The phone rang at a little after six this morning. My husband grumbled and started to complain as we heard a voice trickle into the bedroom. I reminded him, "Sweetie, she's probably on the East Coast, awake, and ready to go."

Sure enough, she was.

My new-found friend is taking a horticultural course and wanted to get one of my miniature garden kits as a project for her final for the class. It was wonderful talking to her. We laughed and joked like old friends. I wanted to get together with her at that very moment, go for coffee and compare notes.

Because, she said, they talk about us. A lot.

Huh?

Barbara is from Maine, where it was currently 10 degrees. Everything is frozen in time and, although they have their White Pines and Spruces, most of their forests and native trees are deciduous. Right now, everything is gray and dormant.

She mentioned that Seattle is often talked about, being the Evergreen State, (and no doubt there's not much to talk about over there right now) and used as a comparison to their forests. Seattle is considered a true garden hub in other parts of the world. I forgot I knew that.

And, I forget how lucky we are sometimes.

This frigid weather, the snow over the holidays, the lack of sunshine, and, can I mention the freezing temperatures again just because it's freezing? It really puts a damper on things for us here in Seattle.

Normally we're out in the garden, even at this time of year, pruning, clipping and getting rid of those winter weeds. Last year, at about this time, I was out working in the garden and heard the Robin's call for spring, yes, in January. But not this week. When the ground is frozen our garden plans are frozen, too.

And, still, they talk about us.

So, I'm going to do my best to smile my way through this freeze. I'll patiently wait for my plants to thaw and wear all my sweaters at once. And when it does thaw I will get back into my garden and carry on regardless.

And, give them something to talk about.

Visit Janit's Web site; http://www.TwoGreenThumbs.com. Her online store is http://www.shop.TwoGreenThumbs.com. info@TwoGreenThumbs.com, 206-352-0494.