Winter is Here...

In New England we have nine months of winter and three months of darned poor sledding.

~old New England proverb

I think this bird is wishing it had migrated south for the winter.

Thankfully it's not usually as bad as that old saying would make it seem, but winter in New England is now in full swing.  The holidays were lovely, if cold.  Though my family coming from down south was delayed by our ice storm, they made it up before Christmas to spend the week with us.

crabapple tree encased in ice

Everything was covered in an impressive layer of ice.  The curly ting in my winter containers had a little extra pizazz.

We were lucky enough to get snow on Christmas.  It was so lovely to have a white Christmas, especially for my family up from the south.  The temperatures then dropped to below zero (-20° Celsius) for a true New England winter experience.  Despite the cold, we all had a great time spending time with family that we don't see often enough.

The bitter weather continued into the New Year with a blizzard the first week of January that dropped about a foot and a half of snow.

The second week of January it rained and then got up to about 60°F (15°C).  The poor plants were probably totally confused, but the birds were ecstatic to get some respite.  I've never heard them sing so loudly.

Bluebird basking in the sun

This week it is back to snowing again.  While it might not last nine months, New England winters can get rather long, so it's critical to have hobbies.  Bird watching is one that really helps me through the winter.  When all the plants are brown and frozen, it is so enjoyable just to see signs of life outside.

Northern flicker

Every year I've had Bluebirds overwinter here, and I was glad to see several Bluebirds stay this year as well.  It was once quite rare to see Bluebirds this far north in winter, but it is now becoming more common.  They are one of my favorites, with their brilliant blue plumage.

The story of the Bluebirds is also one of my favorites.  Their population saw a steep decline between 1920 and 1970 due to widespread pesticide use, an increase of house cats, loss of habitat, and invasive birds that aggressively took over suitable nesting sites.  By the 1970's, Bluebirds were on the brink of extinction.  Thankfully a grassroots movement took hold to save them.  Organizations such as the North American Bluebird Society formed, which set up and monitored trails of bluebird nesting boxes.  Concerned bird-lovers put up nesting boxes all over the country.  The movement was a smashing success, and the population of Bluebirds rebounded.

Isn't that such a hopeful story?  Other conservation efforts have really caught on recently, such as helping the bees and the Monarch butterfly, and I do hope that these efforts will be just as successful.  (And hopefully these efforts will also have a positive effect on the environment for the many creatures out there that aren't quite as flashy or as noticeable.)

Judging by the tracks and plant damage I think our bunny and deer populations are doing pretty well, though... 

bunny tracks on the front walkway

...possibly too well.

Happy winter, and stay warm!

Christmas Wishes

Here near Boston, freezing rain is turning roads and runways into sheets of ice, a problem for travelers.  We are eagerly waiting for family that is flying in from another part of the country, now unfortunately delayed.  The weather looks hopeful, though, with sleet giving way to rain later today, and rising temperatures anticipated to thaw out the ice.  Speaking of weather and hope, our forecast is calling for Christmas morning snow.  How lovely would that be?

I wish you and your loved ones safe travels this holiday season, a very merry Christmas, and a New Year full of hope and peace!

The Easiest Winter Containers

Does it seem like this time of year gets busier and busier every year?  Maybe it's the age my kids are now, but life keeps getting busier and free time is getting harder to find.  We haven't decorated as much for the holidays this year, but I did make time to hang a wreath on the door and decorate my two whiskey barrel containers for winter.

easy winter container

The last couple of years I've streamlined the process, and it takes me less than an hour to get my two winter containers all done (minus acquiring any store-bought material).  First I gather my materials.  A local nursery sells a big bunch of mixed greens for a good price, so I get one of those to combine with white pine that I clip from our yard.

I used to spray paint branches to put in my winter containers.  Then I found out about curly ting.  This stuff can be found in any arts and crafts store, it's cheap, it comes in all sorts of colors, and it adds SPARKLE! This year I used red ting and gold curly ting.

curly ting

Last but not least, I threw a few ornaments on some wire floral picks for some more added SPARKLE - though thankfully I could reuse most of them from the previous year, making things that much easier.  I attach the ornaments onto the wire, and then push the green pick part into the dirt in my container to secure the ornaments.  (You could just as easily use something else to attach ornaments in a container, but I happen to already have floral picks.)

floral picks

Assembly was quick and easy!  I pulled out the dead or dying summer/fall stuff that I had in the containers and loosened the soil.  I stuck the branches of greens in the dirt, working from large branches to the smaller stuff.  Then I added the curly ting and ornaments.

Viola!  If I had had more time, I might have added some ribbon or something else, but I was pretty happy with this.  Some people will then water their arrangements, but I was lazy fortunate and could wait for the next day's rain.  Then when temperatures dropped, everything froze in place for the winter.

Now my yard looks ready for Christmas, and I'll have pretty containers that will last throughout the winter.  As we know, the winter season up here in the North is quite long, thus it's very, very important to put together pretty winter containers that one can enjoy for the next several months.  

Or... maybe I should start on my indoor decorations...

Happy decorating!