Eggporeum in Winter

Snowmaggedon drops in...

Sturdy and compact, the Eggporeum was made to withstand a lot of weight on the roof - luckily.

With over 30 centimeters (a whole foot!) of new snow, it's cozy inside and even though there are no longer any birds to protect inside, it's a useful and interesting little garden shed.

The snow on top is a good insulator, believe it or not.

The autumn display was moved or reused in other areas of the farm, but a winter blanket of snow covers up what's left.

The sheer amount of snow makes it possible for it to build up in 'gnome hats' that look like comical cones.

Winter is upon us, and it will be a few months of more of this kind of weather before we can dig out and once again enjoy the garden. Now is a time of quiet cogitation, and enforced idleness, but that doesn't mean plans aren't going on in my head.

I think of what will happen when all this snow melts - behind the shed is a gutter that drains into a rain barrel, so I can collect the water - but that's not all.

On the roof are modules or flats full of compost and many different kinds of Sedum and other hardy succulents. It was an accident to plant them into compost but it's turned out to be serendipity.

The rain and snow water runs through the flats, and turns into compost tea, which I use all over the garden instead of fertilizer. I catch it in large garbage cans, and dip into it with a watering can. Keep the screen on top for mosquito control, always!

The floor of the Eggporeum is dirt, which of course, will get wet in the spring thaw, but dries out in time.