Christmas decor packing up

“A lot of people like snow. I find it to be an unnecessary freezing of water.”
― Carl Reiner                                  

We do have snow occasionally. This is my court yard in December 2010

Don't forget to click on a photo to see larger pictures


 “Winter is not a season, it's an occupation.” Sinclair Lewis

 Time to take down and pack up Christmas decorations.  My computer room book shelves remind me of a gift shop..  I have enjoyed being in here with memories and a few new things.  Beauty becomes clutter after a few weeks and time to pack away.

“I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.”
― Charles Dickens

The cloche is a recent flea market find

Fond memories of Christmas in Oklahoma

 “My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others. Come to think of it, why do we have to wait for Christmas to do that?”
― Bob Hope

An Avon glass tree has been one of my decorations for more than 40 years

 “Oh look, yet another Christmas TV special! How touching to have the meaning of Christmas brought to us by cola, fast food, and beer.... Who'd have ever guessed that product consumption, popular entertainment, and spirituality would mix so harmoniously? ”
― Bill Watterson, The Essential Calvin and Hobbes

New Mexico ruins and my photo of Aspens are a newer memory

 “One of the most glorious messes in the world is the mess created in the living room on Christmas day. Don't clean it up too quickly."
~ (1919-), American writer, producer, humorist. ”
― Andy Rooney

Memories of my sister 1930-2013

 “A lovely thing about Christmas is that it's compulsory, like a thunderstorm, and we all go through it together.”
― Garrison Keillor, Leaving Home

Last three bells I painted over 30 years ago

  
 “There has been only one Christmas -- the rest are anniversaries.”
― W. J. Cameron

                                          These pillows are a lesson in perseverance. I have worked
                                          on them for several years. The circles are called yoyo.



 “I wish we could put up some of the Christmas spirit in jars and open a jar of it every month.”
― Harlan Miller

 “What do you think of Christmas?"
"I like it," she said. "I think we should have it every year.”

A new project

The trouble with weather forecasting is that it's right too often for us to ignore it and wrong too often for us to rely on it. ~Patrick Young

This morning I intended to get out to the front yard and continue rearranging the second flower bed.  I use the term lightly as It has never "done" a lot of flowers.  Since it was 29 degrees at 8AM, I changed my mind. The high today is going to be 43 degrees and windy. I think I will check when it is 43 degrees and see if I can get some work done.

There is an old Turk's Cap that I may never get dug out.  There is a halfhearted  patch of Plumbago that would be better off elsewhere.
That said, since the garden area to the south of the house takes most of my time and energy, I am going to let as much as I can of this area go to grass.  Just let the Turk's Cap stay without the border.  There are a lot of large rocks that I am sure I had help when they were first set out.  They are too big for me to move anyplace else, so I am going to roll them to the garden on the opposite side.

The original plan was to have a "dry creek bed" to allow heavy rain to wash through without drowning the gardens.  That part worked fine.  The garden part never succeeded.  Time for a change.
I do my best hard work in cold/chilly weather.  Could be my Scandinavian roots?  I save projects for cool weather at least.

 

The holes  on the left are where rocks have been removed

My hubby and a friend somehow got this big rock (3' across) out of a ditch and up onto a trailer. 

Most of these big suckers are over 40 pounds

It's a start anyway.  The tree in the bed has to come out.  Hubby has a problem with taking out a tree with green leaves.  This is way too close to the house and not only root damage could occur, the darned thing dumps leaves, mast and acorns on the roof which roll into the gutter.  I then have to climb the ladder and clean them out!!

Nature is full of surprises if you just stop and look

I like these cold, gray winter days. Days like these let you savor a bad mood. ~Bill Watterson

 We had 10 or more days of below freezing, ice, sleet, night time temps in the teens.  It looked as if all the California poppies were toast.  The potted ones certainly. The others looked sad.  Then, today after balmy days and nights and an all night rain I was checking for new anything.

I was not disappointed.  California poppies sprouting all over the place.
They are a high desert plant after all.  It is such fun to be surprised.

 On the other hand.  The strange matted remains of summer's alyssum are another reason to hope.  If I can keep from pulling out "weeds" and leave things alone, I may have another lovely spot of tiny white flowers.

