Arbor Vitae Pinecones
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White Pine pinecones
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Shasta Daisy foliage is still bright green
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Moss, lichen and mushrooms growing on an old tree stump
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You can see the fall colored leaves thru the thin layer of ice on the pond.
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Some wood fell out of the wood shed. This log rolled 10-15 feet to the pond, then another 10-15 feet into the pond.
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And a Happy New Year back at you, pixie_lou, and to everyone else! I know exactly what you mean when you say the log fell and then rolled 20 - 30 feet into the pond. I've tried to move a few logs a little distance and had them come to life and head over to and then off the coastal bank. Whoops! No, I'm not going down after them.

This was the view from my living room this morning as the sun came up.
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Opening the door to the deck, letting the cold air in:
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The tide was high and the water looked like raspberry frosting:
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On the other side of the house the pierises have their buds ready for spring.
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Claire

Beautiful sunrise photos Claire. If I could be guaranteed views like those, I could be tempted to get out of bed that early!

I've been taking lots of photos of pond ice lately. I'm very inspired by the changes in color, texture, pattern.

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Siberian Iris seed heads lining the pond ice
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We haven't had much snow. Grass is still peeking thru the thin blanket.
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An echinacea seed head has escaped the hungry mouths of goldfinches.
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And lastly - a photo by my 10 year old. During last weeks snow, I sent her outside with the camera to document the snow.
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What a fun set of pictures, Pixie Lou!

January around the yard

Old pasture gate and fence
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Sumac providing a little color
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Dwarf Pieris âÂÂCavatineâÂÂ
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Hydrangea
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Miscanthus âÂÂMorning Lightâ fluffed by winter winds
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Old wooden boatâ¦hmmâ¦planter??
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Susan

Wonderful pictures, pixie_lou and Susan! A reminder that there is still beauty out there in the cold and that a ten-year old sees it too.

A few days ago we had freezing rain and for a short time some of the trees were covered with ice.
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The ice soon melted, probably to the great relief of the trees, but it was pretty while it lasted.

Claire

Echoing pixie_lou's pond pics, there were some ice floes on the bay a few weeks ago during a very cold spell. They didn't last long.

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Claire

There is a LOT of color in this winter thread! Wonderful pictures - all.
Jane

Claire - Right now all your photos are showing up; once in a blue moon that happens, though I am not sure why they do or don't. Lots of pinks in your landscape and in Susan's, and the silver of the icy trees catching the light is beautiful.

Pixie Lou - I forgot to say earlier that I love that you sent your daughter out with a camera just to take photos. Learning to really see things is a wonderful skill you are encouraging and modeling for her.

Susan - I think I will have to try some Pieris again. I've avoided the more tender ones, but I wonder if I can plant them in a more sheltered area. I had a P. 'Brower's Beauty' that did well until the voles ate every root and it just tipped out of the ground. If I do replant Pieris, it will be in large hardware cloth root baskets.

We were supposed to have warm temperatures and rain, but it hasn't cleared 30 today, and the rain is freezing, our third freezing rain this season. Since it is too treacherous currently to walk outside, let alone drive anywhere, I am cooped up inside now, though I went for a final ski this morning just before the rain got going in earnest. It inspired me to clean a window or two and take some photos.

The cherry tree in center of the field behind the house always turns silvery in freezing rain.
{{gwi:2128354}}From January 18, 2015

A friend recently described her snow as looking like merengue and it seems suitable to the grassy parts of the field today, just shiny enough to slightly reflect the fence posts.
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Rain streaking down in front of the large spruce.
{{gwi:2128356}}From January 18, 2015

And a shot through the ice covered car windows towards the row of hemlocks and the field. Walking (acutally more like skidding) out to the car was what decided me that even the shop, less than a mile from the house, was too far. {{gwi:2128357}}From January 18, 2015

Wow, nhbabs, your NH winter weather is more like we tend to get here on the SE MA coast - icy snow, and treacherous walking.

You've probably been seeing my photos because when I remember I use Flickr rather than TinyPic for all of them, not just the birds.

Claire

Thanks, Claire!

A last photo taken at dusk last evening. All hard surfaces looked like this, and there were countless accidents since it was still below freezing (both the air and the ground temperatures) but raining too hard to keep treatment on the roads.
{{gwi:2128358}}From January 18, 2015

From this morning, a pearly looking sunrise over the field
{{gwi:2128359}}From January 19, 2015

My favorite view from the front of the house is looking down the road to this wetland area. If there's frost or ice, the whole area just sparkles as the sun comes over the trees, though it looks like the birches have had too difficult a winter to recover. My brain filters out the poles and wires, so it's much lovelier in person.
{{gwi:2128360}}From January 19, 2015

nhbabs - looks idyllic to me! That field is so picturesque in all the seasons. Calendar, keep thinking about making a calendar.
Jane

I'll second Jane. Babs needs to do a field calendar!

The arbor vitae is looking yellowy. Normally it has a brownish tinge this time of year.

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some type of fungi growing on a dead tree (a tree that is leaning precariously over my pond. time to pull out the chain saw!)
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The lawn dragon is blending in with the mulch
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And lastly, more pond ice
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Amaryllis just starting to open.

PIxie Lou - I think you need to continue to post these close-ups of the pond surface. Such wonderful textures! and I didn't realize that you owned a lawn dragon along with Claire. Nice!

pixie_lou: I agree with nhbabs that we want to see more pond surface close-ups.

My lawn dragon sends greetings to your lawn dragon from its winter lair on the porch. It's a friendly little community there.
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Miscanthus gracillimus is still looking good outside my kitchen window.
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and an old wild cherry (Prunus serotina) across the street is bedecked with lichen.
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Claire

Great photos from everyone in this thread. Just amazing for January. I decided to take a few before the storm arrives tomorrow. Mostly seed heads and buds, but a little color.

