Sunday, December 05, 2010
Snowy Weekend in Durham!
Yesterday the weather man said we might get snow, but it would not cover the ground. The snow was supposed to be from 3pm until 6pm. It started at 1pm and was still going a little at 11pm when I went to bed. In total I think we almost got 2 inches of snow!
As some of you might know we are collecting wine bottles for building a bottle wall along the pond. So far I have 25 blue wine bottles like these covered in snow. Anyone with a good source for blue bottles please let me know, I'd love to have a few hundred blue bottles for my project.
Eastern Redbud covered in snow, see all the dark seed pods on it!
Camellia 'Pink Butterfly' this bloom did OK with the snow and 28 degrees this morning. More blooms were under the snow.
This is a vitex tree with loads of seeds in our garden.
Another camellia 'Kanjiro' was covered in snow lots of flowers on it right now.
Our pond with it's first full blanketing of ice this winter. Temps are going to be colder than usual and I expect it to be frozen over for weeks. It did melt back today, most of it anyway. That smashed plant in the center was our swamp sunflower.
Our re purposed deck in the woods as it was snowing Saturday afternoon. I have $200 in replaced wood and bolts in this. It was the old deck on the back of the house before we added on. This is a great summer breakfast spot!
The cold frames as it was snowing Saturday. The ice remained on the glass door one in the front. I picked kale, mustard greens and rape for dinner tonight from the big cold frame
When I worked, had a young family, was busy, rushing here and there, the weather was often the bane of my life. It was often too hot, too cold, too wet etc. Now that I am retired I find I am becoming a fan of weather. I love the changes and because I can fit my life around it I find my life has a rhythm. A rhythm not dictated by time or timetables, or other people's demands, or Must Do Lists. Your photos of your weather are endlessly interesting to me. I love the camelia.
ReplyDeleteI'm jealous. Sigh. I'd like a bit of snow every once in a while.
ReplyDeleteAs for finding bottles, you can check on freecycle, craigslist, glass recycling centers, bars and restaurants, and recycling bins at apartment complexes. You may have to ask for them on freecycle or craigslist if none are listed. Blue is going to be very, very hard to find though. Green, brown, or clear would be much easier with maybe pockets of blue bottles.
My husband homebrews so we've dug through a fair amount of recycling bins to get our bottles. Wear gloves and long sleeves. People aren't really good at rinsing out bottles.
Alternatively, you can order blue bottles online or purchase them at a homebrew supply store.
Hi Randy, it is so fast to kill those plants you have there. I feel a little depressed with the man-hours and money to make the garden flourish and suddenly, they are all gone. I love most the variegated banana, which has to be cut before fruiting, how sad. But the Universe is really good, at least you have colder weather next time to rebuild the garden, so you folks there can work longer hours toiling the soil. With us with very high temps and humidity, we cannot stay long in the sun to do those chores, so we normally make only small gardens to suit our capacity to tend it. But they will stay there perennially as long as we tend them, or replace them, no frost to worry at all. But of course we have strong typhoons which can sometimes uproot even sweet potato vines. haha!
ReplyDeleteHazel,
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by, we have 4 seasons here so the weather is always changing.
NSAR,
I stop at the recycling center as often as I can, get all the normal wine bottles I need, those blue ones are rare because the wine is sweet and not a big favorite.
Andrea,
Our gardens here we look forward to springs rebirth. Yes the annuals perish, but the perennials usually make a return year after year. It is very rewarding to see them poking back out of the ground.
That sure is a pretty snow! I wish we'd get some.
ReplyDeleteWow, I am surprised how much difference there is from your place to ours. We had about .02 inch of rain....and you got snow!!
ReplyDeleteThe first shot of the Camellia with the snow is really nice. I like the contrast of the pink and white.
Glad we aren't related if you are genetically predisposed to kill orchids!
Great photos, Randy! I'm remembering a fun time you had with your friends last Winter when your pond iced over!!! (And I won one of your wonderful butterfly cd-roms - which I love!)
ReplyDeleteGeez. Wonder what it will look like when the weather men predict enough snow to cover the ground, lol. Beautiful photos and I love the deck in the woods!
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine the cold but images with snow certainly look beautiful! I love your deck...the summer breakfast spot! And the camellias...stunningly beautiful, especially with snow on them.
ReplyDeleteWow! We had a few minutes of sleet...but no snow. You guys really got it. It looks so pretty in your garden. Carla
ReplyDeleteThe snow is magical in your garden. Love the repurposed deck. Check with your local recycling center or dump. They might be able to help you with the wine bottles. If that doesn't work go on Freecycle.org and ask for some. You might find a good source there. Plus some salvage yards may take them in. Good luck. That will be a lot of blue bottles!
ReplyDeleteThe snow made everything so beautiful! We got about two inches too.
ReplyDeleteI'm saving my blue bottles for ya!
Enchanting Randy, though I feel for your Camellias! We on the other hand have no snow . . . unless you count the flurries today. Your wood deck looks beautiful . . . but are you not food for flying critters while you eat breakfast?
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely sight. The first snowfall is of course my favorite~Then it can go away~ Randy, I got all my blue bottles from a store that specializes in wine making. They sell them by the case~MIne were about $21 for 12! gail
ReplyDeleteWow, I got cold just viewing your photos. That first snow is lovely. Go get some hot chocolate!
ReplyDeleteYou sure got a lot more snow than we did. I love that Pink Beauty Camellia shot.
ReplyDeleteRandy,
ReplyDeleteGoodness, I had no idea that you had snow -- we've had VERY nippy temps (much lower than normal), but no precipitation.
Lovely photos!
Lisa