so many greens we can supply the Girls and Boys Club for a long time.  We also have the commitment from the Dade City Garden Çlub to fund ten kids to go to Camp Wekiva, a state ecology camp, for a week this next summer.

What's on my mind is thinking about what some of the folks who work so hard and generously on the community garden think about this "camp thing".  The Dade City Garden Club will fund ten camper ships, a deal I think is incredibly generous. (each one is worth $250 for a five day sleep-away camp experience.)

But we have more than ten kids in the garden club! And they are devoted kids. So how can we pick up the other six kids?

Interesting. Some of us say that everyone should be included - we'll find a way. Others say that kids should compete to get to the top and go to camp. But some think that kids cannot compete considering the dysfunction of their parents. Kids are not responsible for their parents! And the others say that this is tough love. The bottom line must be drawn.

I used to think that this was a Republican voice, mean spirited - but now I'm not so sure. I see so many good people who carefully think about how our democracy should be..

But I still think that we people who are the "haves" must take responsibility for the "have nots" and not be too judgmental, especially when it comes down to kids who have had no choice about who their parents are.

Still thinking (and freezing).