Heavy Lifting



We just got a couple of big snowstorms, the last one dumping a load of heavy, wet snow that made our total on the ground somewhere in the neighborhood of two feet. There's nowhere left to put the snow in our front yard. The piles that line the sidewalk are three to four feet high and we've carved out a couple of caves for Oliver. I've watched a pair of cardinals at our feeder, though, and see sunlight earlier and earlier each day. I find that I enjoy winter in February much more than in December just because I know we're on the downhill side of the season.





Snow cones

Snowy coneflower.

Is it too early to be thinking about spring? We were outside a bit this weekend and the sunlight felt pretty strong, but that may just have been because 30 degrees feels balmy after a spell of 15 below.

While we were in the backyard, I looked over the flower heads that are visible through the snowbanks and noticed something I didn't recognize right away. I had forgotten that we got several bunches of purple coneflower from a good friend of mine during our plant-swap party last summer. We got a big rainstorm during the party and so we did a lot of swapping in hurried trips to and from the backyard and we mainly sat on the front porch and drank wine. No wonder I'd forgotten the coneflower!

But it's got a distinctive spiky head and after looking dumbly at it for a moment or two, I thought --- coneflower! I've always wanted some and Lynne has it in abundance so it made for a good swap. Not only is the flower hardy, long-blooming and lovely for arrangements, it's also an herbal remedy. Echinacea seems to be everywhere these days, most people taking it in pill form to help fight colds and flus. Coneflower was used by Native American tribes in the Great Plains to treat lots of things including sore throats, toothaches, tonsillitis and lymph diseases. I love the thought that something so lovely in the garden can have such a potent health benefit as well. I might even try making some of ours into tea to give it a try.

A Room with a View

A view from the access road at Mt. Philo.

I recently started working from home and my new office is in a room upstairs that overlooks the backyard. I chose the spot for my desk to allow me to look out at the gardens and take advantage of the natural light. I love it. Even in the cold of January, I like looking out and knowing what those flower beds and vegetable plots will do come springtime. I keep thinking to myself, one of these days I'll be looking out this window at a sea of colors. Of course the white blanket is pretty, too. We recently took a trip to Mt. Philo and my window scene is nothing compared to that lovely spot. We walked up the access road a ways and then slid down, an exhilirating experience. We were there on a quiet weekday afternoon and it felt nice to be in the woods almost alone. We didn't make it to the top but the sun had broken out just as we arrived and looking off the trail at the vista showed us the real room with a view.

White Magic

We got our first snow recently and I was reminded how lovely snow can be by Oliver's pure joy at the sight. We happened to be visiting Kevin's family at the time, so our first order of business was to take a walk down the center of the Northwoods Road, making first tracks. You can do that on the Northwoods Road, cause there ain't much traffic. It was quiet, the trees were coated and I looked around seeing the snowfall from Oliver's amazed point of view.

Now we've had several snowfalls and have about a foot of fluff in the yard and Oliver pitches a fit whenever he can't get out into it. I look at the yard and think ... we never picked the brussel sprouts ... I really should have prumed those rose bushes ... I wish we had pulled up all the vegetable plants.

But in a way, the snow is like sweeping the toys under the couch. Everything's clean, and neatly blanketed by snow. Magic.