Baby it's Cold Outside!

This is what my thermometer read this morning.  Now, mind you its 8:15, so the temperature has already risen a bit in the past hour or so.  Normally, I've already done all my outdoor, morning chores by now, but I'm waiting for it to get above 10.

The chickens are feeling it.  A few of them have some frostbite on their combs.  It isn't bad, but must be kind of painful.  I'll be going out to attempt to put some vaseline on them, to prevent further damage.  Their eggs are freezing in a very short time, so we have to be quick or they end up frozen and cracked.

Toby loves the snow and is thrilled to be home, but even he doesn't want to be out for long.

The water dripping off the house splashes up into the most beautiful designs.

The trees look pained.  Like arthritic fingers, brittle from the cold.

Reaching for the sun and whatever warmth they can get.

The garden sits, lonely, waiting for Spring.

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I'm a pot head

I was walking through my yard today, realizing that I still need to get everything put away.  There are pots everywhere.  This one is by itself on the deck.  Its a leftover from a project for the kids Nature Club.

This is a pot sitting just outside my garden.  My brother was quite upset that I bought it.  You see at the time he worked for a large pottery company located nearby.  I told him he needed to give me more pots to satisfy my addiction.

So he gave me this one.  Its just outside my front door in the herb and flower bed.  Once upon a time there was mint growing wildly in it.

I haven't a clue where this one came from.  My daughter decided that she and her friend were going to plant some flowers.  The got this pot, filled it with dirt and planted some zinnia seeds in it.  Its been sitting in my garden for the past few weeks.  Do you think anything is going to grow?

This is my post for the Sunday Stroll.  Check out who else is strolling at the Quiet Country House.

Autumn Fire

Each season brings its own personality.  Its as if they are trying to outdo each other.  The red of autumn is no exception.

Mums

 

Japanese Maple

 

Dogwood

 

Burning Bushes lit ablaze.

See who else is strolling over at the Quiet Country House.  

Strolling through the candle company's gardens

This week we went out to the Yankee Candle Company to spend the day with the kids.  They have some very pretty gardens outside, so despite some rain, I decided to try out my new camera.  Its not really new, but hubby let me have one of his older cameras.  Its a Canon EOS 20D and much nicer than the little point and shoot I was using.

The mums were beautiful.

Lots of colors.

Corn stalks make wonderful designs.

Piles of pumpkins.

It really was beautiful.

This was my contribution to the Sunday Stroll.  Head on over to the Quiet Country House to see who else is strolling today.

Looking back through the growing season Sunday Stroll

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Looking back at my garden over the past few months of our rather short growing season.

This was in May. Peppers that are now full grown and ready to be harvested.  Its amazing how tiny they start out.

Tomatoes in June.  Starting to get big.

Tomatoes and peppers in July tucked in with their blankets of straw.

Heartbreak in August with the discovery of blight.

Moving on in September with leeks and some swiss chard in the background.