Thursday, January 21st, 2010
Today is January 21. I am guessing that most of the world has already taken down their Christmas trees. This year, we are running a little late in the Christmas tree removal department.
We did remove all the ornaments though. Well, I didn’t. It was done one day behind my back. All that’s left are the lights. I actually like it like this. It’s kind of tranquil keeping an evergreen tree indoors.
While we were watering the Christmas tree this afternoon, we were greeted by a whole bunch of fresh green pine tree buds. At first, I thought there were only a few. Then, I looked more closely at the tree and discovered that the entire thing is covered with buds. Yes, that’s right. Our Christmas tree is growing.
Christmas tree growing buds
Of course you know what I did. I jumped on the computer to see if a cut Christmas tree can actually start growing roots. If it can, my plan was to keep it growing inside until Spring. Then, I would plant it outside and hold it up with a bunch of stakes.
Unfortunately, I didn’t find one resource that told me a cut Christmas tree can grow roots. Everyone was pretty much against it. Oh well. I guess it’s just not going to work out this year.
Next year, I think I am going to really make an effort to get a balled Christmas tree. Either that or a potted one. We’ll see how that goes. It’s just such a waste tossing these big beautiful trees out into never never land.
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Wednesday, April 8th, 2009
Many of you don’t know this, but part of why I keep writing in the blog is to document many of the things that I am interested in. Just in the past month alone, I have probably looked back to see what I was thinking last March and April about ten times. I wanted to see what the weather was like, what the trees looked like and my general attitude on things. Strangely enough, it seems as though I have a fairly cyclical attitude, meaning, if I get bummed out during a cold March, I probably felt that way last year too. That’s why I try to put a little of myself into what I write here.
Today’s weather report said it was supposed to be cold and rainy. Besides a freak (light) snowfall this morning, it has shaped up to be a rather nice day. It’s not too cold and the sun has been popping in and out all day long.
This morning, I started doing a bit of walking around with the camera. Many things have buds and I would guess that if we had a few nice warm days, a fair amount of plants would spring to life. You just wait, because I have a lot going on.
One thing I did grab a photo of this morning was a Weihenstephaner Gold (Bailey’s Gold) plant. I really like these little flowers. They slowly spread, are easily splittable and are hard to kill. That’s my type of plant.
Now, I know that I already posted a photo of Bailey’s Gold last year, but that was in June. If I am going to document what it looks like in early April, I am going to need to post another photo. Enjoy.
Bailey's Gold - Sedum floriferum - Weihenstephaner Gold
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Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008
I can officially call it winter now that it’s the 22nd. It feels like just a few weeks ago that I had sweat dripping off my face from working outside. Now, sweat is just a distant memory.
When I woke up this morning, I noticed a blue sky peeking through the little half circle window above the closed shades in the bedroom. I was pretty happy because every time it’s sunny during these “dark” months, you pretty much have to take advantage of it. Being trapped inside a house during a very snowy weekend can get on your nerves. Not that it isn’t beautiful outside, it’s just that seeing the same walls over and over again can take its toll.
I decided that today would be a great day to take Holly down into the woods to go for a walk. Since Holly is a Nordic dog, I figured that she would jump at the chance to bounce around in the deep snow. The plan was to hike down the hill behind the house, cross the walking trail, climb over the rock wall and continue down to the river. Maybe Holly could get a quick drink while we were there and then we would figure out a way to get back up that steep, snowy hill. That was the plan.
I went downstairs to get Holly, who was asleep on the warm basement floor. I said, “C’mon Holly…c’mon,” while slapping my hand against my leg. She kind of just lifted her head to look at me. Then, I started jumping around so she would get the message. Holly isn’t the best listener, so it takes a bit of theatrics to get her to do anything. Finally, she got up and followed me up the basement stairs and out the garage door, where I clipped her to her leash. I think she was starting to wake up, because she had a little pep in her step once we hit the driveway pavement.
To get Holly warmed up for the snow hike, I walked her up the driveway to the mailbox and back down to the edge of the woods. Once we were all set to enter the woods, I gave her a tug and jumped in myself. She followed me, but once her paws hit the snow and her body sank about a foot into it, she looked a bit discouraged. She glanced up at me with those, “No way, man” eyes. I wasn’t having that, so I started to tug on her leash a little more. We got about 50 feet into the woods and she stopped. She just stopped. Her head kept on leading back to the driveway. I stood there in utter disappointment. What had this dog turned into? Oh well, today is her birthday and she did just turn 14. I’ll give her a break.
We started heading back up the driveway and she began hopping in the snow. “Oh, so there’s all that energy,” I said. She was saving it to make sure she would make it back to that warm basement floor. She might need it to fall asleep again. Oh well. I brought her back inside and headed down into the woods myself.
