Oh wow! That sunrise is amazing! Great way to start the day. It's pretty cloudy here but there was some pink along the horizon reflecting in the clouds. Nothing like what you are seeing.

How lovely! Woke up to dreary, dismal rain here. I guess the good news is it's not snow. That comes Sunday lol.

:)

Dee

It is snowing some here now, but the prediction is that it will turn to rain at some point.

I just walked out to put something in the mailbox and took this picture of the house on the way back.

Big fluffy snowflakes are falling but temps are on the rise so a change over to rain is in the forecast. Rain on top of all this snow will be a real yuck.

It's snowing here too! I'd rather have snow then rain on top of all that snow we have.

You look like you almost got as much snow as we did, Sue.

Lovely sunrise, NHBabs! I've been admiring all of the snow pics on this and on the previous thread but we have no snow here and rain forecast today.

Houzz is having issues this morning and Sue W's pic isn't posting for me. Ah, I reloaded and it's there! Very impressive snow vista.

I did take a morning pic a few days ago but hesitated to post because of the foggy and dirty window. I'll do it anyway since the windows aren't going to get any cleaner for a while.

There was s little frost on the ground and the sun reflected on the water.

Claire

Nice, Claire! You are very lucky, no snow, but you always have the ocean!

I haven't taken pics, I was out this morning and believe me nothing is looking pretty at this point. [g]

Yes, I noticed the issues with Houzz this morning. Right now they seem a little better.

Sun just peeked out. It stopped raining and snowing.

Claire, I always love the water photos. Can you hear the waves from the porch?. And you have so many evergreen plantings that even without snow the garden is beautiful.

RTHawk, the combination of the evergreens and the warm color of the birch trunks is lovely!

Thanks, NHBabs. I can hear the waves from the deck which is on the bay side, and I hear them inside in warm weather when the windows are open. The sound is stronger at high tide and when the wind whips them up.

I emphasized evergreen plantings because winters are often snow-free here for at least part of the time and the dull brown can get a bit dreary. That's also why I have a lot of red bows out there.

Snow is coming tomorrow although the weather forecasts keep changing the amount. The bay may keep the temperatures higher so there could be more rain and less snow.

Claire

RTHawk, looks like you got some wind with that snow too. Where are you located? Are they predicting more snow for you tomorrow?

@prairiemoon2 z6b MA Yes, we got a lot of wind during the big snow last week. I'm in North Andover, MA - our house is on a bit of a hill and winds could get really strong especially in the backyard. We are getting some snow now - maybe 3-4 inches.

@NHBabs z4b-5a NH I love River birch trees! On the foreground of the first picture are winterberries - the birds have eaten them all.

RTHawk - I think we got as much as you did. And it was very heavy. We had to knock it off our large Taxus and Arborvitaes that were bent over with the weight of it. We also had good size branches down from Silver maples.

We've had steady snow all afternoon and we probably have that much now too. I'm probably a half hour south of you. I can hear the plows coming down my street right now!

Wow, more snow on the way this morning! And they upped the estimates to another 6 inches.

We're expecting close to six more inches here today. Clocks spring ahead one month from Saturday. I'm keeping my eye on that prize.

Snowing again! lol Looks a lot like the way it snowed yesterday. Coming down steady but very fine, small flakes. It's already coating the top of the van in the driveway. And it's cold in the house! Brrrrr! Time to add a sweatshirt and hot socks and turn up the heat!

I have a good book out of the library to read. And I just finished potting up the first batch of germinated seeds and have them under lights. I'm wondering if all of a sudden we're going to get a surprise of spring weather. My neighbor said their sun room in the southwest corner of their house has been noticeably warmer when the sun is out. So the sun is getting stronger. I know it doesn't really get comfortably warm until April, but why then do I still persist in thinking when March arrives, it's spring?

"...why then do I still persist in thinking when March arrives, it's spring?..."

Wishful thinking? Sanity? Survival, lol? I don't know why, but I do the same thing! And I guess technically we're only off by a few weeks....

:)

Dee

Dee, I say, that I am going to consider March 1st spring, no matter what. I'm going to be outside working in the garden come what may. Even if I have to do it in a hat and mittens. [g] Less than 3 weeks away!

For me, changes in light quality and day length and buds swelling rather than lack of snow signal spring. I guess our winters are so long that I am looking for any sign . . .

This morning after 5” snow

Well, Babs, based on that, my neighbor told me yesterday that they've noticed how hot their sunroom has been lately when the sun is out. So it would seem that as it usually does, the sun starts to get stronger about now.

Lovely morning photos!

February Thinking about Spring and I have a REWILDING Question.

I don't want to start a new thread, but I am thinking of expanding my Streetside Meadow and maybe making other mini-meadows in our yard. Has anyone noticed an increase in urban or suburban neighborhoods where individuals are foregoing lawn space for natives? Saw this article (link in green) and wondered if more New England states/towns are promoting rewilding. Link: Rewilding Maine

I like my Streetside Meadow and, yes, it looks awful by the first frost, but it feeds many of the 4 Bs: Birds, Bugs, Bees, Butterflies. Just wondering if anyone has noticed more rewilding in their area. 🦋

Jane

P.S. NHBabs - just reread the instructions for your thread and I forgot a February photo, so here is The Philosophy Garden on February 7, 2021. 😊

Jane, When I was visiting my mom in Cleveland, I noted some yards that had reduced lawns, but the gardens weren’t necessarily natives. And the philosophy garden looks lovely in snow.