I used to look at plants "killed" by frost and cold, now I look forward to surprises there may be in Spring.

 

My new favorite Christmas decoration

Lovely in the late evening and very early morning.  A "crystal" bauble capped by greenery and ribbon hanging from a flea market find, bird cage with its own stand.

A Gardener Recommended aid

Your first job is to prepare the soil.
The best tool for this is your neighbor's garden tiller.
If your neighbor does not own a garden tiller, suggest that he buy one.
gardening quote / saying by Dave Barry 

 

This came to mind in a moment of boredom.  You know, up at 3:00 AM, hubby sleeping, trying to read...........  I thought of a product that every gardener should keep handy.  Watkins salve.  We used to call in Watkins carbolic back in the day. I think that's what our mom called it anyway.

I have had two irritating splinter type events while gardening or doing yard work.  Not dangerous or infected, just "there".  One was a sticker that went straight into the side of my finger.  It was very pale and I couldn't even dig around and feel it.  It bothered me some over about a year.  Never festered.  I just got tired of feeling it at odd moments and remembered the salve.  I applied the salve to the finger, covered it with a band aide and left it on as long as it would remain.  When it came off, I did the salve and band aide again.  I did this for a week or so.  One day, I moved my hand in some way and the sticker "popped" out.

Another incident that was strange but not as painful was a grass blade. You know the end part that is sort of tubular. Who would have thought that this would cause the irritation it did.  This did fester. It was on the finger just above the knuckle.  I can imagine that finger bent, pulling grass..................... I was wearing gloves. This thing never really turned red or hurt. It would just swell. I would massage the puss out and get relief that way.  This went on for weeks.  I applied the Watkins salve numerous times and it never seemed to change anything. Then, one day on a long drive, I was massaging the area and "voila" it popped out.  It was very soft and there was a second bit still left in the skin.  I applied the salve again for a few days and this popped out as well.

Think of how many splinters you get and dig out.  Try this.  Digging is more dangerous than the foreign object.

Our local Cracker Barrel sells Watkins products.  I had a tiny tin for a long time and finally lost it.  I am springing for the larger tin and keeping it handy.

https://www.jrwatkins.com/products/f0050fc2-ac87-46d2-be17-d22467b7c586/

Winter casualties and survivors

Don't forget to click on picture to enlarge



Winter rarely hangs around in Texas for more than 48 hours, sometimes 24 hours.
This past 10 days or so have proven to be the rare event.  First, we had cold, in the 20's, then icy snow/rain and more cold.  I think it was below freezing for more than a week every day.  The nights are still mostly in the 20's or low 30's.
I finally took a walk through my garden.  The ice did some damage. I think the extended cold did more.
It doesn't look good for the transplanted and potted California poppies.  The pentas are history, so is the alyssum.  Even covering didn't help in the long run.

The bluebonnets are doing fine.  Some of the newer transplants look a bit stressed, I think they come out of it.  Another surprise is the raised bed thyme, one of which is so hot it is inedible.  Still perky.  An odd survivor is the transplanted phlox.  They never did make a large plant, maybe they will this coming summer. We will just have to wait for that one. The lavender transplants are thriving. The garlic that came up is "burned" but should be ok.

The other problem this year?  Moles have an enemy.  The moles are digging trails ALL over my property.  Of course, this is an indicator that I have a LOT of grubs.  We have debated what is wreaking havoc above ground.  Skunk? We know we have skunks. Armadillo? Who ever it is is digging seriously looking for the moles.  BIG dig going on in spots.  Guess they are hungry. 

The one up side.  I have gotten caught up on those niggling things that have been bothering me inside.  The kitchen is small and it has to be policed and neatened up on a regular basis or things get seriously out of control.  I am finally done with the cabinets and under bed storage that has plagued me for the whole year.  Nearly done there.  I also repaired a canvas grocery/book bag that had a broken strap.  Also, finally cut down some dish towels that were just too big for me.  I like a certain size........................what can I say.

The house is as decorated for Christmas as it needs to be.  My niece sent me a living Christmas tree. A Lion's club money maker.  It came with ornaments, garland and teeny tiny lights.  I love the lights.  It makes me smile every time I turn them on.
I love digging out Christmas decorations of years past.  Not too many now, but still enough to satisfy the need to decorate a bit.

