Monday, December 06, 2010

Blue sky

Toward the end of our deep-freeze week, and before the snow started falling out of the trees, we were treated to a lot of sights like this:

Our red maples. The leaves are all still on the ground. They never got dry enough to rake.

These are the two maple trees in our front yard directly opposite the kitchen window. In summer, when they're leafed out, they shade the front of the house until mid-morning. We get nice dappled sunlight through the eastern windows. In winter, the sun (when it's visible) can beam right into the kitchen and living room through the bare branches.

The rains began on Sunday and the snow is washing away. The weather people say the thaw is temporary. Of course it is... it's only December 6! Winter hasn't even begun yet. This has the makings of a long, cold season.

10 comments:

  1. Sounds so much like our forecast. And for Casey's sake we're hoping for more snow at Christmas like last year. He's a fanatic.

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  2. Snow, snow go away. But you're right...it's still early in the season.

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  3. Walt, Ken was saying that your beds were unable to be given their usual covering of leaves this year.
    I know it is raining at the moment, but when there is a clear spell [Jeudi je pense]cut down or pull up any big weeds that are on the beds and then rake the wet leaves over the half-tidied beds. This will keep the weeds down until the Spring. The worms will do a lot of the digging for you both as they incorporate the leaves into the soil. Then any leaves that are left can be dug in to release their nutrients slowly over the Summer... and keep the roots of your crops moist.
    Bonne chance.

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  4. Looks SOOO beautiful.. Winter wonderland!!!

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  5. I'm telling you, as pretty as spring flowers and summer skies are, there's nothing like the cutting-edge beauty of a raw, cold, snowy winter scene (no, wait, it's not quite winter yet, is it??).

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  6. Why does winter have to be so beautiful?

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  7. Winter has to be beautiful at times... otherwise we'd all give up!
    Shots like these of Walts, peoples pictures of frost on fruits that haven't fallen, dead grasses with twinkling haw frost... Jack Frost ain't all bad.

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  8. casey, I hope you get your wishes!

    rick, I suspect we're in for more.

    tim, are you free on Thursday? I'll make the coffee.

    leesa, :)

    alewis, it is pretty. And pretty cold!

    mark, yes. It's really messing up weather patterns.

    starman, it needs some redeeming quality...

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  9. Sorry, Walt.... not free... too much to do here! IE: The same thing... getting beds ready. Our soil is pretty virgin, so the more I can break it up before the frosts arrive, the easier the digging will be afterwards.
    We are growing a lot of potatoes this year to help work over the soil... we are going to be ordering some from Alan Romans [a Scottish seed potato supplier]... Simon and Susan are going to come in on the order and possibly Alex and Nicole... Pollygarter has just sent their email. Would you and Ken be interested in some rare varieties? The more people from this area who do, the cheaper the delivery.

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