Saturday, December 12, 2009

Winter--Indoors and Out


Charlie and his son, Chester, were inspired to pose on the kitchen ledge this morning. I suppose it is warmer up there.

You would think they had planned a routine of well-choreographed movements.

Charlie lounges at the edge of the wall, gazing at something only he can see--a knot in the wood perhaps?  J. suggested a spider on the ceiling.

It warmed enough this afternoon that the icicles on the west porch roof began to drip.  I was intrigued by this tiny pillar of ice standing in the snow with the pock marks of dripping water all around.

Pebbles has made many paths from her feeding area down to the neighbor's lot. The smaller hoof prints may belong to the deer who patrol the lots.

I took this shot at about 3:20 PM.  Already the sun is sliding behind the foothills and a bank of cold clouds is moving in.  Our son lives on the other side of this mountain range, another thousand feet in elevation.  He phoned to say it has snowed nearly all day there.

In "my room" the sinking sun angles low under the porch roof and for a few moments glances in from the west high-lighting  the plants in the north window.

The paperwhites have had a growth spurt. I can see two flower buds tucked deep in the green spears of the tallest plants on the right side of the container.  The laggardly bulbs in the middle of the planter are content to sit there, alive and well but not shooting up like their companions.

6 comments:

  1. We've been hearing about the heavy snowfalls in parts of the US, nothing of that sort here yet apart from a light sprinkling upon the moors a couple of weeks ago - it was gone by midday. Your paperwhites will be lovely when they flower - i n time for Christmas perhaps? Cats always know where the warmes places are:)

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  2. I hope the paperwhites blossom for Christmas. I can never predict their growth period. Watching them sprout and stretch is as enjoyable as having the eventual flowers.

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  3. I love the way cats stare at things we meer mortals can not see. Again you have given us photos that give us a taste of your life ...love the one with Pebles.

    Those bulbs are growing fast ..hope they flower for you over the Xmas holidays

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  4. Angie: I am always amazed by what the cats really do see--it can be such a minute insect, a bird outside nearly hiding in dry grass--they don't miss much. I've learned to take them seriously when they tell me "something is there!"

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  5. One of my aunties has sent me a basket of Hyacinths to flower near Christmas. Think it will be just after but they are growing well now. No snow here, and your fall doesn't look too heavy, though you will be having snow on snow from now on I assume.

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  6. BB: I've never tried pre-chilling bulbs such as hyacinth or tulip. When I worked in a plant nursery many years ago, the owner potted bulbs in the fall and put them in a covered pit during the winter. In February he began bringing them into the warmth of the greenhouse a few dozen pots at a time. I like to buy them when the bulbs are just showing the first green tips, then I can watch the entire delightful process.
    I hope you'll take a photo when yours bloom.

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