It Just Stays Cold and White

Winter seems to have such a stranglehold on the area this year.  We haven't really even had a significant meltoff in over a month and a half, and they say January is the coldest we've seen in quite some time.  It was below zero again this morning, even though yesterday it got up into the 20's and I was able to scrape the inch of ice off of most of the driveway finally. 

Rabbit damage is terrible - some things will be chewed down to the ground.  The little Weigala that is planted near the gazebo is just a couple of stems now - now sure how long that will take to come back.  Seems like we will have to start putting more protection in place in the late fall from  now on if there's going to be this much snow every year. 

The rabbit and squirrel "highways" are deepening, since we haven't gotten a lot of  new snow in the last several weeks.  You can really see their routes.   I also found a bit of the nesting material that had fallen from a squirrel nest that's up in the willow tree.  I imagine they will manage to stay warm anyway - probably will cut more stuff from my plants.

Wednesday night I heard the sump pump downstairs run for the first time in quite awhile, and I feared that it wouldn't make it out to the creek.  But yesterday I walked over to the outlet and found that it was, indeed, still open.  That will be good if ever things really do start to melt.  And since I was out, I took a few more shots of things that are still beautiful  The colors are a bit monotonous this time of year, but some form and structure still survives.  

 

The Beauty of the Declining Days Always Surprises Me

Haven't written in awhile, but fall has marched on. I do take the time to observe and photograph the yard every couple of days, and it is beautiful as it dies - well settles down for the long sleep. I hope that most of it will come back next year. Here are some shots that I like.

The euonymous 'burning bush' in the tricorn garden is quite a star for the last two months of the season, and I like the contrast with the grasses on three sides of it. They don't bloom every year, and this year has been a close call, but it looks like they will actually be able to push out their flowers by the time the season truly ends.

The Juncos are back, I think they've been here for a week or so, but today I was able to see one for absolute sure. Mostly just been seeing the white flashes of the sides of their tails, and it should be totally clear, but I like to have a close up view. Today they were having a bath and a drink in the pond, right below the window I was sitting at reading the Sunday papers. So, along with the zebra grass in the last photo, they comprise a full annual circle for this blog.

Bill managed to roto-till the garden last weekend - I really didn't think we'd be able to do that this fall. It does make it so much easier in the spring though, so it is good to get done. I suppose ideally we would do it a little earlier and be able plant a winter cover crop, but it is always so hard to be able to just get it done between all the other tasks and the vagarities of the weather.

I think that I have been able to successfully identify the unknown tree that has established itself just east of the birches in the front yard. It is pretty certainly a choke cherry. And another young one is growing at the far south eastern corner of the yard, just next to the creek near the bench in the woods. They are edge dwellers, and also common along creeks. As the sandbar willow recedes the natural succession includes them. There are also a couple of black walnut trees, one of them at least 30 feet tall already, that I never noticed establishing themselves until the last couple of years. Planted by squirrels most likely. They will change the area under them, as they are known to discourage any growth within their umbrella.

We are almost done with the conversion to the winter season. Today I cut back and boxed the cannas finally, after letting them settle in the garage for a couple of weeks. I have four boxes full of rhizomes, and one of elephant ears. Hope they all make it through the winter. There are still a couple of pots that need to be emptied and stored in the garage for the winter. And the patio furniture is still out - it seems so final to take it in. Plus we need to move the plastic liner pots off of the deck before the snow flies. But it really isn't more than an afternoon's work left to be ready.

We do have to gather vines from the creekside to add to the holiday tree on the front porch. We made it into a rather tacky ghost for Halloween. But it does need to be spruced up and filled in before we add the holiday lights.

It was one of the best Halloweens we have ever had in this house. The neighborhood was turned out, with people out in every front yard. And the kids were able show off their costumes without any coverings to ward off the cold or wet conditions that are usual. The street was full of multigenerational groups - for the first time I saw multiple tiny tots in strollers and cool costumes. We had over 100 treat seeking visitors, and the mood was festive throughout.

Zebra Grass and Juncos

This year we had a long enough growing season for the zebra grass to establish nice flower heads. We had a frost very early, but the blooms were still protected and didn't get damaged. Then we went a long time without another frost, and actually saw temps rise into the low 80's for several days, along with enough rain to keep things growing. The seed heads look so nice over the winter - I'm glad they are there.

I leave many of the summer flowers standing for the winter. The juncos are already here, scouring the ground for seeds. The finches work the seeds out of the coneflower heads until they are completely consumed. (Though they certainly drop enough of the seeds to create new coneflower plants in unexpected places.) And it seems to be alot more work to cut them all down in the fall than it is the next spring. The snow is pretty as it highlights the structures too.