dormancy

there is frost on the winter rye this morning and the recent cold has beaten down the new zealand white clover and the alfalfa to the point you'd think it couldn't recover...but they're just playing possum and with temperatures forecast to be back into the mid forties ( fahrenheit ) by next weekend we may see some late january recovery in them...recover would seem beyond the powers of the brussels sprouts however...they look thoroughly done in ( despite a hint of green in there )and there's nothing unnatural in that...things are looking quiet in the garden this morning...but it's only fifty-seven days to spring and my best surmise is the mulch on the garlic will be off before then and since good friday ( traditional spud planting index ) is five days later i may jump the gun on planting day and put in some cold hardy potato varieties...in other words the new season is closer than the conditions in the garden today may indicate...new growth is not far off.