Fifty Degree Interlude

There was not enough time

For the last snow to melt before a beautiful new snow began again. The diagnosis was looking quite snowy until Tuesday.

So the blue skies and fifty degrees that showed up today were a bit of a surprise. The witches were bound to be out.

Today at least, because the next round of big snow and cold is coming tonight.

The clouds have started to roll back in.

'Jelena' is always the first to bloom.

Getting such small flowers in focus can be a bit of a challenge at times.

It was a short visit. The cold was radiating up from the melt.

The sad truth is I have been having a long spell of very painful sciatica. Induced no doubt by all this isolation and sitting around motionless in the cold. Walking on lumpy sloped ground can be painful. My bones are getting old.

The doctor put me on a nerve agent, Gabapentin. We'll see how that goes. I am also taking physical therapy classes to learn some new stretching exercises. I need to move things around. On a routine. Regularly. With counts and reps and all that rot. My bones are getting old.

On The Next Day

It was twenty.

The Witches Popped Out

Two days of seventy and some sun and the Witch Hazels launched into high bloom. All the flower buds were popping at once. The road to high bloom is usually a much longer process than that.

Winter and 'no melting for you' cold will be back in the morning. There will be some inches of snow.

So I went to go visit the cold witches on a warm afternoon.

See what I mean? Last time I looked there was but the faintest blush of an awakening.

This instantaneous full opening is a first.

All the witches are stirring.

On a brief warm winter afternoon.

A small division of bamboo has grown to become a clump. Surprisingly, I have never seen signs of deer dining on the bamboo.

Where snowdrops pop higher and grape hyacinth foliage gets eaten.

Next up more winter. The clouds are rolling in. Time to go back inside.

All Gone

There was thunder and lightning and torrential outbursts of rain in the night. The high was 70 degrees today. The snow will be back Thursday morning.

Popping Up Snowdrops

They are persistent no matter how winter the weathers.

The snow is just not wanting to give up. But there is some warm rain coming. It may get melted before it turns back to snow.

All this snow and cold has slowed things down. Including me.

This time last year 'Jelena' was in full bloom. This year 'Jelena' is still in the contemplation phase.

And that could mean all three Witch Hazels, Jelena, Diane and Arnold could be blooming at once. I can handle that.

It's Winter

With melting snowpack. Cold slush.

Motion has ceased.

Until further notice.

 

Some People Like Snow

I've got plenty to show. I got way more snow than suggested yesterday. There may be another dusting tonight.

It's winter.

There has been some major progress happening in the Turnip Fields.

And there is a loose starving hound about. In the snow. In the cold. In the winter. It ran off when I got close. I have to catch me a dog. With food of course.

The variegated Yucca filamentosa have been making green babies. There looks to be some genetic variability in them. You never know what may come up.

It's winter.

With snow.

Snowpack Bloom Day

The snow from last Friday is still here. It has been a few years since snow has stayed on the ground this long. 

There was more snow last Monday, a spit of snow this morning and a fresh layer of it is planned for tomorrow.

It is a for real winter. It is Bloom Day under a snowpack. You won't get much from me. Best go visit Bloom Day headquarters if you need lots of flowers.

It has been cold enough for the ground to freeze. That slows the melt even with a number of sunny days in the mid-forties. The ground is hard to thaw. The new warm is currently 45.

There is hope. Snowdrops are popping out of the ground all over the place.

Just not for next week. Next week is starting off real cold. Too cold for the ground to thaw. Forty degrees could be the new warm.

There is hope. 'Jelena' the witch hazel is showing some petal. Once this snowpack part of winter has passed there will be flowers for Bloom Day.

Until then; the tax forms got printed today. Some cipherin could happen.

While It Was Fresh

It started Thursday evening. The sun reappeared Sunday morning. I was expecting more snow. I was not expecting snowboarders and a whole lot of snow peepers. Traffic was stopping in front of my house. I do live in a very scenic spot in the snow with a groomed slope right across the street.

Wanna go for a walk in the snow? Snow and cold without wind is quite doable, rather refreshing in fact. I wasn't even super winterized for the walk. To help keep you warm.

The interior loft window trim boards are drying. I had to open some windows in the cold to vent the fumes.

Sunday morning at 10am the frozen fog lifted and the sun came out. It all began to melt.