Book Signing Season / Gardening Season

 Book Signing Season is Here!

I have come to adore book signing season. It's a time to meet people, talk books, and hang out with my author friends, The Wandering Wordsmiths (You can join The Wandering Wordsmiths Readers Group here to stay on top of all the news!).

My first signing of the season will be at Books End Bookshop in Syracuse, NY. I hope you'll come see me and chat about writing and your favorite reads...and maybe pick up a gift for Mom, since Mother's Day is the next day! (Last-minute shopper? I got you covered. 😁)

If you're interested in checking me out at any of the scheduled events this year, you can see the whole list at https://www.nickigreenwood.com/news/index.html#events.

Gardening Season!

I'm also just as excited about gardening season, and have been patiently placating myself with a bevy of house plants, some of which you can see at https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.421398597896313&type=3.

I've already visited my favorite local greenhouse and picked out some plants, but it's still too chilly at night to keep them outside. While I wait (not so patiently), I will put them out during the day, then bring them in at night to protect them from the chill.

The USDA adjusts the map of its growing zones every ten years or so. What's a growing zone? Simply a map of the average climate conditions in your area, which helps you predict what plants will thrive where you live. The higher the zone number, the hotter your zone and the longer your growing season, so plants that thrive in Zone 8, for example, will do very poorly if kept outside year-round (and probably die) in Zone 3.

The growing zone in my neck of the woods was changed last year from 5B to 6A. That doesn't seem like much of a difference, but our conditions have warmed just enough to make it more habitable for certain plants. For example, I have finally managed to grow lavender with some reliability! I have used it for cooking and scented sachets, and because I love the scent so much it makes me extra happy.

The rule of thumb is not to plant outside until around Mother's Day, when nighttime temperatures are reliably above freezing. So...we wait. Not quite patiently.

If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, Happy Spring!

To Resolve or Not to Resolve?

Happy New Year!

 

How is it possible that it's 2024 already? The holidays have gone by in what seems like a rush, and Greenwood House has settled in for winter. Normally, I want to hibernate with the rest of the world here in NY, but it's also a time for planning and preparing. The Wandering Wordsmiths will soon be gearing up for this year's book signing season, so watch for new places where you can meet us.

 

 

I'll be winter sowing some plants soon for gardening in the spring. Here in NY, anything you can do to get a jump on the growing season is a good thing! Our growing zone was recently changed when the USDA redid their maps, which happens every ten years or so. We went from 5B to 6A, which isn't much, but my rosemary and sage are still going in the raised bed, if you can believe it. For now, I have cuttings taken from most of my herbs, as well as some grocery store parsley and scallions, that are awaiting the return of spring.

Making Your Plan

A lot of people make New Year's resolutions: quit smoking, start exercising, do that thing you've been putting off. Mine is, as always, to get a book out the door. THE GINGERBREAD SHRED made it out in time for Christmas, so it's time to turn my attention to other projects. I'm taking this month to rest, but come February, I'll be working on the sequel to FREAK FRAT and hoping to get it nailed down.

The truth is, you don't need to wait for January 1st to make a resolution. You can do it any year, month, week, day, or hour you want. And if you slip and have a cheeseburger on a gym day, that's okay. Just keep resolving. You don't even need to call it a resolution. Sometimes naming it as a resolution or promise puts the idea in your mind that once it's broken, you've lost. Maybe just call it a change or process. The occasional slip won't break you. It's just a step in the process.

The sequel to FREAK FRAT has been a years-long undertaking, and that's okay, too. Sometimes stories need time to marinate. I need to trust the steps in the process, too. Whatever you decide to do with your new year, I hope it's a good one. Happy New Year, and happy reading!