Between the Seasons

Now that it's the last day of February it should be okay to think about spring, right? It doesn't help to get too far ahead of yourself up here in the frozen north, there's still a good month of snow and cold to go but we are a lot closer to the end than the beginning. Winter's not really that bad, but I definitely have a love/hate relationship with it, ha! Sometimes I wonder why I've acquired so many snowflake decorations when there's so much of the real stuff outside? This crystal snowflake reflects a different color depending on the direction you're looking at it from. Whoever made it apparently hasn't heard of yellow snow.

 Now that the sub-zero days of winter are (hopefully) past, Burt and Ivy went to work swapping out the Christmas decor for some other seasonal trimmings.

 We are definitely removing the outside decorations later than usual this year! I'm afraid the wreaths and garland are still frozen to the house.

Of course we can't leave the patio unadorned.

The garden books I've been reading lately talk a lot about taking time during the winter to give some serious thought to the structure of your garden. What? So I decided to think about all the things I could do with this empty space and came up with quite a few elaborate plans based on this supposedly "blank canvas".  Then it occurred to me to look at my photos to see what is normally growing there.

Oh yeah, lots of stuff! It's not a blank canvas in August. No matter how many phlox I dig up, by the end of July they have teamed up with the hydrangea for a complete take over. Now I remember why I don't make plans. It gets left up to Mother Nature and I call it a cottage garden.

Another thing the books tell you to do during the winter is to prune. Now that at least makes sense. The biggest issue with plants is that once they get to be just the right size, they never stay that way. It seems like pruning is very complicated and I always afraid I'm accidentally going to kill the plant. Our insurance company insists that we cut down this giant hydrangea because it's too close to the garage. They should tell that to the cardinals, they think it's just a perfect spot to catch some sun.

I guess taking a hard look at everything while it's covered in snow has brought more than couple things to my attention. Apparently, the phlox and hydrangea aren't the only out of control plants in the backyard. One way to tell if it's getting close to spring is to check out how much of the bench is still buried in snow. In January it's completely engulfed. It's also good at highlighting what needs to be fixed. Just how did the terrarium get full of snow? It's fun (and a little scary) to see all the different animal foot prints. Wonder where that critter path leads to? Clearly this bench needs some attention. 

It looked great last summer because you couldn't see it at all when the roses were blooming. It always was an uncomfortable place to sit even without getting poked in the butt by rose thorns. 

It looks like has Ivy decided a few birdhouses and some bunnies would help us think of spring while we're shivering in the cold. The fake greens stay to fill in the space.

The green lights are for St. Patrick's Day, because there's nothing else to do but drink!

(Okay, and maybe some pruning, but not too much.)

I hope everyone had a great weekend. Thanks for stopping by! 

A Convergence of Holidays

I can't recall a time when the Lunar NewYear, Valentine's Day, President's Day and Mardi Gras all occurred so close together. Granted, they may not get as much attention as Christmas from most of us, but if you work within the global economy or own temperamental appliances, it's very important to know which holidays are happening and where the festivities are going on. Once, I stupidly sent a catalog off to be printed in Hong Kong without realizing they were in the middle of their Lunar New Year celebrations. I had no idea the entire printing operation would be shut down for three weeks. Even worse, it was during a period when workers would often change occupations or move to a different company. The whole process took even longer while the entire workforce learned their new jobs. Then there was the time we needed a part for our stove, the only one in the entire country was located at a supplier in New Orleans. They were closed for two weeks prior to Mardi Gras. I was very happy when Lent began that year. Finally there's President's Day, which always catches me by surprise. It's so easy to forget there's no mail and my sister-in-law and niece usually get their birthday cards late.  

Fortunately, Valentine's Day is always on the 14th so there's none of that moveable holiday treachery to confuse the situation! Plus there's usually only one person to be concerned about so any forgetfulness can be quickly fixed.

Last Sunday, candy and flowers made their usual appearances, along with several bottles of liquor. It never hurts to keep your spirits up during a visit from the polar vortex. Spencer kept track of the recipe while I made brunch. He's looking a little shaggy these days from going out in the sub-zero temperatures. 

 Rummaging around in the freezer produced a layer of chocolate cake that eventually turned into a dessert. All it needed was few strawberries sprinkled with sugar and Cointreau then topped up with Reddi-wip.

It could have been better looking but it was okay for a last minute treat.

  

As usual, Burt and Ivy were their ridiculously, cheerful selves and became especially energized after discovering Valoween while shopping online. They immediately launched into a frantic search for some appropriate decorations. Not that they found much to work with but combining Valentines Day with Halloween made it more fun! 

We're pretty short on Valentine decor, not that there's a lot of variety available. All we have, apart from a few dishes and a string of lights, are empty candy boxes. Discovering this darker concept of the holiday has definitely opened up a much wider range of possibilities though. This is a concept that definitely needs further exploration. Who knows what might follow, maybe a Spooky Spring or Scary Summer? Bwahaha! 

 

So, how many skeletons does it take to hang up a banner?

None.

They get someone else do it and then take all the credit.

Seriously, do decorations matter if there's chocolate?

Thanks for stopping by!

I hope everyone is doing well, staying safe and wearing a mask! 

February So Far

 

It started snowing one evening.

Then it kept it up the whole next day. In these parts, snow basically rules our lives from Thanksgiving until Easter. Still, I can't be mad at it because it's an important part of nature. It can be totally aggravating or the best thing ever, depending on your point of view. Shoveling a driveway is not as much fun as skiing on fresh powder. It's a complicated relationship.

 Every so often we hear a snowblower, operated by a very kind person (although not always the same person), going up and down our street before dawn. They clear the snow piles that get deposited in front of the driveways when the road is plowed. It's truly a wonderful thing to wake up and not have to deal with a huge pile of packed snow in addition to the stuff that's already fallen! Out of necessity, they're early birds so we rarely get a chance to say thanks. I don't recognize this fellow but if he knew we affectionately refer to him and his cohorts as The Snow Blower Fairies, he'd probably skip our driveway. We could start calling them The Snowblower Guys but it doesn't sound as magical.

Of course, not everyone is happy about those early morning snowblower, wake-up calls. 

Then there's Groundhog Day! It's the first excuse we've had to celebrate since Inauguration Day!

First, there was a lot of shoveling to do.

Backyard Burt was too busy to carry out his prognostication duties this year.

Luckily, Kibitz was happy to step up and save the day. 

Looks like we're in for six more weeks of shoveling, as if that wasn't going to happen anyway, ha!

Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by!