I’m going to try (try being the operative word here…) to do a regular Friday recap here on In the Garden Online. I’ll cover stuff I enjoyed reading, stuff I wrote, and whatever else I come up with. Hopefully it will be fun. If nothing else, it will give me a chance to go back and re-read things I enjoyed reading from some of my favorite blogs

Stuff I Loved on the Interwebs:

1. Gayla’s post “The Gleaners and I” over at You Grow Girl.
2. Jenna’s post about insecurity, doubt, and the necessity of asking for what you want — “Biting Your Tail” from Cold Antler Farm.
3. Mr. Brown Thumb’s post explaining what P.V.P. means on your seed packets.
4. Dave’s post about five must-have herbs for your garden on Growing the Home Garden.
5. Margaret Roach’s herb Q & A with Rose Marie Nichols McGee on A Way to Garden.
6. 5 Reasons Why Voting and Shopping Are Not the Same Thing by Sami over at TreeHugger.
7. Two words: Juanita. Weasel.
8. This short video spot for our local PBS station featuring Detroit’s Georgia Street Community Garden founder Mark Covington.

Stuff I Wrote:

Here on ITGO:
On Being Stubborn

At TreeHugger:
Interview with Gayla Trail (Again, I would like to emphasize that I did not use the phrase “garden guru.” Editors… )
President Obama’s Proposed 2013 Budget Cuts USDA Produce Safety Testing
Michael Pollan’s “Food Rules,” Animated

At Mother Earth News:
Aphids, and How to Get Rid of Them
Looking Forward to Tomatoes

At Gardening in the Mitten:
Michigan Gardening To-Do List: February

At Grasshopper Hill Farm:
Easy Side Dish: Roasted Garlic-Pepper Potato Wedges

At About.com Organic Gardening:
How to Grow Organic Blueberries

Also this week, we had a sick cat (he seems to be recovering now, though I was afraid this was the end until he saw the vet yesterday) and we’re getting ready for my baby boy’s 3rd birthday tomorrow. I have ‘OSU Blue’ tomato seedlings coming up under the lights, and spinach growing on my kitchen windowsill. And my oldest daughter just finished writing and illustrated the fifth book in her “Hero Cat” series of books (I wonder where she gets her love of writing from!) Life is good

*About the photo: Rosie is the kitten born, then abandoned, in our garden, and we took her in in September. She is a ruthless taskmaster, despises Facebook, and is the inspiration for Emily’s “Hero Cat” books.