This morning the news announced that my town had the somewhat dubious honor of having the thickest accumulation of ice reported in the state from our freezing rain. It turned the trees silver until the temperatures got far enough above freezing to start dropping off. The dog was not a fan of falling water or ice!

Jane, is that a Dianthus in your second picture? If so, do you know what kind?

Not a lot of meadow planting where I am in suburban MA, but some — I’m not the only loony in the area with phlox and milkweed out front instead of chemlawn. Can’t say I’ve noticed a trend though.

NHBabs, lovely photos as always, but... brrrrrr. Happy we only got rain down here, and happy that I notice the days getting longer now. It’s even sunny today!

Nekobus, the plant you thought might be Dianthus is rose campion aka Silene coronaria. It is a biennial, and the straight species is like Jane’s, but there are also light pink and white strains. IME it is one of those plants that once you have it, it will be around forever via self-seeding.

nekobus and NHBabs - No, nekobus you're not the only one with 'special' companion plants, lol. In the summer, I think my Streetside Meadow is the best garden I've ever had! Everything in it was free to me and the mini meadow is happy. If a flowering plant self-sows, good! Last fall I spread 3/4 of a pound of dwarf wild columbine (multi-colored) seed all around the gardens that have been mulched. I would like less mulch and more self-sowing greenery - flowers are a plus. Here is milkweed, rose campion and all the other guys that make my day in summer:

To be true to the thread - (most of my snow pictures have birds in them, but here is my favorite hemlock). The Arnold Promise hamamelis next to it is getting ready to bloom. Snow is too deep to trek out there now.

Totally OT, but it's still too cold to work outside, so if anyone is interested in TREES - the BBC Judi Dench doc is now on Youtube for free. TREES, Judi Dench

Jane

Jane, what a contrast between your summer and winter photos!

All the areas I posted yesterday lost their ice coating due to warmer temperatures, but across the road is a dense hemlock woods which didn’t loose the ice until today. This morning the sun caught the ice on the trees making them sparkle beautifully. Pictures don’t do it justice, but here were my most successful efforts.

Jane-Very few folks garden in my neighborhood beyond a few annuals/perennials around the mailbox. I have a decent little garden out by the mailbox but it's 250 feet from the house and doesn't get enough water or attention from me at this time. It's probably a good candidate for a meadow garden but a prescription for anti anxiety meds would likely be required for the control freak me...lol.

The winter shots you all are sharing are beautiful and peaceful. I'm pretty much done with winter. Yesterday afternoon the sun came out and the temperature briefly rose above 40 for the first time in weeks so we decided to dash out for a quick "get the stink off" walk. I can't get the cats to stay out for more than five or ten minutes.

Longer and warmer days are upon us and it won't be long until "something" starts to bloom.

The Robins are finding the Aronia berries finally ripe today! The bush should be picked clean soon.

Suddenly it's warmer and it rained last night and the snow is receding into the shadows. And where the snow is gone there are snowdrops!

Such a small flower and such a big impact when Winter has been dragging on. They sure made my day.

Claire

Rereading this thread, I appreciate all of the photos. Really beautiful! I know ice is bad, but it sure is pretty on trees. It's lovely to admire, as long as the power is on and I'm not driving! We've had some good snow, but the light when I was home was always very blue/grey in Feb, so no pretty pics from me. Maybe March will bring some nice snow photos. I'm not ready for spring.

There. I said it!

I AM NOT READY FOR SPRING! Still too many other things to finish before the garden wakes up and the boats need varnished.

Love all the beautiful skies and the gardens/houses sleeping under snow in the pics above.

I have taken several nice photos recently, but my internet has degraded to the point that it is unusable so I need to change providers.

frost yesterday morning:

Several magically snowy days.

Wow, those are gorgeous photos, Babs! Great when you get snow instead of ice and it doesn't pull all the tree branches down. It's like a gift to go out and see that. And better yet that spring is right around the corner too.

Very very beautiful, NHBabs - what winter is supposed to look like, unlike the white slop we often get here in SE Mass.

Claire

Wow. NHBabs, you truly know how to get in the middle of it an enjoy the beauty. I need to do that instead of being stuck inside looking out a window. I always feel the pull of all the things that need to be done. I'm missing too much outside that would be better for my soul.

Claire, so nice to see the snowdrops! I love watching the seasons change, but we haven’t gotten anywhere close to seeing bulbs sprouting yet.

Deanna, it is the dog, not necessarily my own motivation that gets me out into the woods and fields regardless of the weather. But once I am out there I really enjoy it. Most days we do three walks as he is fairly high energy, so we are out for more than an hour most days. He has learned to pause when my cell phone camera or my pruners are in use. I don’t usually have my real camera with me. Today our breaks will be quite short with temperatures in the single digits into the teens and 40 mph winds. The dog is too small to retain much body heat, even with a jacket when the wind chills are like this, and in the woods where we typically go when it is breezy, it will be too dangerous with such strong winds bringing down branches.

"He has learned to pause when my cell phone or my pruners are in use."

OK, that goes down as one of my favorite of-course-I'm-a-gardener statements. If the dog has learned to pause at the unveiling of the pruners...what more can be said?!

Deanna, Flax has also learned to adore tomatoes because he can eat them in the veggie garden. I have to physically remove him from the veggie garden in season because he has eaten as many as 8 or 9 cherry tomatoes before I stopped him. He didn’t stop checking for available tomatoes until December last year! He is definitely a gardener’s dog.

Flax is a gem! Sounds like all he needs is a good salad to stay happy.

All our dog used to eat was Borage. [g]