Bye bye manuscript!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh.. I just sent off the manuscript for my book to my editor at Storey Publishing.. finally. (Hence - the cheerful flower photo!) What a lovely moment, but I'm not unaware that in some ways, the work is just beginning. For the next 10 months, there will be edits, re-writes, layouts and another winter photo shoot.. then, I'll be hitting the promotional trail in the late winter and spring of 2012.. yet, what an experience!

I'm very thankful for all the encouragement and endless support of my family and friends, plus the fellow garden lovers who have allowed me to peek into their edible paradises and learn a little more..

You'd think on a day like this, the sun would come out.. no such luck! It's still raining and I've lost count of how many days of continuous rain this is.. Yet, I'm not complaining, as the temperature is a mild 11 C and the plants are doing well.. even though the deer visited a few nights ago and nibbled on the carrot tops and baby lettuces.. I can't wait to get the new garden fence up in spring - we're going to do a better job this time - renting a post digger and putting in stronger supports and better netting. It would be so nice to know that the deer can't get in the garden, instead of looking out each morning wondering if they came and what they ate.

It's another busy week - I'm off to the Mahone Bay Garden Club on Thursday evening to chat about late season colour in the garden and this past weekend I was down in picturesque Great Village for a talk on kitchen gardening.

Soon, it will be time to start thinking about ordering seed catalogues and I'll post a list in the coming weeks of my favourite websites and catalogues.. yet, as I start plan next season, I still have tasks to do in the garden now - plant more garlic, seed more winter greens (arugula, spinach, mache) and re-erect the mini hoop tunnels that I had to take down last week in the crazy wind.

I love being a gardener!

Happy Gardening!