Happy February everyone!  I hope you have all been keeping as warm as possible. The cold weather has been relentless and I’m tired of the daily challenge of keeping my car on the road to get to work.  Groundhog Day is right around the corner so hopefully Wiarton Willie will predict an early spring.

One good thing about this cold weather is the possibility of the destruction of emerald ash borer and gypsy moth larvae due to the extreme temperatures.  Let’s keep our fingers crossed. It may not stop them completely but there’s hope that they’ll at least be reduced in numbers.

January’s general meeting had a great turnout considering how cold it was. We had a few experts from our membership field questions about gardening.  Thank you so much to Judy Jeffery, Beth Powell, Marlene Link and Pauline Bradford for being our “panel of experts”.  We will definitely have to do this again sometime.

The line-up of guest speakers for this year is exciting.   Check the list of “up-coming events” to see who is scheduled or visit our website.  February’s speaker is Dan Cooper, author and master gardener.  He is promoting his new book “Gardening from the Hammock”.  March’s speaker is going to be Jackie Lynch, who will be talking to us about “glorious grasses for all seasons”.

Your executive is working hard planning all of our activities for the year.  We have firmed up the date for the Home and Garden show.  This year it will be April 25-26th.  We will be hosting a booth again this year so please plan on attending, and possibly manning the booth for a few hours.

We are having our early bird draw at the February meeting so make sure you purchase your 2014 membership to be eligible to win a prize.

Speaking of early birds don’t forget about your feathered friends during this cold weather.  Keep your birdfeeders full and if possible provide water.  I love sitting by the fireplace and watching the birds outside at the feeder.  I honestly don’t know how they do it.  If I had to run around outside looking for food in feathers and bare feetlike they do I’d be in big trouble.  I would surely starve.

Garden tip of the month: February may well be the toughest gardening month.  Thank goodness it’s short. Since we can’t do much but sit and wait for spring to returnand for the sun to shine again it’s an excellent month for planning. Seed catalogues are arriving again.  If you’re a real die-hard it’s a good time to take advantage of the occasional sunny day to get outside to clean up damaged limbs and branches from ice and snow. Sort out your garden tools and repair or sharpen any that need attention. But mostly remember to keep warm.

See you at the next meeting.

Sue Mazi, DHS Secretary.