Winter arrived with a blast of cold. It blanketed the garden in little crystals and frozen bird baths each morning for a week.
A final whisper from the north to the garden: “go to sleep.”
We have learned to let the garden stand instead of conducting an end-of-season clean up. The dead stalks provide cover from the cold for the future growth below.
While we have had some nice December rainfall, the total still put us at “average”; nowhere close to what we need to begin a recovery from our prolonged drought. I wish there were a way to relieve the rest of the country of the water that inundates them. Mother Nature is a fickle mistress.
They say the El Nino is now upon us. In a supreme act of faith, I completed raising the beds to protect them from the flooding they say will ensue –
and buried a shelter in Ina’s garden for our feral kitty. Shhh…don’t tell Ina. (Note to my sister, the cat rescuer, yes…our country cats have been neutered or spayed and have plenty of warm spaces to shelter with extra food and water.)
The holiday pines were recycled to mulch, and to provide the blueberries with the acid they crave.
And the birds are well fed.
In the next few weeks, we will prune the roses…all 43 of them…and the grapes.
Until then…we wait. And listen for the rain.
Gardens For Goldens 
Oh what a beauty, and you know who I am referring too.
I think you were a hummer in a former life! 🙂
You are amazing…
And you are too kind. 🙂 Is this my Lynn who will be helping prune the roses?? Get those clippers sharp. 🙂
So glad the kitties have good spaces there too…very sweet. Paws crossed for lots of rain for you.
The kitties are very spoiled. If they could be tamed, they would be adopted out. But the ones who prefer to live free are our beloved mousers…and very well taken care of! The first wave of rain came through last night…all night. 🙂
Hooray for rain all night. And hooray for mousers too! It is so hard to convince some folks that the cats who grew up outside aren’t wanting to come in, that “in” is stressful. Glad these guys are well taken care of!
How beautiful! Hoping you get the rain you need to recover.
It has begun. 🙂
What beautiful care! Those little igloos are so useful for the feisty ferals . . . so glad to see a little home out there!
I did not mention the toasty kitty house in the shed, as well. Kitty is well taken care of. 🙂
Even in the dead of winter, the garden is still beautiful.
You are a beautiful writer and photographer. I love these shots.
I didn’t know that about blueberry bushes. I should go rescue a few branches from our curbside pick up. Mine refuses to produce any fruit. This may be why.
Thank you for providing shelter for the cat. I know he/she is most grateful.
Awww…thank you for the nice note. The blueberries do love acid. You can lightly feed them with the same food you would use for azaleas. Or try some coffee grinds in the soil as well. Kitty is very happy in her home in the shed and Ina’s garden. Fat and happy!
Fat and happy is nice (for a cat anyway). 😉
Glad to hear that the rains came – always music to the ear and soul of the gardener.
Absolutely!