Ice

"The color of springtime is in the flowers, the color of winter is in the imagination." ~Ward Elliot Hour

The hacker is still around, please don't click on any blue high lighted words as I don't think this person should profit from my blog.
 
We woke this morning to snow/ice and cold.  We are very grateful not to have to be anywhere today. It looks as if we are in for a period of freezing temps.  The roads are iced over for the second day. I am going to fix a boiled dinner with a bit of left over ham.  Maybe even a loaf bread..................


I have spent a good bit of the morning trying to get the hang of my camera by taking pictures of the ice, the birds who braved the cold in search of food.  They know where to find it.

Don't forget to click on photo for larger pictures

I haven't got pictures of all the visitors. These are the most industrious.

Bewick's Wren

Female Cardinal

Male Cardinal

Dark eyed Junco

Red Bellied Woodpecker

Tufted Titmouse

White Winged Dove, the rain gauge is frozen solid

Storm number 2

 
We are hunkered down. We have the generator on the patio and gas for it.  In the event the forecasted ice breaks the power lines, we may be able to at least stay warm with the portable heater.  The neighbors keep a fire going in the fireplace most coolish to cold days and we can probably join them for a bit of warm up.

We have a fireplace, but it is not engineered /constructed right and doesn't draw properly. When we burned a fire in the past, I shut myself up in the BR and waited it out.  The warmth was nice, just couldn't stand the smokey atmosphere.

Back to hunkering down and waiting for tomorrow. Maybe I will take the time to work on my new craft.  I have stopped crafting for a long time and for some reason, am into it.  Along with a hubby who is telling people he knows how clever I am and getting them excited.  Not what I intended.

This new crafty thing is something I discovered on another blog.  There are a lot of clever people out there and this idea grabbed me.  She does her craft with pine needles.  I have taken it a bit farther, using the leaves that are falling in our yard.

The idea is simple, applying it is another matter.  The medium is bleach.  Bleach is scary. I have ruined more than one garment with the stuff.

Don't forget to click on a  picture for a larger view

This is the first one I did.  Turned out pretty well. Then I washed it and had a mess The bleach smeared all over

.

 This is a shirt I was going to throw away. The design is so nice I think I will wear it anyway.

Hawk visit

Today, while watching birds at the feeder, I noticed they were very skittish.  Then, I saw the reason.
There was a hawk flying over the feeder area and finally, brazen as can be perched on the fence next to the feeders. It stayed there long enough for me to go and fetch my Olympus camera and fuss with it for several minutes, then just took off.  Perfect photo moment lost.

Not so, 15 or so minutes later, I stepped out onto the patio and spotted the same hawk on my arbor. Bold as brass.  Not skittish at all.  It must be very hungry.

I did get a few long distance shots of the bird finally. Not as sharp as I'd like, but it has been a struggle to get a picture of him.

Don't forget to click on picture for a larger view

This is not a Cooper's Hawk/more than likely a Red Tailed immature

Life after the storm (so to speak)

What a difference a day makes.  Ice has melted, the sun is out and it is 52 degrees.
I finally went out to survey the "damage" and was pleasantly surprised.

Frost damaged blossoms were removed last week and this is what greeted me when I went outside to check on freeze and ice damage.













I was pleasantly surprised to see the 3 clumps of Alysum still
in bloom.                                                               

 These plants were not protected by overhanging trees or other things that would protect from frost. They are not particularly thick leaved and the blossoms look quite fragile.
One of nature's mysteries.  I could probably do some research and find out why these plants are freeze and ice hardy.
Somehow, I like to think that nature takes care of things in spite of the weather.

Scarlet Sage

I took these pictures in early October.  They are worth mentioning in that the flowers were along a stretch of road side, looking uncared for and more or less wild.

Scarlet sage is a not really a wild flower. It was introduced from Brazil. It is really an annual. It sows seeds prodigiously  after every blooming period.

I have a Tropical sage that does the same thing. It is a lovely, delicate white and pink and looks quite a bit like the flower on the Scarlet sage.