SPRUNG

things are actually blooming. magnolia 'leonard messel'dwarf iris
harry lauder walking stick

crocus
tree peony
dwarf daffs
viburnum
for the curious, here is the potager at an awkward stage...
and a bird to mock the fool...

DAMAGE

today, we drove around so i could take photos of the remarkable damage from our latest storm. 2000 of the 8000 town residents do not have power, even more than in the last snow storm. we have power, but lost two old attic windows. schools are closed tomorrow, as so many streets are still closed due to downed power lines.

i thought i'd start out on a happy note... someone in town has replaced the school tax protest signs with signs that read "happy," "sparkle" (in the background of this photo) and "you." moments after i shot this, the "happy" sign disappeared.flooding near some unfortunate's home.
the cemetery featured the most dramatic damage... i suppose the large, open area allowed for tremendous gusts...
toppling headstones...
felling sick trees,
and seemingly well trees.

i couldn't resist taking this japanese maple, though it had no new damage. the trunk looks like a person trying to run away.
on the way home i managed to freeze this doe in the middle of a street.

GF 4th BLOGIVERSARY

i started gf in february, 2006, and this is my 600th post!
we had a devastating rain/windstorm yesterday, but this time we didn't lose our power. hammamelis "diana" soldiers on.
crocus refusing to open today...
i started seedlings. i'm trying gardener's supply aps system. i use my own lights and heat lamp (not shown.) the tomatoes and nicotania are up already.
yesterday was so dull, i made seed mats. i made a paste with flour and water, and used one-ply of paper towel. i tried different spacings, and hope to plant these, weather permitting, today.
today's visitor.

MARCH MELLOWING

after a long day watching me work in the garden, luna rests...
i wasn't the only one working; i saw two bees...
the snowdrops are blooming, including a straggler...
the potager today... i think i will plant the spinach next weekend.
today i also began flower & tomato seedlings, cut back the buddeleia & lespedeza, rescued small conifers from the snow, and swept tulip tree seeds out of the potager.

SNOWICANE 2010

i'm sure you've all heard about the nasty confluence of storms attacking the northeast u.s. last week... it all started harmlessly enough with wet snow on the budding snowdrops around noon thursday...less than a foot of snow thursday afternoon, yet the pyrocantha is already in the driveway?
this was the heaviest wet snow people around here can remember, and it stuck to branches obscuring our house from the street... streets not plowed yet... we lost power thursday night at 8:30 pm...
downed trees were a major problem... 75 trees fell in our small town... 40,000 people lost power in our county...
we walked into town looking for a warm restaurant, but everything was closed...
one had to be careful walking under these beautiful arches down the street from us... a person died in central park, nyc, from a falling branch...
our cold house... we had 16 inches of snow...
friday morning, no power, but a patch of sun broke through to brighten spirits...this sun later melted the snow from the branches, but i ran out quick to snap these...
the river birch bent to the ground... i'm glad it survived
the spruce was definitely meant for this weather...
witch hazel 'diana' before i rescued it from the snow... it did lose one large branch, as did my southern magnolia, which lost its leader...
witch hazel 'diana' has been in full bloom...

here are the branches i had to cut from the witch hazel and magnolia... the house was about 50 degrees when i took this!
saturday morning, the rising sun set the palisades ablaze! we finally had our power restored around 3 on saturday afternoon.

SNOW REDUX

today, another 4 inches of snow bends the dogwood in front of our house.

SNOWY VALENTINE

dombeya has really put on a show this year just in time for valentines day...these photos are from 7am the morning after our big snowfall, before the sun stole the snow from the branches...

grilling, anyone?
yesterday, this young lady came to visit across the street from us... i did not use the telephoto...

i guess i was just too close, maybe 15 feet away. check out the camouflage!