Winter, Pa-leezz Go Away…….

Winter, Pa-leezz Go Away…….

The snow is still with us, cold and gray, no sun for days now. So I decided to take a walk outside  to see and feel this winter up close and more personal than from inside. A few photos to share from around “The Bluff” as my place is referred to. This storm has left the trees covered first in an icy snow, and it sticks stubbornly to the trees, extending its austere beauty. This snow has been a pretty snow despite it causing the shut down of schools and businesses until today. I am optimistic that this was the last snow!

The storm started out with freezing rain then snow and although the trees drooped heavily, fortunately we did not loose power


You can see the squirrel sharing in the seeds I scattered. The birds have had it tough, and they were hungry. I was filling the feeder 3 times a day, and ground feeders, like Junco’s were showing up in large numbers on the deck, so I scattered seed for them. I had as many as 50-75 showing up at a time……never have I had that many.


The birds have been consuming a suet block a day. Here you can see a lovely woodpecker with a junco waiting patiently for his turn. Notice the ice on the cage itself.


The snow on the white pines really weighed them down and several beaches snapped under the weight.


Don’t the penny balls look like guys or monks wearing a beanie and carrying their lanterns? We have had extremes of weather and they have held up beautifully through all the freeze and thaw cycles, so I am pleased….not a single penny lost yet! You can go here if you missed the DIY on making them.



Sure is gray looking! Hard to imagine that the flower box will be full of colorful flowers soon.


Isn’t it amazing that this will be covered in roses by late spring and continue to bloom until frost. I find birds and plants amazing…….reminding us all of the fragility yet the strength in nature.


The hickory trees hold their leaves through the winter, adding pale color contrasts in the snowy woods. They are similar to Ginko trees in that they will drop their leaves all at once, the Ginko’s doing so in one day in the fall.


I use my imagination to feel the sun when sitting in these chairs during the summer for a brief respite from gardening, or sitting late at night watching the starry nights we have here in the country.


Part of my driveway.



I love the blue shadows cast by the tree.


My CT. made copper weathervane. I use it in one of the gardens where it brings happy memories. I love whales, I love New England.


Although the light is gray, it appears almost magical and etherial at certain times, and I feel blessed when I find myself catching these special views.


The pot between the two chairs holds a hydrangea. I will prune it some as soon as I trust that spring has truly arrived!


And here is the surprise…..hard to believe that the photo above is in the same place as this taken in summer! Yes! Spring and summer will come……it always does.


So, if you can’t make the snow go away, settle in and enjoy it. When the temperatures are in the high 90’s and humid as all get out, we will wish for some snow……


As I finish up this post the weather reporter advises that Friday and Saturday will be in the mid-60’s, oh my!  Hope that your first day of spring shows the same warming trend.  Yes, for me perfect weather is mid 50’s to mid 70’s, low humidity thank you very much.

Thanks for stopping by. Here’s to the end of winter.           Laters, charisse

 

 

 

Comments

  1. Beautiful pictures! Living in Texas, I can only dream of snowy days like you have. Thanks for sharing!

  2. Beautiful pictures. Reminds me of the acres of woods and ponds behind my former home in Greensboro, which, sadly, are now developed with houses, stores, and bypasses. Whenever we would get snows like this, my favorite pastime was to take all the newfs walking through the winter wonderland. I think those walks were some of the happiest times of my life. I can’t even begin to describe the peace and contentment I felt during those walks. I do have to ask about your potted bushes. What type of containers do you use, because whenever I leave anything out in a container, and my containers are pretty big, I never am able to keep anything alive. Thanks for a beautiful walk through the snowy woods on a dreary, cold, morning here in Georgia.

    • I use self watering pots for the hydrangeas. When it gets warm, even then I water just about daily. That said, my other hydrangeas are planted in pottery, and have been there for years and continue to do well. The cobalt container in the photo that holds the rose is also ceramic pottery. The roses have been there for about four years now. Carole, it might be the soil you use? I am planning a post soon on container gardening which might help. After this winter I will be anxious to see if the plants and the containers survived!

      • It may be I don’t use ceramic pots and that’s why they don’t survive the winters. I was always afraid ceramic would crack in the winter. I do use miracle grow potting soil especially for bushes and miracle grow potting soil for my flowers. I look forward to your post on container gardening.

        • Hi Carole,
          I use a combination of pots. I leave my ceramic pots out all year, but they do not sit directly on the ground, but up on pot lifters or usually bricks so they can drain. I have not lost a one yet. Whether I use ceramic or PVC depends on the plant but mostly the location…….If I have roses they need sunshine, so the pot needs to drain well, but take the watering. A hydrangea, which needs a lot of water in the summer, does not do as well in full sun in a ceramic container unless it is a quite large pot, because it heats up and dries out quickly. I buy the largest PVC containers I can find. If I don’t like the color, I spray paint it with the new paints just for that (and they work terrific), use good soil, add compost once a year, and mulch well. They do fine. There are more details, and I will include them in the article. I love container and raised bed gardening….my favorites. Because the soil is a work in progress here, and my deck is raised up high, I do a lot of container gardening…..also because I love containers! I potted a Japanese maple in a large container about 4 years ago and it continues to thrive.

  3. What a delight to be Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening!
    Yours photos are enchanting to me. Beauty birds, Penny Monks, Snowy Couple at the table; a crisp, quiet, sleepy snowland……. I love the smell of winter!
    All of the lovely yard ornaments waiting for the oil of spring to loosen their joints
    and call them to dance. Your Bluff is gorgeous all seasons, as is your heart for sharing with us!

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