A Year's Difference

Last February we put a contract on the house we now own. On February 15th we did the home inspection and I took this photo of the back garden.
This February is drastically different. I anticipate my start to the garden will be delayed this year while waiting for the snow to melt. Here's what it looked like today.
Since the forecast calls for sun and above freezing temperatures this week I decided to go out and shovel off the cold frame. I found it was easier to crawl over the surface of the snow than sink into the very deep paths of at least 30 inches.
When I found the coldframe there was 12-15 inches on top of it.
I slowly shoveled it off. I got to the last window and realized I hadn't gotten the edge.
Here's where I made my mistake. Instead of scraping across the window I went straight down on where I thought the edge of the wood was. Ooops! I broke the glass.So I covered it with some plastic and come spring we'll have to replace it with plexiglass or something.
Here is how things look on the inside of the cold frame. Green but frozen. And smelling like a fish tank. When things begin to thaw out I'll have to clean out the dead plants and see what will rebound. Here's how the garden looks now.

Cross-Country Skiing

We didn't get the 12 to 24 inches of snow predicted yesterday but we did get a good 8-10 inches of new snow. Last weekend I found out about some local cross country ski trails that are groomed and free to use. Best of all they are only 5 minutes down the road. This afternoon I enjoyed an hour skiing exploring the trails. It was so beautiful out with the blue sky and fresh snow and so I brought my camera along. I stopped often to take photos. Here are some of the best views from the trail.

I caught a glimpse of this farm through the trees and backed up to take this shot.

Then I skied a little further and found a better view.

Snow Day

Though I'm no longer teaching, I still get a thrill from a snow day. This morning I watched the birds fight at the feeder for the prime spots. The evening grosbeaks were there first.
But later, a large hairy woodpecker came and kept others at bay with its long beak. I watched the snow drift build up at the back door. Here it is around 11 am. And later in the afternoon. The layers are so even and interesting.
It's hard to know how much snow we got. I measured a range of 12 to 18" depending on the spot. The wind was moving so much of it around. It shaped the snow on my car to make it look like a Prius.

I did snow day things like bake pumpkin bread, and I finished my Christmas tree skirt. It was done except the binding before Christmas and since we've returned I've been working on the binding so I can put it away finished for next year. And of course I shoveled snow. I need to make sure there was a parking space for Matt when he came home. I left the snow drift at the back door for him to shovel, so photos of the garden in its deep blanket of snow will have to wait until tomorrow.

Merry Christmas

I hope you have a very Merry Christmas!

Christmas Decorations

A few days ago my mom shared her Christmas decorations and asked others to share theirs. Since she won't be visiting my house this Christmas, here are a few photos of our decorations.

At the front door, you'll find our wreath. I bought a plain wreath and decorated it myself.
Inside the living room, the santas I painted as a teenager sit on the shelf with the clock and a mini-tree my mom made years ago. I dried a few apple and orange slices on the woodstove and they adorn the shelf as well.
The sideboard holds our two nativity sets, and we've been placing Christmas cards behind. (We have gotten more than one since I took this picture).My craft project for Christmas decorations this year was a tree skirt. I pieced it together and machine quilted it. Here it is before I cut the hole in the middle for the tree.
It fits well around the tree and other gift projects have taken precedence so I won't get a binding on it until after Christmas. Then it will be all ready for next year. And here is our tree we cut down the day after Thanksgiving!

The Difference of a Day

Yesterday I wrote how the weather was balmy. It didn't stay that way for long. The snow started yesterday evening. We only got about two inches but it is the first significant snow of the season. Here's the garden today. Unfortunately the window in the attic that I usually open to take a clear overview of the garden is now frozen shut. So you get a bit of the screen in this photo from the bedroom window.

Quite a contrast to yesterday's photo (see post below).

First Snow!

The blog has been quiet lately because of travel and preparations for Thanksgiving. I'll be back with more next week, but for now here are photos after the first snow today.

So much for an early spring!

For the first time ever, I got a call last night to say that school would be canceled today. It had been lightly snowing all day but started to pick up in the evening and the forecast for today was for a heavy wet snows. Local weatherman called for up to a foot. That sounded nice, we haven't had much snow this winter. When I went out this afternoon to clean off the car, I could hardly see it.
I took out the yardstick and found 21" so far.
When I brushed the snow off the top of the car it seemed to only encase the car in snow.
So had to shovel double the snow all the way around the car. Now I'm ready to drive the car out when the plow comes for the driveway. Luckily I baked bread today including adding a cinnamon sugar swirl to one loaf. So I enjoyed a slice of warm bread when I came in from all that shoveling. Yum!

Sunrise in the Shenandoahs

Here are some early morning photos from our trip between Christmas and New Years.The morning sun on the snow was beautiful. I can't claim much credit for these as I was driving while my husband had the camera, but I did point and say "Ooooo".

My Favorite!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!!!

Harvest Totals 12/14/09

This past week we got at least a foot more snow. My lacinato kale did not do well with being snow covered last year so when I saw that it was getting close, I harvested almost all of it. I had to be on snow shoes to do so. It totaled around 7 oz of kale. It was the sweetest we've had yet. I think this might be the last from these plants. Over the course of the season from May to December I've harvested over 4 pound of kale from these plants. A usual harvest would be around 3 to 4 oz for a meal, though there were larger harvests of 10 oz a couple of times this summer. Altogether a good showing for my six lacinato kale plants.

You can see what other gardeners are still harvesting at Daphne's Dandelions.

Harvesting in the Snow

Winter has arrived in full force. I measured 13" of snow this afternoon. We went for a walk in snow shoes and I thought I'd better take a look at the garden while I could still get to it. I found that the Lacinato kale was close to being buried in the snow.


I returned to harvest it. It was the sweetest kale yet and we ate it all tonight. I left a few of the littlest leaves to see if they will continue to grow. Maybe I'll be able to dig some out after our next snow storm. More about the harvest on Monday.

I began to brush snow off the cold frame but then thought better of it as freezing rain was predicted for tonight. It will be a lot easier to get the ice off if it is on top of a foot of snow than if it is directly on the windows. I hope everything in there will be ok for a day or two since I won't be home during daylight tomorrow to go brush it off.

Sunrise on a Snowy Morn

Both photos are from the sunrise Sunday morning. We are getting more snow today but there is no sign of the sun.

First Snow!

This afternoon our first snow began. It was wet with big flakes.
I went out while it was still light to brush off the cold frame, though it was still snowing.
Here's what is still inside, looking a bit ragged. Please forgive the wet spot on the lens in the photos. Under the right window there is kohlrabi in the back, which has been mangled by the slugs. In the middle is sorrel and there is some arugula at the bottom.
In the middle section, there is winterbor kale at the back, arugula, tatsoi and beets in the middle, and chard and mizuna at the bottom.
Under the left window is more kale, carrots, italian dandelion, mache, and a bit of claytonia. Just outside the cold frame are two swiss chard plants. The snow on them will probably cause the end of them.
And here is my lacinato kale covered with snow.