Haven't Been Outside

It is snowing hard today, with over 6 inches expected by tomorrow, maybe much more.

Not going outside.

In fact since before the holidays I have not been outdoors at all.

Occasionally a sprint to the mailbox, and once or twice in and out of the car going to the store. That's it. For weeks I have been inside.

Our trip to Mammoth included a morning on the slopes in the sunshine and that was great, but otherwise I stayed in the cabin by the fire.

I like winter, I have warm clothes, and there is no reason not be outside inspecting the plants, wandering in my snowy garden, or going for a brisk walk around the neighborhood. But I don't.

Today, with the blizzard swirling there is every reason to be inside.  But when it clears, and now that the holidays are over. . .  I need to get outdoors!

A discouraging note to the beginning of the new year: the heart shaped accent stone fell out of the stacked wall I built. It was there New Year's Eve (I know because we were showing it off to Noelle and Bob), but it was lying on the pavers on New Year's Day.  Just plopped out.

It fell out New Year's Day

Since I haven't gone outside, I have yet to do anything with it, and the heart is still lying on the ground, now covered up by the accumulating snow.

What a Time We Had

What a great time we had in Mammoth. We flew into L.A., Greg flew in too, and we stayed at Tom's.

Then the long drive through the Mojave Desert into the Sierras and to our little cabin at Mammoth.

Some skiing, some good times in the cozy cabin, a perfect little tree to decorate, and it was over so quickly.

Christmas was wonderful!

Then the redeye home, and another lovely holiday on Christmas Eve with Hope here at the house.

The best Christmas, celebrated on both coasts!

No Tracks

After the big snowfall over the past two days (and frigid temperatures) the sun is out today.

Surprisingly, there are no tracks in the snow. The whole yard is pristine, white and untouched.

Usually there are trails going everywhere across the yard after a snowfall. Rabbits, voles, deer and others. Deer meeting deer, deer going in circles, the place looks like a train terminal after rush hour.

But after this snowfall there is nothing -- a line of tracks running behind Meadow's Edge garden and then along the bottlebrush buckeyes, and a faint trail already snowed over that runs through the front yard almost at the edge of the street.

But that's it. And we had just seen a trio of huge deer a few days ago browsing in the meadow on the east side. Big things, looking like dumb brown horses.

It is so pretty to see the untouched snow.

Christmas is fast upon us and this beautiful snow is perfect for the season. The house is decorated and we have already gone through one full batch of anise cookies.

Merry Christmas!

The Indoor Days

This is the time of year when it is darkest and coldest and I can spend several days in a row indoors without ever going outside.

The sun sets now at 4:20 in the afternoon and it is pitch dark outside before 5 p.m.

It has been snowing all day and the temperature is in the mid teens.

I've been busy inside baking and decorating cookies, and now they are ready in tins to go with me out to California.

The house is all decorated, plans are all in place, dates are set, flights confirmed, cabins rented, ski passes secured, house prepared for when Hope and Steve arrive once we get back.

Presents are bought, most are wrapped, and the ones for Tom and Greg have been shipped and already arrived at Tom's. I have the little stuff ready to go in my suitcase, like lifesaver books. And Christmas Peeps.

Everything is done.

Now we let the holiday unfold over the next two weeks.

There is still packing to do, and a little more shopping and wrapping, but otherwise it's just travel, skiing, visiting, hosting, presents, eating, repeat. We get to see all three of our kids.

When all the holiday doings are over, I am so looking forward to starting in on the garden things that I can do indoors in winter:

• I'll start updating all the entries in my Plant Inventory with photos and info for 2013. I like doing this, but it takes a lot of indoor time at the computer.  

• I'll start my lists of plants to order or buy. I love this exercise in the winter, but resist even thinking about it until after the holidays; if I start, I get distracted from all the other organizing that needs doing before Christmas. I need a clean slate and blank stretch of time for this.  I'll bring some of the plant catalogs with me on the plane. 

• I'll start daydreaming about the design changes I want to make. This takes a lot of empty time too, just letting my mind think and my fingers find inspiration on the internet or in books.

I love this point in time when the work of the holidays is done, events are about to unfurl as planned, and I can feel the time coming after Christmas when I can finally turn to the indoor projects that I've been anticipating since fall.

