Wintering Through Pennsylvania

Yes, it's been cold. It's been snowy and icy. It's been long... but every now and then, there are things you see that you just have to photograph and share!

Amazing snowflakes on my car hood...

Never saw snowflakes like this before!

Aren't they cool?

Icicles on ivy

Bare, frozen branches over snow

Evergreens encased in ice

It's been a long winter, and it's not over yet... Soon, though, spring will come and we will be able to go out without fear of frostbite! Until then, I'll keep trying to see the beautiful in this frozen landscape.

My daughter seeing snow for the first time!

Winter is Coming

It seems that however we'd like to ignore it, winter is definitely coming. The evidence is out there... the leaves are gone from the trees, the temperatures are dropping, and the squirrels are fattening up!


All I can think of when I get dressed for work (and the walk there) is, "Will this be warm enough?" Cute is no longer part of the equation! I've also noticed that I eat a lot more, and tend to make more soups and baked goods. Remember last year? I baked up a storm! Yesterday I baked some banana nut muffins, some of which got chocolate chips in them. They turned out pretty good, too!

Along the Monocacy River

K and I are still getting out for walks, though we bundle up a bit more now. The trees have a much more austere look to them. They are down to their bare bones... their foliage having long since fallen away. I think they're beautiful.

The skies look colder now, too. Even when there are clouds, they are icy looking. It's enough to make me shiver looking at them!

This is the time when we burrow into ourselves. We need to dig deeper to find the whimsy and joy that summer or spring bring out of us naturally. It's a time when animals hibernate or at least, hunker down for most of the day. People don't have that luxury most of the time. What do you do to push away the Winter Blues?

I am determined to push my levels of creativity over this winter... I think that will help a lot. And to brave the cold to go outside more... though that's easy to say now when it's still just in the 30's and 40's.

People have their home fires burning... the air has that woody scent. It's this time of year that makes me wish I had a fireplace! That definitely makes you feel cozier, doesn't it? 

So I'm mentally preparing for the long winter ahead of us. It's going to be cold. It may be difficult, but it's the perfect time to dig deep and find the strength inside of each one of us to discover how to smile and laugh when the world outside is slumbering in it's death-like season. We must remember that there is always a rebirth, and that change is inevitable in all things in Life. And like winter, the dark times we might find ourselves in shall pass. 


Blessings to you all. xox

An Interesting Weekend...

Hello Friends. This was an unusual weekend that just passed. It started with an unseasonal winter storm watch, which turned into a warning. A big snow system was supposed to move into the area starting Saturday morning. No one really seemed to accept it as a possibility, though, which I think is funny. I was certain it was coming in, because so far, the weather predictions in this area have mostly been reliable.


It started out on Friday, with sun, fall foliage everywhere, and plans for a Halloween party after a day at a bonsai class in New Jersey. Fun, with no drama built into the plans. The predictions for snow came, and we figured that it would maybe drop an inch or two on us, which would melt away fairly quickly. So we headed out on Saturday morning, early, as our class started at 9 am and was almost an hour away. (We thought.)

At left is what it looked like when we left in the morning... what was falling looks like rain, but it was actually a giant slushy, sprinkled on us by the powers that be. It sort of looked like snow, but after landing, it was like rain... it's called rain/snow. Ha ha. 


As we got up to the All Shapes Nursery for our bonsai class, it was actually snowing, and had accumulated about an inch of snow or maybe a little more, and was looking like it was going to be an interesting return trip back to PA.


At one point, I came out of the greenhouse to go to the main house to use the restroom, and below is what I found outside!

Fall trees with snow...

It was a winter wonderland, somehow! In October! Now, in class, we'd been hearing that tick tick tick of snowfall on the plastic sheeting above us. However, as the plastic wasn't transparent, we couldn't tell if it was actually snow or rain falling. I found out it was snow when we came out for our break. THEN, as we were back in class, we'd hear swoooshhhh.... as sheets of built up snow slid off of the roof, sections at a time. Tick tick tick swooooshhh.... tick tick tick tick tick swoooooshhhh.... my mind kept noticing that it wasn't stopping. Although the class was interesting and fun, part of me was worried. We'd brought my Mini out to Jersey, and there was a snow storm going on outside. Were we going to be able to get OUT of here? That was the question of the day.

The snow-covered trees beside the road

A leaf trapped in snow on the roof above

The leaves on the ground outside , after some snowfall

Outside of the greenhouse we were in

So while all this snow was building up, we were actually cozy inside the greenhouse, learning how to control little plants and make them look like old miniature trees... it was really fun!

