Red and Green: Christmas….Peppers?

We had frost a day or two ago, so it’s time to put the garden to bed for the winter. But even after this strangely prolonged warm weather, I was surprised by what was waiting for me:

Ten days before Christmas, the pepper plants have wilted, but they’re still ready to pick.

This is a pretty large bowl, and I filled it to overflowing. Way too much for us to use up before they start to spoil, so a lot of these are destined for the town food bank.

Friday Fictioneers: Starstruck

Here’s my contribution to Friday Fictioneers, a day late. The horrible news from Connecticut – twenty little kids, dead – knocked me sideways, too much to write anything last night. But here we are with the thoughts of a happy but worried astronomer whose pet project may or may not get funded –

Starstruck

Everybody’s stopped asking why I keep a worn-out basketball around, because I might answer. So I won’t give you the techy details; I’ll just say that it’s enormous fun mapping Kepler2-97c bit by bit as the data comes in. Because you know what’s so special about that planet? It’s the right size and the right temperature for people, that’s what. Just knowing it’s there is such a rush.

Only there’s marketing to think of. Money. And that’s the other reason I hover over my big patchy ball, adding all the information I can get. Nobody’s going to pony up for lists of numbers on a screen. But a map? People understand maps. They can imagine being there.

Christmas dinner will have to cook itself. I’ve got a world to build.

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Tell me what you think of this one!