Warm January

What a difference El Nino makes! This date last year we had a high of about 43 degrees, right now it's sunny and already over 50 degrees!

In fact the weather has been so good this January, I've been able to get half of my veggie beds cleared of weeds already. And the weather reports indicate that I'll be able to finish the job this week. Usually, we'll have a good week in February, when I'll try to get it all done before the shot-weed flowers. I'll put in hours a day, and my back and arms will ache for a week. This year, hopefully I'll get all the beds weeded out before shot weed becomes an issue. The extended run of sun (or at least warm, dry weather) is allowing me to tackle the job in small increments, a half hour or hour a day.

I've also been able to get some exercise in. Last year's Bloomsday made me realize that I'm too old and out of shape to try and do it cold. So I started at the beginning of the month walking 15 minutes a day, and added 10% each week. If I keep it up, I'll be doing about an hour a day two weeks before Bloomsday.

Why am I starting with only 15 minutes? Last year I really wasn't all that well, and I've come to realize that I'm in really lousy shape. If I try to do 30 minutes right off the bat, it's too much, body parts start to hurt and I quit after a couple of weeks. So right now I'm establishing a habit. I told myself that anyone can walk for 15 minutes, it won't totally kill me or use up so much time during the day. Now I'm up to 18 minutes, and will do 20 minutes starting Friday.

So far, so good. January has become the month to get my self and my veggie garden in shape.