First Real Snow of the Season

As normal, my Icelandic Sheepdogs wanted to get up very early this morning. Daylight Savings Time or not they have their own schedule and DST is not a concern to them. Of course, OF COURSE, right after they go outside, they want to go right back to bed. Me? I'm awake and up and couldn't go back to sleep even if I wanted to. We only had about an inch of snow. It still looks lovely, this first one, doesn't it? And it fits perfectly with "Over the river and through the woods to Grandmother's house we go. The horse knows the way to carry the sleigh in the white and drifted snow - oh, oh!"

I try to grow indoor plants that flower (and smell nice too) in the winter; there are enough spring, summer, and autumn flowers outside, don't need houseplants with flowers during those seasons.

One of my reliable orchids whose name is lost in the mists of time. Looking closely you can see numerous flower buds on the way too. Clicking on photos enlarges them.

Hopefully these birds will still be around next week to help me celebrate Thanksgiving. I blame myself for not counting the young soon after hatching so I would now know how many have made it so far. The highest count I've had recently? Eight.

These shots were from yesterday - before the snowfall. It's hard to believe a lake as large as Lake Huron has days when the surface is so calm, isn't it?

We had our first real hard frost last Friday and I realized that I hadn't dug the dahlias for winter storage in the garage yet. So after breaking the top inch of frozen soil, I dug them, cut off their stalks for recycling, put them on a tray, and stored them in the garage.  Dahlias seem succulent, and tropical and are worth the small bit of effort needed to save them for another year of lush flowers.

Sharon and Jeff had me over for cookies last weekend. They are busy packing 'gifts' for children in South America. They keep me up to date on some of the "neighborhood" gossip - even though I try hard not to be involved, it is interesting.

On Sunday I went looking for the house I almost bought - before I found the land here to build on - but once again, I missed the turn off Lakeshore Road. It's clearly marked on the maps but not physically. I'll try again.

These few stragglers were still flowering last weekend. They are obviously not as large and showy as their summer peers but are still very much appreciated. Some Colchicums, a snapdragon, roses, and some winter hardy mums. Snapdragons are tough and can sometimes even survive winters here. They can also self-sow which fits them neatly into my parameters for garden inclusion.