Flowering Gardens...

Yes it is that time of year again - when the garden is in full bloom, and the spring sights are indeed wonderful to behold :) So once again, a few snapshots from recently :)

Yorkshire rose in bloom. Photo by my husband.

Rosa alba semi-plena or the Yorkshire Rose.

I believe this is the Tudor rose, Rosa damascena versicolor. Photo by my husband.

Close-up of the Tudor rose :)

Sunset over the parking lot :) This was such an amazing sunset, I disregarded the location!

Spiderwort.

"Mama, take a picture of me! Take a picture of me smelling the iris!". So I did.

Rosa Damascena 'Bifera' or Quatre Saisons rose (Autum damask)

Those who read my art blog will recognise the pinks- I drew those recently LOL

Peony just opening.

Peony...

and again- they are very photogenic!

Rosa alba 'maxima' OR the Jacobite rose- yes the one my blog is named after :)

Iris.

A flowering grass from the garden...

A sneak peek into the garden :)

Mama duck and ducklings!

SNOW!!

After 7 years, we finally got a decent snowfall. It would have been much better if it had NOT knocked out our power on the two record breaking coldest nights in March ever!!! (9.3 degrees F and 13 degrees F respectively). Thank goodness for Kerosene heaters!
Anyway, I thought I'd share some pictures of our 8 inches or so. You can click on the pictures for a closer look :)

The birds were attacking the feeder with a vengeance- we actually saw birds at them that we rarely see... including a pine warbler and the blue jays. It was definitely a plus point because with the power out, there was not much else to do but watch them and read books... not that I mind either of those ;)

This one above is the pine warbler (female).

The back garden was covered. When I went out, I discovered my Doc Martens were inadequate- too low!! I resolved to tread in my husband's footprint. His boots were a little higher! M'Lady's boots were way too short while Rebel's wellies were fine. Good job it wasn't super cold though!!

The views from upstairs were amazing... they always are though :) My biggest regret was that certain neighbours thought it was fun to go up and down the road in ATVs and Dirt bikes- and a few in trucks which they liked to try and get stuck in the snow in. Most were too young to have driven in the snow before- like I said, this is the biggest snow in 7 years for us. Locals tell me that we used to get these snows every year, plus a bigger one and a smaller one. If all snows kncocked out power, I say thank goodness for 'climate change' ;)

It really was a rubbishy snow. Powdery and dry, you couldn't sledge, or have snowball fights or build snowmen (though a few people managed the latter by using wetter snow). M'lady tried her sledge, but moved only a few feet. 2 days later the sledging was great- I used our hill and had fun, the kids did a few slides in the front and chickened out from sliding down the hill.

The icicles on the roof were cool. They started out pretty small, but as the days passed and the snow melted only to re-freeze at night, they changed...

...becoming these amazing icicles which dangled long and low enough to see from the living room and front bedroom windows. I found them fascinating- falling on the ice one time as I stared, and watching them melt out of the window. They are ridged and fascinating to see!

And when one fell off yesterday, Rebel grabbed it and brought it in to look at. You can see that they are really quite large! I was not the only one fascinated by them!

The way the snow clung to the trees interested me too...

The front lawn became quite beautiful...

...And the setting sun tinted the snow on the trees pink. That's probably the last of the snow we'll see for at least a year... but given that it has been 4 years since our last snow big enough to play in, and 7 years since a sleddable snow... who knows?

Ice Storm

I don't know that you can really call it a storm though. It was more of a steady rain, or drizzle at times. Although disappointing that it was not snow, ice can be just as captivatingly beautiful!



When I got up this morning, it was dark. It shouldn't have been- it was well after the time it is normally light. The sight outside was beautiful- iced trees glistening through the fog. It is not a sight you normally see in England, so ice-storms are one of those American things I enjoy as a novelty- like the huge thunderstorms we get in summer.



I stepped outside to try and get some photos- but it was so dark, my flash kept going off, and the beautiful shots I made were ruined by the light. Suddenly the pale air, and crystalline shine of the ice was reduced to water.

This one above is artificially lightened just to show kind of what it looked like.

I ran out later to take a few, but much of the ice had already melted. the air was filled with the sounds of birds singing, and water dripping off of the trees in a constant stream. It's the sound of a thaw- a sound most gardeners anticipate because it is often the first herald of spring.



This early in the year, I don't think it is a true thaw- just the ice from the freezing rain thawing. None the less, the birds are excited- we refilled the feeders for them, so they have plenty. Now if only I could find my suet cage...


I managed second time around to get a few decent shots of the ice-rimmed plants, especially of the red limbed Rosa virginiana. This is one spectacular winter plant with its red limbs and red hips :) Sounds almost like I am describing a person :D.


The sweetgums in the garden, are forever dropping their gumballs into the garden, this one landed in the middle of the rose bush- I am considering painting it for the latest EDM challenge (#208- draw something out of place).

"Ice
on the earth, bitter
black frost, and a winding sheet of snow
upon her withered breast, and
deep within me, dread
and ice."
- Jessica MacBeth, excerpt from "Initiation"- Winter Poems

How Time Does Fly...

Especially when you are having fun. I always seem to get lost on this blog when the summer comes- too much to do, not enough pictures, you name it :)
I thought instead, that I might just share some photos :)

My pomegranates, grown in my garden :)

Pineapple Sage.

Homegrown peanuts.

Homegrown fig.

A bee digging holes to lay their eggs in... you can see the beginning of a former test hole on the left :)

Milkweed fluff.

The three stages of an Eastern Blue Swallowtail Butterfly.

Lavender.

Rosehips from the garden.

Our Halloween pumpkin... face designed by Rebel :)