We have green grass!

March 24 and the grass is mowed and GREEN! We've been cutting back a few of the tall grasses each nice day (the ones in the first photo below got whacked down tonight) and everything is sprouting and greening up like crazy!

Hard to believe. . .

That this:

Will soon look like this:


And this:

Will soon look like this:
 
The first day of spring is just three days away and we've had some great days for pruning and mowing down grasses getting everything ready to start growing again! We can hardly WAIT!

Springing ahead!

It's the 12th of March and for the last two days, the weather has been nice enough that we could get out in the yard. We've been pruning shrubs and trees like crazy. I love cutting everything back because even though it looks barren and drab right now, the new spring growth can't be far behind. I can hardly wait to start filling those flower pots!

Best of all, Daylight Savings Time will give us some extra hours outdoors!

17 (seventeen!!!) inches of snow!

A winter storm . . . and the calm after

The first of February brought a winter storm with ice and snow and wind and below-zero temps. Today, February 2, it's still extremely cold, but the wind has died down, the sun is shining, and the snow is beautiful. Even the birds seem happy about that.

No words necessary

Sunset, January 13, 2011.

Let it snow!

A beautiful few inches of snow overnight and we are thanking God for the much-needed moisture!

Happy New Year!

A beautiful crescent moon greeted me with the sunrise this morning, Sunday, January 2, the first "normal" day of this fresh, new year.

Pansies in December

This is why I love pansies! These have looked pretty wilty with all the freezing nights we've had, but just a little warmer weather perks them right up and it looks like we'll have pansies blooming at Christmas!

Getting ready for Christmas

December 16. The Christmas tree isn't up yet because our college daughter wants to help with that and she won't be home until Saturday, but all the gifts are bought and wrapped, there are Christmas cookies in the freezer and there's a wreath on the door. We're ready! Hope you are too!

A chilly Sundae morning

December 8 and the thermometer says it's below freezing, but Sundae doesn't care. She's wearing the thickest fur coat in the county.

Putting the garden to bed

We took advantage of an unseasonably warm day December 1 and finished putting the garden to bed. Rolled up all the garden hoses and rugs, emptied all the pots that don't winter well, pulled up the Dahlberg daisies and drained the fountain. It looks awfully bare out there, but nice to have that done since cold weather is upon us!

Sunrise, sunset, swiftly go the days

We have some of the most beautiful sunrises and sunsets here in Kansas, and especially at this time of year, it seems. Too often we almost miss them when we're not outside to notice like we do in the summer. But this one didn't get away.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

No thanks to the gardeners at this house, but our neighbors across the street have decorated enough for the both of us! It's hard not to get in the holiday spirit with this view off the front porch every night!

Farewell, Frosty

We said a sad goodbye to our faithful old cat at the end of November. Frosty joined our family as a tiny kitten (born August 1997) and was our beloved pet when we still had a houseful of kids. He loved being a garden cat, and in spite of being diabetic–and in his final years, deaf and blind–he always managed to work up a purr for anyone who paid attention to him. The garden won't be quite the same without him sunning himself on a rock, or on the back deck. We'll miss him a lot, but he left us a wealth of happy memories.

Frosty morning

We woke up the morning of November 18 to a beautiful frost that edged everything in icy lace.

Our Sundae didn't think much of the icy deck. She tiptoed quickly back to the warmth of the garage. (If her coat is any indication, we have quite a winter in store!)

Rearranging pots

 

We've been emptying out pots and putting them away for the winter, but a few are still too pretty to get rid of. There are little bits of sedum and thyme thriving in the strawberry pot and I replaced the frozen coleus that was in the top with some ivy from the side of the shed. The front porch is well protected and gets nice morning sun, so things last longer there than anywhere else. We try to eke every bit of color and enjoyment from our flowerpots before we finally admit it's winter and time to store them away.

The view across the street

Autumn's last gasp is always stunning!

Mid-November views

We're starting to put the garden to bed, slowly emptying spent pots and pulling out raggedy flowers. Still, there is plenty of color in the yard and we're savoring the days before winter sets in.