The winter gardening has commenced. Bags of mulch line the back porch ready to create the world’s largest cat box. Just kidding. The garden along the back porch is looking sparse and need refreshing. I’ll spread it this morning. It shouldn’t take long. It’s just the nice steady sort of work that helps pass time and makes the house look nice. I also started pulling up dead grass in a couple of spots where I don’t really want grass, live or dead, to grow. It’s pretty easy. The ground is soft from the recent rain but could use more. You can really sense the dryness when you turn the dirt deep.

The biggest job I always face each winter is deadheading the dormant plants such as the Turks caps and lantana. Usually, my late wife handled that chore and it typically happened when I was in Houston working. I used to contend that no one trimmed back in nature. She never really offered a counter argument. She just trimmed them. I finally concluded it improved the look of the garden. That may be a rationalization of the sort that often happens during marriage. And if it is. So be it. I’ll trim and be happy to do it. I may do some of that this week as well.

The back lots, which got a close grass cutting courtesy of my son, are showing signs of bluebonnets. Walking around looking at them makes gray wet cold days seem less gray wet and cold. I also noticed bluebonnets in the mulch beneath the big peach tree by the workroom. Those will refresh the kitchen window views this spring. Seeing sprouts of the state flower serves as a reminder that one should take advantage of the dormant days to get work done because spring will soon be upon us followed closely by summer and heavy days of heat. I always try to be a person able to take a hint, although I fear that may only be my strong suit when it comes to gardening.

 John W. Wilson is the author of The Long Goodbye: A Caregiver’s Tale