Hello December

And what a beautiful Hello it was!

Since this is our first experience ushering in winter, nearly every minute of every day brings new images that are worth stopping whatever it is I am doing to take it all in and document what I can.

I took this photograph below about 1:30 this afternoon.  Yes, it is the middle of the day, but the sun rises and sets SO low on the horizon that it is sometimes difficult to tell what time of day it really is.  But there is no denying the beauty present in every moment.

As we approach the winter solstice, the distance between where the sun rises in the morning and sets in the evening is very short.  It's almost like:  sun up. . . sun down. . . day over.

Harry is more than ready to leave Michigan for the winter to return to Texas where it is warm and the days are a bit longer.  But for me, the conflict continues.  I am looking forward to seeing my friends and spending time with them.  I miss them so very much.  But I am also a little bit sad that I will miss the changing seasons that are such an integral part of a Michigan life.  

And to my Texas friends (and my brother) who think I'm absolutely crazy to be lamenting leaving Michigan in December. . .you have to have lived here to appreciate the beauty of this State to get it. (OK Brian (my brother) I know you get it and would really like to live somewhere else. . . but humor me please, as a novice to Michigan winters).

Thank you Michigan for another wonderful Spring, Summer and Fall.  Can't wait to do it again next year : )

Cold and Blustery Day

And it's only November : (

I know. . . only days ago I wrote about the first snowfall, but the snow has not stopped since I wrote that post.  And it's even colder.  And windier.  And more blowing snow.  And any hope of a reprieve from winter during November is pretty much dashed.

But as I sat on my toasty warm back porch today looking around outside, I saw some pretty neat stuff.  See, I think it's important to pay attention to the small stuff . . . the stuff you don't normally give a second thought to.  Like this pretty dark eyed junco, resting on the bannister, waiting for its turn at the feeder;

My Gretchen girl eyeing Laci down by the lakeshore...waiting to pounce on her as she comes through the yard; neither of them minding the snow at all; 

...and Laci romping through the snow;

...and this pretty cardinal staring down a woodpecker on the feeder;

...and the swans as they swoop across the lake;

...and the snow as it falls in the woods in front of my house and thanking my brother-in-law for plowing my driveway;

Yes, it's another cold and blustery day here in Southwest Michigan, but I am once again thankful that I am warm and comfortable inside my lovely home on the lake.  But Harry is traveling home from Chicago today and is stuck on a train just outside of K'Zoo.  Once he is safely home, I will be even more thankful for this day.

First Snowfall

It started early this morning . . .

 

. . . and it's still coming down.  

The snow has been intermittent most of the day but is supposed to pick up in intensity through the night and continue throughout the weekend.  To say Michiganders are less than excited about the onset of winter is a gross understatement.  As a matter of fact, one of Harry's nieces refuses to even acknowledge winter is here :)  And I can appreciate their feelings.  Last winter was pretty brutal and in the interest of full disclosure~~I was not here to experience it.  But having confessed to that, there is something serene and very pretty about the first snowfall of the season.  As I drove around this morning going about my usual routine, I stopped along the way and shot a few pictures.

Gretchen and Laci appeared unfazed by the snow.  This being their first real experience with the white stuff, I wasn't sure how they would react to it.  Other than being a bit more frisky than usual, they seemed to take the snow in stride.

Once the snow began to fall, I made sure all my bird feeders were full.  Most of the little song birds and the woodpeckers don't migrate; and once the snow falls heavy and blankets everything, it's hard for them to find food.

So yes, it is the beginning of another long winter, but I'm trying to stay upbeat and appreciate the serenity of this moment~~ the first snowfall.

And It's November

It sure came fast, didn't it?  Seems like summer was just beginning and all of a sudden--wham, here we are into the first week of November.

November is always a pensive month for me.  I tend to get very quiet and introspective.  Especially here in Michigan.  The days get shorter and colder.  We see less and less of the sun.  We've had our first frost.  The bounty of produce is just about gone.  Wiley Farms is getting ready to close for the season.  And when November hits, it's unmistakable that winter is right around the corner.  November also means our imminent departure from Michigan and that brings on a flood of conflicting feelings that I continue to wrestle with.

But there is also a mystical, profound beauty about November that is worth embracing.  To me it is the beginning of the period of time that the earth rests.

There are many good and beautiful things about November.  It means the holidays are right around the corner.  Warm, comforting dishes like soups, braises and stews grace my dinner table.  The Downy Woodpeckers begin to visit my feeders.  I snuggle in under a blanket, puppies at my feet, on my warm, four-season porch and delve into the wonderful books I bought/downloaded over the summer.  

November also brings about some of the most beautiful sunsets and moon rises I've ever seen.

Yes, November can be cold and dreary.  I won't argue that point.  But it also signifies the beginning of another season--winter.  And that is one of the things I love most about Michigan~~the seasons and everything that goes along with them.  Granted, we won't be here for the coldest part of winter, but I'm grateful that I will experience this beautiful, reflective time of year.  

Time to Replant

Like most Northern gardens, mine took a huge hit this past winter!  It was so brutally cold for so long with so much snow that even plants that normally survive a cold winter died.  Now that spring is here, I took a long walk around the property to assess the damage.  It was not pretty.

I lost three rhododendrons

My dogwood didn't bloom

 My hydrangea got fried

 I lost four of my nine knockout roses

 and the ones I did not lose are going to need some MAJOR pruning!

 My azaleas didn't fare so well either.  I only lost one of four, but the three surviving ones look a bit peaked

 But all in all the landscaping looked pretty good.  My coral bells all did well, 

My peonies are getting ready to bloom

The evergreens all did well and are thriving!

The phlox is blooming away...pretty in pink!

 And I even spied a nest of baby robins in the alcove near my front entrance!

And I did all this surveillance under the ever watchful eye of Gretchen and Laci :-)

So my first act was to replace the dead rhododendrons.   I found these beautiful white ones at the local nursery and in the ground they went.  The blooms on them are just gorgeous.  I love white flowers. . . any kind of white flowers.

 While I was working I had this plump bumble bee visit me and these beautiful blooms.

Since I don't have a vegetable garden here in my Northern home,  I will get my gardening fix playing in the dirt in my landscape beds.  With a view like this every day, I think I can live with that :-)