When something is dull, I call it “January Dull”. Why? Just look outside most any day this month, if you are in the more Northern half of the hemisphere, and you may understand. Of any month in the year, this one is grey and blah. The holidays are over. It’s the FIRST full month of winter, and in the South, here, it’s the only REAL month of Winter. It gets cold, then warm, then really, really cold, an ice storm here or there, maybe even some snow.
There are many days that the sun is out shining brilliantly. Well, it’s not out long, the days are short, so it’s still a January Dull Day if it’s sunny. More darkness than light=D-U-L-L in my definition book.
Up North people are dreaming of Spring time. They’ve been doing that for awhile now, it’s been like Winter for them for a couple of months at least. Poor them, they’ll have to wait, many of them, until May, or June, for nice weather, planting the garden kind-of-weather. That comes to us some beginning in February, and much, much more in March and fully by April 1. And as for when did it end? Our first expected FROST is November 15, so gardens can easily go to the end of October every year, and beyond that too. Many ornamental plants are considered ANNUALS for they die in Winter. Not here. Dusty Miller lasts at least two years, growing that whole two years. It survives the Winter here. Even with freezing nights and cold days on end, or even a week of freezing all day and night. Good old Dusty Miller just keeps on puttin’ along. I planted some type of Iris last year. It never bloomed. And it’s still growing too. Some of it’s growth dies back every so often, and new shoots are coming up all the time. So it’s a year round resident to some degree as well. There’s some nice low growing grassy flowering thing growing in the bed I had planted wildflower in last summer. It’s so green, and that’s even with 20-degree weather.
So, it’s January Dull, and I wish it were brown, green, wet weather. I want to plant and see the garden seeds sprout their first day up. Even to wish I had some shade for the kitchen, as the summer sun beats hard against the southern wall, at least it’s bright. That January Dull Sun doesn’t do much heating on the southern wall. I wish the whole wall were glass in the winter, and brick in the summer. But even so, I’d give a dime for that lovely yellow summer sunshine. I do think I’ll appreciate it more this year. At least, this side of summer I’m thinking that 😉
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