We’ve had our first major snowstorm of the year and we weren’t even finished raking our leaves. While we don’t fuss and pick up every single leaf like some people do, we like to get them off our walks, as leaves can be slippery, especially when wet.

We are told that this fall was one of the warmest in the Greater Boston Area. At the very beginning of November we were still harvesting tomatoes, cucumbers, green beans and zucchinis from our vegetable garden. We’ve been gardening in the same spot for 50 years and this had never happened before.

All remaining green tomatoes were picked and placed in brown-paper lunch bags to ripen. Good thing, because according to the Boston Globe, we experienced the coldest November 11 on record since 1901, and the wind chill made it feel even colder than the 23 degrees.

It was also good that I had taken some cuttings from an especially pretty red-leaf coleus to pot up indoors. Maybe next spring I’ll have some baby coleus to plant outside when the weather warms up. If nowhere else, they can go into the container on the front steps.

Right now that planter is looking lovely with some cut stems of winterberry (Ilex verticillata), evergreens and rhododendrons as well as some dried sedums.

I do have to admit that the snow does look pretty at times, especially when it first falls and is fluffy. Snow covered dried Peegee hydrangea blossoms almost look like beautiful Christmas tree ornaments.

The Winter Solstice takes place on December 21, after which, the days will start getting longer. Maybe I’ll get to do some winter reading – seed catalogs if nothing else. We receive at least one in the mail almost every day.

The 2018 Farmers Almanac predicts a “snowier-than-normal” season for the Northeast. We and our snow blowers and shovels are ready.

Bring it on!