Lacecap Hydrangea seedhead
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PJM buds
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Pinus strobus Wintergold
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Abies koreana Silberlocke
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Sedum Angelina
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Heptacodium miconoides, bark detail
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Ilex verticillata (not much left)
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Stop and Shop Tulips (I cheated)
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Steve

Wonderful pictures Steve, Claire, Pixie_Lou, and nhbabs!

I was trying to delete duplicates of mine on photobucket, but looks like I took out 2 linked here (above). Duh.

Sounds like snow in my neck of the woods tomorrow. Maybe some of you too?

Susan

Nice pics from your new camera, Steve. The hydrangea seedhead is very delicate and very pretty.

Susan: They're forecasting snow, then ice pellets, then rain and rain and rain, then snow here - the dreaded wintry mix. It's going to be sloppy and then the slop will probably freeze. Not so picturesque.

Claire

Lovely wintry photos, Claire and Steve. I noticed that the miscanthus I pass walking to work isn't in nearly as nice shape after all our heavy semi-frozen precip. and I am tempted to bring some shears with me to remedy the mess since UNH hasn't yet. I hope yours survives this storm in better shape, Claire.

After weeks of little change on the field (icy, muddy stubble along with leftovers from some tree trimming we had done) the view has been a bit more calendar-worthy this week. I took advantage of a flooded section of the field to do a bit of skating, and the sky was beautiful.
{{gwi:2128377}}From January 24, 2015

The last few nights I've arrived home from work just at dusk to this view.
{{gwi:2128378}}From January 24, 2015

Today the far end of the field has almost disappeared into the falling snow, and I hope we get enough to cover up the corn stubble and provide a smooth blanket of white.
{{gwi:2128379}}From January 24, 2015

Now that looks more like NH should be, nhbabs - snowy with pretty sky.

Here in Plymouth it's Slush Central. This is my deck a short time ago.
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The slush is quickly melting away.
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On the ground the snow/slush is lasting a little longer.
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And there's snow on the beach, which always amuses me.
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I'm just hoping the rain clears away the slush before it can freeze when the temperature drops tonight.

Claire

Such beautiful landscapes. Should have followed my gut when I picked up those yellow tulips in the store the other day then put them back. Steve was smart; good for you!

Claire, those bottom pictures of the solitary chair and frozen beach bordering an ever-changing tide -- either picture looks like the perfect cover for a memoir.

The back corner of my yard is dedicated to my 'Philosophy Garden" and now I see a lonely bench awaiting guests. In spring and summer, the bench is not visible with the growing shrubs, trees and their leaf cover. I wanted a secret garden, tried to build it, and now, after about 6 years, its secretiveness grows, but winter reveals all.
Jane

This morning DH and I were enjoying the snow highlighting the large limbs on the oaks that line the edge of the field. At the same time, there were poofs of snow blowing off of the finer textured branches and white pines.
{{gwi:2128384}}From Snow Jan. 2015

(Claire - I'm so happy to see that I'm not the only one who still has christmas decorations outside!)

Very little rain here, so we still have a bit of a winter wonderland. Last night the winds knocked a dead cedar down onto the pond. We tackled that this morning, before the freeze thaw cycle imbeds the branches into the icy surface. Didn't think to take a photo of it before removal.

The hydrangea seed heads were still holding snow this afternoon.
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A reminder that I should have put that tarp over the wood rack!
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The whimsy garden
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And lastly, by popular request, more pond ice. Though I guess its more pond snow now? Or shall we call it pond wintry mix?
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All snow here yesterday in Rockingham County, and all pretty much cleaned up. The forecast for this week, however, is enough to scare the bejabbers out of anyone! HereâÂÂs what it looked like yesterday and this morning. IâÂÂm not one to overreact, but I hope it will not be over our heads by Wednesday.

The white fir tree that provides cover for the birds. They fly in and out of it all day to the feeders.
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Susan

Pixie Lou, I still have wreaths on the doors, candles in the windows, and lights in the large pots with evergreens. They will stay until March for the candles and wreaths and until thaw for the large pots. I figure that anything that adds color and light in the winter is good. I particularly like your wire(?) deer.

pixie_lou: I keep some decorations out until there's something growing, like bulbs, to bring hope for spring.

That's a magnificent fir, Susan, and perfect for bird security.

The blizzard is finally gone, and this was this morning's vista. And I don't have to shovel anything there!
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Claire

Babs - the deer used to be a christmas decoration. Until it stopped lighting up. So i stripped all the christmas lights. I've been meaning to buy some ivy, plant a clump at each leg, and turn it into a deer topiary. In the meantime, it befriended the blue heron.

Claire - as usual, beautiful bay view.

Lots of snow here. Though we still have some running water out in the brook behind the pond.
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I can still see the irises ringing the pond.
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And believe it or not, this is the pond! If it wasn't for the indentation, I could pretend it was just a meadow!
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I like that frozen wave in the brook, pixie_lou, - the ice trying to overspread the water and the liquid sliding by.

Your pond looks like a big trap, waiting for an unsuspecting critter to step on it.

Claire

As windy as it was during the storm, by Wednesday morning the spruce in the field was loaded up with snow on just one side, though I am not sure if it was the upwind or downwind side.
{{gwi:2128398}}From Snow Jan. 2015

In the woods the stream is totally covered though I wouldn't want to try crossing.
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Sunset over the field Wednesday.
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Beautiful pics, nhbabs. That is a very lovely dense spruce, particularly when compared to the rangy pines in the background.

Claire