K was especially adept at it. He saw what he wanted, and he made it happen. His tree looks amazing! I was in awe, actually. Mine started out with good intentions, but didn't turn out quite so nice.

How my tree started out

It could be that I was distracted by the snow. Or I'm just not cut out for the Japanese art of bonsai. I don't know. I'm a fair gardener, but apparently that's where the talent ends!


Anyway, there were all kinds of lovely bonsai trees in there with us for inspiration...

Look at that trunk! 

Love all the greenery at the base

Very exotic! The yellow flowers belong to it

Like a rainforest floor... so cool

A ficus made special

 After the class was over, we used the restroom, and came out to leave. Everyone had gone except for a guy in his BMW, which K had to help push to get through the thick snow in the parking lot. Well, guess what? He also had to push the Mini. Once out of the parking lot, and then twice more after we got onto the long, unpaved road leading out of the nursery... it was a long road... and K didn't get to ride down it. After the last push, he told me to go down to the road, and not to stop, so he had to run about fifty yards in the snow behind me!

The road from the nursery

Roads weren't quite plowed

Our backyard when we returned

Neighbor's power was out, luckily ours wasn't

 I won't describe the harrowing trip back to Bethlehem. Let's just say it wasn't the most relaxing trip. Then when we got back, we thought we'd be out of power, but we got so lucky! Most of the area had no power... the downtown area was mostly out of power, but the block my work sits on was fine! And our apartment had power, also... though most people we know didn't have any power. It was COLD, too. Especially that night. People stayed with others who had power, or stayed in the booked up hotels and motels. It's been crazy. The next day, I had to go in to work, and here are a few things that I saw along the way....

 It was a mixture of autumn and winter, dramatically juxtaposed. I had a lot of fun photographing the variety of foliage and snow. (Though my fingers and hands got really cold in the process!) It's been so cold that the snow hasn't actually all melted yet. There were downed tree branches on every street, and the power still hasn't been restored to everyone's homes. It's pretty crazy. The weight of the snow on the still-cloaked trees caused lots of branches to break off from the weight, and there was a lot of property damage as a result. No one has cable, and a lot of people don't have phone service, either. It's so wild that one day of rampant nature can do so much to disrupt our lives.... and yet... it's so beautiful, don't you think? 


xox

Groundhog Day!

Punxsutawney Phil, the illustrious groundhog, did NOT see his shadow, which means we're supposed to have an early spring! According to records, Phil is right 93% of the time. So here's hoping!

We've survived the arctic storm that blew through, although I guess we have a bit more weather coming this week still. The results of last night's freezing rain produced some lovely looking decorations!

I don't think I'll ever get used to how pretty the winters here in Pennsylvania can be. I'm not used to it at all, having lived in California for all of my adult life. (And most of my childhood, as well.) We had to drive over two hours to see some snow up in the mountains. And if it were precipitating freezing rain, the chances are good that you wouldn't be allowed to drive through.

Although I am loving the winter, I am still very excited for the first signs of spring to arrive! I planted some bulbs in the 2' x 3' plot of ground outside the back porch, and can barely wait to see them pop through the winter soil.... ahh, Spring! How I love thee! Is it crazy to look forward to a true spring cleaning? Opening the windows, airing out the interior, getting some fresh air and making a clean start to the season of growth and renewal. Very exciting!

I hope you are all keeping spring in your mind, and not letting the winter blues get to you!

xoxo

Living in a Snow Globe

I know what it feels like, I think, to live in that magical world inside of a snow globe...

The snow storm has started, and giant flakes of snow swirl around outside my windows. I love looking out to see the cardinals resting in the bush outside my window. They are such a lovely stark contrast to the whites, grays, browns that are the landscape now.

Kind of Zen, yeah?

I just had to share this with you all because it's one of my favorite sights to see outside. I wish the photo were clearer, but with the snowfall, it was hard to get a good focus on the cardinal, as my camera is actually zoomed in quite a bit. I wish you could see the actual snow falling, too! It really is beautiful....

I hope you are all warm and snuggly, wherever you are.

I Went on a Winter Walk...

Saw my favorite tree

Found some pretty pine cone flowers

Picked up bunny tracks...

all over the place!

Saw a weaver's nest, I think!

And thought this was neat.

It was finally above 32 yesterday, so I took a nice long walk. There was a lot to see out there, too! I saw more than bunny tracks, but didn't take any pictures because they just looked like a bunch of messed up snow. There was a lot of ice melt, but for some reason, at the downspout on the big brick warehouse, the water was still icy and frozen. All the other icicles around were melted, even the five foot one on my apartment! It snowed again last night, though, so I'm sure I'll see some more icy goodness... if it's pretty, I'll share it with you!