Gardens through the seasons

26 Jan '08 5:59 am

Dear Liza, how wonderful to hear from you. I will be looking out for your new posts. In my last post, I mentioned the possibility of snow here and we did indeed get just enough snow to cover the grass, leaves and decks. It never stuck on the paved surfaces, which was probably just as well since we had extremely low temperatures the next morning.

Here are a few photos I snapped from the safety of my doorways. I didn't venture out into the garden to take shots because the snow was not the big fluffy flake kind, but rather tiny little confetti type flakes that didn't make for very pretty coverage close-up.

26 Jan '08 9:26 am

So lovely pictures, to see , Faith!! The "Back Deck in snow ", and "Snowy Table Ornament" are the most cute of all!! I also loved the "Willy Tracks"! I do love snow, but NOT when it lasts for long....

26 Jan '08 9:49 am

Snow sure gives the landscape a different look. It almost turns it into a 'black and white" look. You table looks like it has the cleanest white linen imaginable.

26 Jan '08 2:36 pm

Hi, Faith!

Doesn't the world look wonderful under fresh snow?? I just love it (as long as it doesn't stay too long!!)! I agree with Mark that it tends to make the pictures look as if they were old-fashioned black and white ones with just a touch of colouration on them.

We're due for quite a bit of new snow tonight so I hope it waits until at least tomorrow morning so that I can get down the hill to the ferry terminal without sliding off the road! I have to take a ferry to get to the island where the eco-fair is taking place and I don't want to miss it.

All the best on the weekend!

gordonf

26 Jan '08 8:47 pm

Wow - everything looks so chilled, and wet, too... We were wondering how your weather was going! I wonder if you have to have things like snow tyres. How long will the snow stay settled on the ground?

27 Jan '08 2:22 am

Thanks for all the interest in my little snow event. This is actually only the second time it has ever snowed here in the ten years we have lived on this farm. The first snow (at least seven or eight years ago) was a real snow with about half a foot of snow on the ground. Even with that, however, snow here never lasts more than a few days. This little snow really only lasted for a few hours before it all started to melt away. By the next day the only trace of snow was in areas protected from exposure to the sun. We certainly don't need snow tires for the few times it ever snows here. If we have a significant winter weather event, it is more likely to be freezing rain causing icy roads. Those can be treacherous and snow tires really don't help there. The best plan of action is to just stay off the roads and have a stay at home holiday. Of course, when you have a job, you sometimes have to get there no matter what the risks. When I was working still, I remember some harrowing drives into the city that could take a couple of hours instead of the normal thirty minutes. This is a very hilly area with lots of bridges and overpasses. Those are the most difficult areas when the roads are icy, with only one or two cars at a time able to pass them without sliding into each other.

Oh well, how did I get off on that tear?

31 Jan '08 8:16 pm

We sometimes need a whole road-width in the mud here - on a little used rural road. I find the thought of people slithering all over city fly-overs quite alarming Shocked

Thanks for the lovely pics - with us snow is even scarcer!

3 Feb '08 1:53 am

I found the first flower of 2008 on the first day of February. How exciting after all the bleak cold we have had for almost the whole month of January. This was hard because our normal weather pattern is to have a few extended warm spells mixed in during January. I admit we have had a few pleasant days when temperatures actually reached the mid 60's (18 C), but they have been few and brief. We have had unusually cold overnight temperatures for the majority of the month. The one blessing in all of this is that all the cold fronts sweeping through have brought us much need rain. But now, I can see spring just around the corner and my spirits have been lifted to new heights. I am posting just a few photos before heading off to Orlando, Florida for a few days to visit family there. Their average temps have been mid 70's (23C) and this is predicted to continue during our stay. What a nice break this will be!

3 Feb '08 7:35 pm

Hi Faith! How interesting to see your fabulous snowy photos, and I especially love that snow-clad fruit basket and dining table...a beautiful arty piece of nature at work! And how lovely that spring is soon approaching for you with these lovely blooms as teasers! Thanks for sharing! Very Happy

Do have a lovely and enjoyable break at Florida, my friend!

9 Feb '08 2:01 am

Thanks Jacqueline for your kind comments. Our brief trip to Orlando, Florida was a really nice break. It's spring there and the temperatures were really mild and the weather sunny while we were there. Of course, it gave us a major dose of "spring fever", but fortunately we came home to some nicer weather here this week. Early spring is under way here with warming temperatures and lots of bulbs waiting to burst into bloom. We just missed some rather severe weather on our return home however. North of us they had some devastating tornadoes that claimed over 50 lives through Tennessee, Kentucky and northern Alabama. We were very blessed to have had only heavy rain, which we desperately needed. There is even a little water in the bottom of our Marsh Pond (beside the entrance driveway), which has been dry since about last May. If we could just get a few more heavy rains, it might almost fill up again. How nice that would be.

Gardens through the seasons

Dear friends and snowy day

Beautiful snow -scenes!!!

Certainly is pretty.

Gardens under Snow

Snow

skidding along

On a fresher note

Spring is in the air!