Snow Day!

The snowy garden is a rare treat for me, so I wish to share with you my first ever Snow Day!  Here's my recent blog entry:

Having lived in sunny California my whole life until 2 1/2 years ago, yesterday was my first ever Snow Day!  No, I'm not in school any more but I'm glad I didn't have to drive my kids to school so that was a relief.  I took 160 photos!  These are my eleven favorites that I'm allowed to post (my kids won't let me post any photos of them).

This is the view outside my bedroom window to which I awoke.  Gorgeous!

BTW, no, it's not a black and white photo.

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The chickens are all snug inside their tractor.  I left the door open all day for them but they didn't want to come out.  I'm glad that I stretched garden plastic over the run to keep it warm and dry and cozy for them.  

The black water dish is a special rubberized plastic that can withstand the rapid changes of pouring hot water onto iced-over water.  They also have water in their hen house, food in both the hen house and run, plus a little dish of sand to provide them with grit. I also brought treats to them periodically throughout the day.

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I can't get over how much Casey loves playing in the snow!  Sparkie is more normal, she watches the snow fall from the warmth and dryness of the house, but Casey loves to play hunt in the snow.

Doesn't he remind you of Wile E. Coyote? LOL!

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My neighbor wasn't to let a huge snow storm stop her from walking her dog!

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This is my sundial.  What time is it?

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My seed heads in the snow.

 

Echinecea, rudebekia (Black-eyed Susans), gaillardia, and sunflowers.

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My Scotch Pine (the same one that the sharp-shinned hawk and Casey were in)

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Detail of one of my Japanese maples with snow.

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Late morning a ginormous limb of my neighbor's tree fell down under the weight of the snow!

As you can see, it miraculously missed every thing!  It missed their driveway, most importantly it missed their brand new deck, it missed their fountain, and even their garden gnome escaped injury.

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First snow!

Our first snow was actually yesterday morning, so although I took these photos yesterday I was too busy cleaning up from our weekend celebrations to post them. LOL! Better late than never, right?

I got up just before dawn so I could take some photos before getting the boys off to school. This is our swimming pool and deck--does it look inviting? Don't you wanna jump right in? LOL.

For a short while it actually snowed pretty well, which was fun for the boys who have never seen snow falling before. Earlier in the fall we had some flurries that melted instantly, but not like this.

 

 

I let Casey out on the balcony and he seemed to actually enjoy the snow! Can you Alan in the photo down on the ground? Casey probably would have stayed out on the balcony all morning if I hadn't picked him up and brought him in. And his little feet were so cold!

 

 

 

 

Should I prune my roses?  Back in the San Francisco Bay Area we don't prune roses until the end of January, but I don't know about my new colder climate.

 

 

 

 

 

Soon after the boys left for school the sky cleared up and I knew I had only a short time left to photograph the snow before it all melted.

 

 

 

 

Is this a bird bath or a bird ice skating rink? I feel like I should get a miniature Zamboni.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I continue to be amazed by how beautiful and healthy my sage looks in spite of the constant frost, freezes, and now snow!

 

 

 

 

My mums are looking tired, but they are pretty topped with snow.

 

 

The snow was all gone by 10am but it was fun while it lasted.

 

 

 

 

 

I hope you enjoyed my photos!