Winter Activities on the Pond

What an incredible winter...it seems to snow at least once a week and it has been COLD!!!!! We haven't seen the ground for what seems like months...The birds must be fed as they have nothing to eat from the garden beds...the winterberries are long gone! We have had so many finches this year...we have been through alot of sunflower and thistle seed....The pond is very frozen and the ice fishermen have had a heyday....

See the marker...the fishermen have them everywhere...

Here is a father and son making their rounds to all the holes they have drilled...

What a great picture of father and son out on the ice....

This is their "campsite"...a small tent, a sled laden with all their gear and the auger to drill holes into the thick ice....

Dad checking a hole....

The long trek back to the campsite....my husband saw them pull a two foot fish out of a hole not long after I took this photo....

Kids skating and playing ice hockey...

We saw the Dad with a snow blower clearing the large spot for the kids to skate...good guy that Dad...

The water slide looks a bit out of place when the pond is frozen over....

Well the pond has been very active this winter...while it has been interesting to watch, I long for spring when the ice gives way to the inky black water and a hot summer for swimming and simply floating on my raft staring up at the blue sky and pondering and thinking....

Elizabeth

Winter in the Garden

Our garden is so pretty in the winter...the fencing, bushes, benches, outbuildings and other structures provide a place for snow and ice to gather. This gives such wonderful eye appeal to what one may think would be a boring spot in the cold winter months....but....winter and snow offers spectacular gifts for all our senses!


Above is a little double birdhouse topped with a blanket of snow on our antique wrought iron fence.
Another view of the snow covered fence flanked by small boxwoods at the entrance...two blueberry bushes add more eye appeal.

The snow settles in the nooks and crannies of this lattice privacy fence.

The snow covered raised garden beds offer an interesting look....


The antique cast iron bench flanked by the old cement urns look beautiful covered in snow...the urns are filled with two small boxwoods...

The lilac bush in the corner of the garden is minus flower and foliage but is still has beautiful structure...

A nice wide view of the upper garden...this raised bed garden was created with a formal parterre look...it is planted with some formality but it does have a bit of a cottage look in the summer and it also offer us a potager garden as we plant vegetables and herbs to provide a quick trip out of the kitchen for fresh ingredients needed for lunch or supper!!!!!

These eastern white pines look so majestic and the snow only adds more beauty to these towering evergreens...

A pretty look at the other end of the garden...the greenhouse looks great in the snow...

The fountain is covered in the winter actually provides nice form in the winter garden...the stone wall and lattice panels are gorgeous...

I love the roof of the gazebo when it is snow covered...

This snow capped garden man has a stoic look...his profile is very stern looking...

Looking up the snow covered stairs to the deck...

The buds of this rhododendron look ready to pop...these buds are formed in the autumn and must endue whatever winter has to deliver...i always find it interesting how most plant stock had down turned leaves in cold weather, almost as they are protecting the stem of the plant where the bud meets the stem...I have noticed this in annuals as well as perennials and it is clear to see on this rhody...

Looking down the steps from the deck after I removed the snow...much easier to navigate now!

Winter in the garden is a gift for the eye...take a moment to take in a winter landscape, you will be pleasantly surprised for sure!

Elizabeth

Winter is Here in All Her Glory

Our world changes after a snowfall to an absolute gift for the eye...it becomes a blend of hues of white, black, gray and green...dispersed with silver and ice crystals...
This is the cove looking to the island

Shrubs laden with a thick layer of snow...looks like an over frosted cake

Through the thicket you can see the roof of our day cabin on the island....

Husband hard at work clearing over 12 inches of snow...

Can shrubbery look any better than this?


Stillness....

A look at the garden after snow...


An antique cement urn topped with snow...

The weight of the snow on this white pine tree has created an arbor over the path to my garden room and shed...

The snow on this reed covered fence has created a delightful pattern...

A look across the garden to the storage shed...the snow has created a gorgeous look on the garden wrought iron fencing and the wood fencing next to the shed.

A couple of blueberry bushes covered in snow....


Winter is here and the gift of snow has a beautiful dimension to our world....

Elizabeth