Having grown up in the Great White North, I find myself, at this time of year especially, longing for the guilt-free excuse of staying indoors, sipping pipping-hot cocoa, and being enchanted by the starkness of a snowy landscape. But, here, even in the Foothills of North Georgia, the growing season hasn't really ended, just ask Miss Blackberry, who even now, is protesting the fact the calendar, even the Sun declination itself, is proclaiming "It's Winter!" Miss Blackberry doesn't mind these voices, her ear is tuned to the reverberating pulses of heat through the crystal blue sky to the dark soil. She hears the Thermometer chime out, "It's 50 degrees and all is well!"
Tomorrow night's temperatures will cause some quaking, but will she allow it to affect her? Miss Blackberry went through the deep chill in November (we had a low reading of 14F) without much of a set-back. I'm praying she'll be singing a goodnight lullaby this week, so that we can give her a winter cutback without weakening the lot.
The other Berry Ladies don't quite agree with Miss Blackberry. Madame Blueberry settled into winter's rest, and allowed a gentle pruning, yielding up the excess canes and twigs yesterday, a gorgeous, shirt-sleeve of a day. Many-a swelling bud was pruned off, in hopes to leave the survivors all the more juice and energy to grow big and SWEET!
The Ladies Raspberry are reluctantly complying to Winter's Rest. The Summer-bearers were pruned after they fruited, and are ready for Spring to awaken them. The Fall-bears are slower to rest, but will soon have to submit to a Winter pruning, removing all of the canes, so that they can put their energy into NEW canes, yielding sugary berries in the cool of Autumn.
Tomorrow night's temperatures will cause some quaking, but will she allow it to affect her? Miss Blackberry went through the deep chill in November (we had a low reading of 14F) without much of a set-back. I'm praying she'll be singing a goodnight lullaby this week, so that we can give her a winter cutback without weakening the lot.
The other Berry Ladies don't quite agree with Miss Blackberry. Madame Blueberry settled into winter's rest, and allowed a gentle pruning, yielding up the excess canes and twigs yesterday, a gorgeous, shirt-sleeve of a day. Many-a swelling bud was pruned off, in hopes to leave the survivors all the more juice and energy to grow big and SWEET!
The Ladies Raspberry are reluctantly complying to Winter's Rest. The Summer-bearers were pruned after they fruited, and are ready for Spring to awaken them. The Fall-bears are slower to rest, but will soon have to submit to a Winter pruning, removing all of the canes, so that they can put their energy into NEW canes, yielding sugary berries in the cool of Autumn.
