A Long Slide in Just One Day

Yesterday at this time it was over 40 degrees, and the biggest problem we had was controlling the melting from the roof on the north side to try to keep the porch clear of ice and icicles. Nancy delivered Dad here around noon in order to get on the road quickly for her drive back to Chicago. A big storm was due. Supposed to be the worst day of the winter so far. Sure didn't seem like it.

Well, this morning it is 20 degrees below zero, with 2 or 3 inches of new snow blowing around in little swirls. I think we lucked out on the snow, most of the precipitation fell as rain or sleet before it got cold enough for snow. But it looks like winter is back with a vengence, after just a two day warm-up. At least it got the snow off the shrubs, and lowered the piles at the side of the driveway a bit so it will be easier to shovel today.



Before the melt and freeze, last weekend when the yard was still blanketed with clean white snow over a foot deep, I snapped a shot of one of the friendly squirrels who steal seeds from our birdfeeders. And also the evidence of their route from the creekside willow in to the gazebo and then over to the seeds.

Exposure Matters

About eight years ago we planted a pagoda dogwood bush on the north side of the house. I think that it had grown somewhere else in the yard for a year or so, but I really can't remember where. It was an impulse purchase, and basically unremarkable. But as it became a notable plant I moved it to a location where we could really appreciate it. It has thrived there, maybe more than would be best. It's now pretty much the only thing that can be seen from the window of our guest room on a summer evening.

A year or two later, we bought another young pagoda dogwood from Oberstadt Nursery. We paid a large amount for it, because now we were looking for something specific and couldn't find one anywhere else. I planted it outside of our bedroom on the south side of the house, but not in front of the window.

These photos of the winter profiles of the two bushes (trees?) show the amazing difference that full sun exposure makes. The North side pagoda is tall and lovely. The south side one is also beautiful, but shorther and fuller, much more compact. You can see the layering in both, but it reveals itself so differently.

In retrospect, I wish that I had planted both of them farther from the house. I'm usually pretty good at seeing the mature size of things and not crowding or planting too close. But I didn't do my research on Pagoda Dogwoods, and thought of them as shrubs when really they are more like trees. I hope for several more years before they become overgrown and have to be removed.

Is this the End?

I haven't seen this much snow in the yard since we've lived here. It just keeps coming and coming, and doesn't melt in between. I don't know if this is a record, but it is surely a recent high. I'm hoping that this photo will prove to be the recording of the highest mark of the snow this year. It was very cold this morning, and I left early. But this is how it looks at the end of the afternoon when I finally got back. It was a very beautiful, sunny day, and so I'm sure there was some retraction from the top mark even though the temperature didn't rise above single digits. Pretty soon, if this doesn't stop, it won't help to brush the snow off the evergreens 'cause they will be buried totally.

Winter Morning Sounds

I try to step outside onto the deck every morning, shortly before 7 AM to see what I can see, and hear what I can hear. It's an interesting benchmark, the changing of the seasons is clear at that time of day. the lengthening of the days at this time of year is noticable, it is a little lighter each day.

This morning, it was colder than it has been in quite some time. We had another snow yesterday and I am tired of taking pictures of my yard buried beneath new snow. Last night the temps dropped from the mid twenties in the late afternoon to about 10 degrees by 6 PM, and below zero overnight. It was blustery and dangerous to be out, and we were grateful to find that our neighbor with a snow blower had cleared out the driveway before we got home.

This morning I went outside and the cats chose not to even ask to follow. One sniff of the cold air and they turned back to their cozy beds. I stood out on the deck, but didn't go far. It was light and still and cold. There weren't many birds venturing out yet, though they have been showing up at the feeders around quarter to seven lately. Not today. I heard one finch somewhere in the distance, but saw none. In the crisp cold air, sounds travel farther I think. I could hear traffic and snowplows that I couldn't see. And a new sound, a soft click,click,click.. It took a little while to realize that I was hearing the turning of the vanes in the small windmill that is in the south corner of the neighbor's yard. I have not heard that sound before - it is likely drowned out by the birds. Anyway, two steps from the door for about a minute and a half was all I could take today. Spring is far away, I find myself longing for 30 degree weather.

