The Dead of Winter

This is the time of year that we here in Saskatchewan start yearning desperately for an end to winter.I think one of the biggest triggers is the arrival of the torturous seed catalogues. Pictures of happy,warm vegetables in homey baskets looking all pest-free and fabulous, they rely on our having forgotten last year's tomatoes with stem rot and mildewy pea plants. No,with a seed catalogue order you are buying a dream." This year I will can tomatoes" you say to yourself,forgetting that in August you don't WANT to can tomatoes, you just want to sit in the shade and read a book. Those seed catalogue people know what they're doing,sending those magazines in February,and it's not just because it's time to put in your order,either.