Cute Robes for Kids

Noelle makes these little terrycloth robes for small children, and they are so cute. Well made, each unique, and she obviously has fun picking out and combining fabrics and patterns.

She has a website with all of her inventory shown:
Joy Robes 

She takes orders via e-mail, which is on her website. The robes are about $30. I wish I had a toddler or infant to give one to!

Adorable.

A Little December Snow

We are having the first snowfall of the season and Christmas carols are playing.

I don't think it will amount to much, but it's nice and just right for baking cookies and wrapping presents. These guys agree.

Tis The Season

This year I abandoned the 7 foot Christmas tree that we bought when we moved in here. When I first saw our 10 foot ceilings, I thought --- ooh, a big, big tree would fit in here!

I bought a very large expensive artificial tree (first ever), and we struggled every year to get that huge thing put up and decorated. I needed a stepladder to hang the upper ornaments and put the dove on top. Getting the big thing up and down the cellar stairs every year turned out to be a major two person endeavor, and the top broke the first year, requiring ever more elaborate duct tape each year.

This year, a small, 5 foot little thing was purchased (yeah, artificial again). I can decorate it easily, standing on the floor. The dove was simply placed atop it, no contortions involved. It is my height, easily reached, and I like the smaller size so much better.

And . . .  this is so cool . . .  there is a remote control that clicks the lights from all white, to all multi colored, to a combination of both. This is so awesome.

Jim and I walk by every few minutes and click the tree to a different setting.  We are easily amused.

The broken top of the old tree has been installed out on the front porch as a mini tree, lit up with white lights. It actually looks okay.

I put wreaths on the garage windows, a wreath on the front door, and it's Christmas. Ta da.  Some snow would be nice right now.

Red Jewels

The tree is up, the wreaths are on the front windows. It's cold, it's December.

After a grim, gray start today the sun came out and the air was still and it got up to 50 degrees. I got out and turned the compost pile since it wasn't frozen. It takes some effort and I work up a sweat, but it is getting easier the more I do it.

I keep being startled by how jewel-like the red fruits are on the flowering dogwood. They catch my attention every time I walk out the front walk or come up the driveway.

I know this dogwood fruited before, but I don't remember the berries being so eye catching. Red gems all over the tree.

There is something refined about these dogwood berries. They are a deep crimson, and they are sprinkled delicately all over the bare tree, highlighting its elegant shape and showing themselves to best effect against the sky. Now that the leaves are down, I really notice the berries decorating the branches.

A subtle and very subdued look, which is why I may not have noticed them in other years. But this year they make me stop and look.

The low winter (almost winter) light catches them and lights them up and I am always surprised.

Of course it is the winterberry hollies that are the scene stealers when it comes to red berries. But their berries are bright red and jam packed together and make a big fiery colored explosion. Not refined at all, but truly eye catching.

I love having these red jewels decorating my garden before Christmas.

Dang

Cold today, barely 30 degrees but sunny.

Dang nab it, the one tree I did not put a mesh cylinder around to protect against antler rub got scraped:

This is one of the two larger sassafras trees on the hill. The bucks have never touched the sassafras before, and I thought maybe the rough bark deterred them. But it is the right diameter -- they like small trunks that they can get the fork of their antlers around.

And it was the only tree of this size that wasn't wrapped. So of course it was rubbed. I think it will be all right, the scrape is not too deep. But dang it.

I can see they tried to rub some of the smaller saplings that are wrapped. The marks are just above the top of the mesh cylinder, and a few small branches were shredded there, but the cylinder keeps them from scraping all the way up and down the trunk and doing major damage.

I'm also perturbed that the witch hazels by the driveway hold their leaves and look so brown and shaggy. I thought it was the early freeze last fall, or the snowstorm the year before that messed up dropping their leaves.

But as they mature it now appears that they do hold onto their browned leaves into winter. I can't help it, these two look like Frick and Frack -- even more so now that I pruned up the lower limbs. Not what I was hoping for at the entrance garden.

Dang.

Four Inches

We have hot water. It was fixed yesterday afternoon. I am thankful.

We got almost 4 inches of rain and it froze overnight in the gauge, but the sun has come out now on Thanksgiving morning. It's a cold, windy, after-the-storm blustery day.

I hope the plastic tube has not cracked from the ice, I really like this oversized easy to read rain gauge.

There is much to be thankful for today that goes well beyond hot water.