Since we're squarely in Winter's grasp now, it seems a great time to look back four to six weeks to appreciate the end of summer 2019.
Although I haven't been writing many posts lately, I still look at the garden and the natural world outside through my blogging eye, always thinking "I should do a post about this...". I've been collecting those thoughts, often with a single photo, many times only using the camera that's always in my pocket (my phone camera). So that's what I have for you today, a collection of shareable tidbits...
We've had quite a mild winter, with our coldest days coming very early -- in mid-November. Temperatures have been in the 40's F (5ºC) for most of the winter, or even warmer. We've had plenty of moisture too, mainly in the form of rain.
It's been alternating between warm and cold lately...
So I've been noticing: it's been a pretty weird winter, at least here in St. Louis. For example, here's yesterday's forecast:
This winter has been bitterly cold at times, alternating with days or weeks of warm dampness. Very little precipitation though, so it's mainly dry.
When the cold weather finally moved on, I took a quick look at the pond which was frozen over. My hope was to see some of the fish beneath the ice...
Not to me! Although I wouldn't blame you for jumping to that conclusion based on the frequency (low) at which I've been posting lately. No, I mean say goodbye...
I've grown just a couple of hellebores during my time as a gardener, and I have to admit, I'm not having much success.
Just some color that I noticed today in the garden.
The ice of last weekend is just a memory -- temperatures are in the 50's and 60's now, too warm -- but I wanted to still share with you what those of us whose gardens are built around bamboos see.
If there's one thing that makes winter scary to a cold-climate gardener it's ice. Nothing has the potential for breaking the bones of a garden like an ice storm, when decades-old trees and other cornerstone plants can be damaged beyond recovery literally overnight. The number of dead limbs and twigs in my front yard is evidence of that -- I'm not sure yet if my plants made it unscathed.
Like many, our weekends are shifted one day to Sunday/Monday, and on Mondays we like to get out and do something different and fun. We didn't have a lot of time this past week but we decided to take a quick walk around Missouri Botanical Garden.
I'm hoping this is my last winter trees post for this season, as surely spring is just a week or two away, right?
A rain/snow mix overnight made things pretty...
Last weekend I was visiting my mother in the Chicago area again. Although I didn't take photos of the trip this time, I did take a hike into the nearby "Forest Preserve". Some pretty scenes on this balmy day (high of about 60ºF/15ºC), and I got to reminisce a bit too.
A weekend of bitter cold gives way to warmer temperatures, bringing us a foggy morning and a taste of Spring later this week.
The stark beauty of Winter is often overlooked, as the clearest, prettiest days are usually the coldest.
On Friday we took advantage of a sunny afternoon and spent a couple of hours at the St. Louis Art Museum. Before we had even gotten inside I saw art...
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