Settling Down for the Rest of the Winter

With the holidays past, now its just winter. We moved the front porch holiday tree back to its spot near the creek again. Something will likely find it to be a nice place to live.


It's snowing again, this has got to be the snowiest winter we've had in a LONG time. Yesterday was a beautiful day, and in the late afternoon, while watching the Packers play in what may well come to be known as the snow bowl, I wanted to see if I could capture the atrium with the snow falling outside and the TV screen reflected in the window. Not too bad a result, certainly gives a sense of what it feels like to be in our kitchen in the winter.


The creek is running high and fast, since we have had lots of precipitation and the temps have stayed near freezing. Some winters it freezes up and dries up completely, but not this one yet. I scared up a couple of ducks while taking these pictures. Life goes on.

Spring will Come Soon

This is a photo of the small pond that we built a number of years ago. This spring we hope to add on to it, but we've been having some difficulty deciding exactly how/where to dig. Part of the problem is that there are perennial plants all around , especially on the south side where expansion is most likely. But we'd really like to have more space for marginal and bog plants. So, to help us think without distractions, here is what it originally looked like.

The gargoyle is one of my favorite garden decorations. He watches over the pond, and I think he may make the fish a little bit nervous. Some of the neighbors have garden statues of little bunnies and squirrels, and I suspect that the gargoyle may strike them as strange. Different strokes....

Bones

It didn't snow as much last night as we were warned it might. But enough to leave a brand new tableaux - a clean slate. I like to think that one of the best things about the Sunnyview Garden is its "bones" - the major trees and shrubs that form the structure of the beds and the shapes of the rooms. It is at times like this, after a gentle snow, that the bones are most evident. Every branch and stem is highlighted, but the basic shapes are not altered by heavy loads. The footprints have been wiped clean and everything is fresh and new.

We had almost lost all of the snow by yesterday, just a few piles and drifts remained. Everything was dirty and ugly, though the birds were able to find plenty to eat and haven't been depleting the feeders quite so much. The freezing and thawing has done terrible things to the roadways and city streets, so I do shutter a bit to think how the perennial roots are doing. The new snow will help.

Now that it is a little colder the outside lighting is working again, and not blowing fuses every day. We can plug in the birdbath again. It's also getting closer to being light enough in the morning to take a photo before I have to leave for work. Nice to see the sun coming back.

What a Difference a Week Makes

A week ago, we had deep snow throughout the yard, and I was brushing snow off of the evergreens so their branches wouldn't break. Today, it has been above freezing since yesterday morning, and the grass is starting to show through in many places. Temps are likely to be over 40 for the next several days, and we may lose all of the snowcover.

As snow melts, things are uncovered that went unnoticed under the white blanket. Many mouse or vole runs are evident, which means that the grass will be torn up when it is revealed.

I love the big weeping willow in the southeast corner of the yard, but this shot shows one of the biggest downsides of willows: they drop branches and twigs constantly. We picked up a big pile of them right before the first snow, but there will be plenty in the spring.

And some plants seem not to understand that the January thaw is not the spring. The New England Aster plant under the bedroom window is already sending out new shoots. The warm weather is nice, and I do like to see what is going on. But I hope for more snow to cover all this up for awhile again. It's too soon to start cleaning up, and the snow offers protection from the inevitable cold nights still to come.

Rabbit Highway

It seems that at least one rabbit has a regular route along the edge of the creekside willows and into the neighbor's woods. This is only about 24 hours after the last snow, and already there is a well worn path. In some years past we have had a Great Horned Owl watching over the yard and neighborhood, and that has kept the rabbit population low. But I haven't seen the owl for a couple of years, and the number of rabbits has been increasing.

This is a beautiful sunny New Year's Day. The snow is getting deeper and the yard is getting whiter. I had to go out and knock snow off of many of the evergreens this afternoon, as they were being split and weighed down. It was a beautiful day to be out doing that though.