I FEEL LIKE THIS IS VEGAS, and I am spinning the roulette wheel. And the winner is, lucky number…? But before the news of who scored my original and now collectible book, “A Way to Garden,” an announcement: Because the response was so positive (for which I thank you all), I’ll host monthly book giveaways this growing season. I’ve secured copies of my all-time favorites—new and old—to share in coming months, including some vintage Ruth Stout and the recent fresh-from-the-garden cookbook, “Love Soup,” among others. But back to the business at hand…the big random drawing (drumroll, please):

I guessed out loud to a friend that we’d see 500 entries. Not a bad guess, Margaret: After 519 (minus my own 3 welcome messages embracing hundreds of first-time commenters) we finished out at 516 eligible comments before midnight my time Friday.  Using the random-number generator on Random.org, the winners are:

  • Number 50, Mary from Minneapolis, and,
  • Number 513, Tracey, who lost limbs from her apple tree, as I did, in recent storms.

Congratulations to you both.

Most of all, though, let me repeat my sincere thanks to all of you who came out of the background and commented for the first time. It was great to meet you, finally (all you lurkers!).

Because it was the second birthday week of the blog, it was especially sweet to hear from you at this time. As a result of the outpouring, we also passed the 10,000-comment mark during this contest, too, so it all felt like a giant celebration to me. Nice.

I hope that you’ll speak up whenever the spirit moves you—here in comments, or on the Forum—and look forward to the April book event. Stay tuned!