Good thing I had my big boots and snow pants on. If I tried to hike around in anything else, I would have been totally covered in snow. We must have over a foot, because the white stuff was well past my shins and right below my kneecaps. It’s not fun when it hits the skin and starts to melt. Winter is all about dressing the right way. I figured that out a long time ago. Believe it or not, the second time I went skiing, I attempted to go down Mt. Snow in jeans. What an idiot. I’ll chalk that up to being an inexperienced youth.
I had my camera in my pocket and was ready to take some really beautiful shots of the New England woods after a snowstorm. I made it a bit down the hill to the treehouse. I figured I would take a few pictures of it to show you. I mentioned to Laura this morning that we should make a point of fixing it up this summer, just in case we ever wanted to sit up there and watch the woods. It’s situated in a nice little cluster of Hemlocks.
Treehouse in Hemlock trees
Treehouse in Hemlock trees
The treehouse is built very well and quite sturdy, so I don’t think we’ll have any problems maintaining it. Laura already climbed up there over the summer to peek out the window. I got about half way up and turned around. I few years ago, I would have been jumping up and down on top of the roof. What the heck happened to me?
I continued down the hill, across the hiking trail, all the way to the river. It’s really not that far, but when you are lifting your knees to your chest, trying to walk, it seems a lot further than it really is.
I made it to the river and took a few photos. This one was the best.
River leading into wetlands
The water wasn’t as active as it was a few days ago, after that huge rainfall we had. It was pretty calm today, but I’m sure we’ll see a change after the rain and warm weather that’s predicted for the next few days.
From there, I stopped to smell the figurative roses. It’s not every day I am able to stand, once again, in silence. It was really nice. There were no footprints anywhere, so I knew I was alone. I took a look around to see what I could take pictures of. It was kind of challenging, because there wasn’t a lot of substance. It’s hard to explain, but in the summer months, there are leaves, trees, flowers, animals, etc…to take pictures of. During winter, there is snow and wood. I did find a few things though…
Branch with buds
Looking into the sun
Small branch with ice on it
Tree branches in winter
Dried leaf with snow on it
Small tree in winter woods
At that point, I figured that I had enough pictures. Trust me, there were many more than what I am showing you, but so many didn’t come out the way I wanted them to. With many of them, I was experimenting with the various settings on the camera.
When my fingers started getting cold, I turned around to head up the hill.
If you have never seen this hill, I’ll tell you that it’s somewhat difficult walking up when there is no snow on the ground. When there is snow, it’s all the more fun. I made it about half way back up when I stopped at the treehouse again. I saw a few low hanging Hemlock branches, so I pulled the camera back to see what I could do with them.
Close up Hemlock branches
That was fun because the Hemlock is my all-time favorite tree.
As I rounded the crest of the hill and got closer to civilization, I felt the cold air against my face. I was using a lot of energy, but not sweating in the least. I continued to walk and thought to myself how beautiful winter and snow can really be. I spend so much of my time complaining about how I can’t go outside and plant things, that I overlook much of what this time of year has to offer. Today was a great day to get outside and remind me of that.
The last picture I took was of one of the Rhodedenrums out in front. It looked to good against the blue sky, I just couldn’t help myself.
Rhodedenrum against blue sky in winter
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Saturday, April 19th, 2008
I would say it’s about 75 degrees right now. It’s good if you don’t move. I haven’t sweat yet this season, but then again, I haven’t done anything.
The trees are right on the cusp of exploding. Things are starting to flower and the leaves are all just unwinding from their buds. I would say within a week we will start seeing some real action.
Down in Westchester, everything is out…flowering trees I mean. The Magnolias are out in full force. The Crabapples and the rest are filling the air with fresh pollen…mmmm, you can smell it.
Many bulbs are up and in bloom. What you are seeing here with the Daffodils are just the early risers. The Iris is coming up too, but they bloom later on. Also, just the leaves of the Tulips are showing. It’s pretty fun to watch the whole process. I actually live for it.
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Tuesday, April 8th, 2008
I went outside yesterday to take a few photos of some buds on some trees. I grabbed a few good ones of our Thundercloud Purple Leaf Plum and the Bradford Pear.
I have to say, this blog has been very handy for me to look at when I start wondering when things are going to bloom. Every Spring I think the same thing…when is this going to grow, when is that going to bud? I asked those questions last year, so I thought ahead. Last year, I began documenting (with photos), right here on this blog, when things start changing. Now, all I have to do is look at the archives on my blog to find out. Pretty cool…
Anyway, here are the photos I took yesterday:
This photo is our Thundercloud Purple Leaf Plum. That’s a pretty cool tree, but the Japanese Beetles LOVE it. Beware. I hope to get some nice growth on it this year.
This is the Bradford Pear that we have in the front yard. It grows kind of slow, from what I have seen.
I will be taking more photos as the season goes on.
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