a spring miracle

i was amazed to see that my garden from LAST year has spinach and lettuce growing in it THIS year…how could this happen? first of all, both are supposedly annuals (http://www.learn2grow.com/plant-guides/vegetables/leafy-vegetables-lettuce-spinach/)…did they survive the winter?  hallelujah! then i thought, sure, it’s growing, but is it edible? this not being medieval times, i had no assayer (food taster) to step up and take the fall for me. i glance over my shoulder at my chickens, nearly beside themselves with excitement, salivating at the sight of fresh greens…should i feed some to my least preferred chicken and watch for untoward effects? (would that be wrong??) in the end, i realized that i really only had 2 options: to throw it away or to risk it myself. guess which door i chose? all who said “door #2”, you are correct! and since i’m here to tell you about it, you may have already deduced the outcome…have any of you ever had your annual vegetables stick around through the winter and keep growing in the spring?