For almost a week we have had beautiful sunny days with temperatures around 60F and lows around 40F. Rain is predicted for the next couple of days so Bob and I both took a lot of pictures of Spring's progress today.
I always anticipate and watch for the first blooms of bloodroot each spring. I learned when we first lived here that it would be the first thing to bloom after the daffodils.
And, this one single blossom in the picture below has at least 15 petals. I'm will have to go back and check the plant tomorrow. I'm guessing it has an even number and I cannot distinguish at least one petal in the picture.
Bloodroot or bloodwort is one of many plants whose seeds are spread by ants. In the early years we lived here, I observed that wherever blooroot appeared, wood trillium plants soon popped up in the same vicinity. You can see the wood trillium in the lower right hand corner of the second picture above and in the upper right hand corner against the large rock of the picture below.
When we were in Virginia at my brother's farm for a family gathering after Christmas, I got interested in getting a motion sensor camera. Bob ordered the camera weeks ago, but it is finally set up and working.
Bob set it up on the house side of our driveway across from the main bird feeder. Most of the pictures taken the first two days were of crows. I'm not sure whether it is the same crow or different ones.
I did already know that one of the crows has learned to use the feeders. But, every time I had seen the crow, it was using the feeder with the round base at the bottom.
The pictures on the motion camera proved that the crow is also using the feeder without the bottom to hang on.
The camera caught all the other smaller birds, but the resolution really did not allow me to crop for better view. It will take some trial and error to figure out exactly how to use it. My main motivation for getting it was to try to capture pictures of the bear that has been visiting us for the past two years. It will be interesting to see how the pictures change as we move into Spring and then Summer.
As predicted the weather turned cold again with low temperatures near freezing for the past several days; but, it has not slowed down spring's arrival at all. Every day, more and more daffodils are popping up all over our property. Yesterday, the first crocus bloomed.
We planted two weeping willows on the lower end of the meadow which have really grown over the past 12 years. They are the first trees to leaf in the spring. Several years after we planted the weeping willows, I asked Bob to plant some corkscrew or curly willows. There are several now on the far side of the creek and one on the house side and they are started to leaf this week.
In the middle of the meadow on the house side of the creek is a very very old plum tree. It has lost so many limbs on one side that it's weight was pulling it down to the ground on the other and we had to prop it up. Several years ago we planted a young plum tree nearby because we were not sure how much longer the old one would live. In the years when the plum blossoms escape a spring freeze, we have the most wonderful plum jam. It's plums are tiny and not much good for eating until we turn them into preserves if we can get to them before the crows. Plums are not my favorite fruit, but the plum jam is better than anything I've made from my favorite fruits, peaches and raspberries. Below is a picture of the new plum tree which has not born fruit yet, but maybe this year.
Bob didn't take a picture of the old plum,but I am delighted that it has blossoms for at least one more year and I'll keep my fingers crossed that we won't have a hard freeze.
The highs and the lows for tomorrow are both expected to be int he 40's. The temperatures are supposed to gradually start warming up in the next several days and the highs to be up in the 60's by the end of next week. Today's set-in rain is much needed and supposed to continue until at least Monday morning.
When the sun returns it will be time to clean out the front cottage garden.
A week ago we had just had a beautiful snowfall, deeper than any we had ever experienced since we bought this property in 1996. The snow was beautiful for several days, but then the weather shifted dramatically. For the past several days we have had very spring-like weather.
We have been concerned about the frog population on Fork Creek. Usually around the time of year when we get the first warm snap during late winter, we have many noisy bullfrogs mating in Bee Pond. This year we never heard them, nor have we seen any of the huge egg sacks in the pond. We have a pair of hawks that spend a lot of time hunting on our property parts of the year. We see them most often near the pond. We have watched them dive down and come up with a frog before. Bob also saw one of them grab a bird from one of the bird feeders. (You can tell that it has been quite a while since this outhouse was used by the rhododendron growing in front of the door.
Yesterday, I got home around 2:30 p.m. and it was such a beautiful afternoon that I meandered around our property for a good long while. While I was in the area near our "out house," I was surprised and delighted to hear a tree frog "peeping." Tonight, when we got home, we could hear an entire chorus of tree frogs singing away. I guess the warm days we have had have convinced them it is Spring already, but the weatherman say otherwise. s Winter is headed back our way by the end of the week.
Today's high was predicted to be 74F with low of 49F. The last several days have been nice enough to enjoy a little "porch-sitting" and to open up the windows for a little fresh air during the afternoon.
The moon was be full until Wednesday, but it rose early tonight and was beautiful against the blue sky before the sun went down.
We had never seen such large icicles hanging from the eaves of our roof before this last snow. Today, it sounded like it was raining today as the icicles melted and dripped. And, every once in a while, you could hear a crashing sound as large chunks of snow fell out of the trees.
We still have snow and a lot of it on the mountain side of the house, but the landscape looked so different after the melting today. The trees on the meadow side are bare of snow and ground began to peak through the snow all over the meadow.
Very different from just a day ago.
With the warming trend of the next few days, it will be interesting to see underneath the snow and the progress towards spring, I feel ready for Spring now and it looks like we'll get a taste of spring temperatures by the weekend. Predictions were that the high today would be in the low 50's, but I don't think we got that high. High tomorrow is supposed to be 65F with low of 47F. Highs are supposed to reach the low 70's by Saturday and Sunday.
The roads were clear enough for careful driving yesterday. It was still quite cold, never getting above freezing and we still had a winter wonderland landscape. Today the temperatures got above freezing and the snow began to melt. The trees were still heavy with snow when we left this morning to go to SC. By the time we returned, It had not melted that much here except that it mostly disappeared from the trees. The winds had blown it around so much while it was coming down Sunday and Sunday night, that there was a layer on every surface, vertical as well as horizontal.
Tomorrow the temperatures are supposed to rise into the 50's and it will be even warmer by Friday. We're grateful for this snow, not just because of the wonder of it's beauty, but because we still are in serious deficit numbers in our county for rainfall. The snow is the best way for raising the water.
view from Fork Creek Road
We woke up this morning to a beautiful winter wonderland. It was a beautiful sunny day even though it stayed quite cold. It is easy to enjoy the now when we are free to stay home and don't have to drive in it. Snow makes me feel the wonder I felt as a child. I remember snowfalls growing up in Richmond and a friend's father who would take us to Bryan Park to sled at night. It was magical. When I first woke up, I wondered if I might get down the antique sled that hangs on the wall of the front porch and try out the hill behind the garage, but I quickly thought better of the idea.
Bob had promised to go out the morning and take pictures. He kept his promise. When I downloaded them, there were over 300.
The Asheville television news recorded one official reporting from Saluda of 12 inches. I think we got between nine and ten inches. We kept the outside light on the corner of the house on and watched the snow as it fell long after the sun went down. There were wind gusts up to 50 mph last night and it was amazing to watch the snow swirling.
very old redbud trees along edge of meadow
meadow bridge over Fork Creek
Bee Pond frozen with snow on top
We did not even try to go out today. The mail did get delivered, but the snow plow did not get to Fork Creek Road until after 5 p.m. The weather I check daily says the high tomorrow will be 32F. So, the beauty will linger for at least another day.
I have friends and family members who think I'm crazy to love snow, but it is such a joy to me. A snow day is like a gift of time. We've had very little snow the past several winters.
More than a few times this year, the possibility of snow has been predicted without materializing. We did have one light snow earlier in the winter. The snow that was predicted to start this afternoon actually began around 11:00 a.m. We were in town at Snail's Pace Retreat Center. It was raining when we arrived at 10:00 a.m. I happened to look out around 11 a.m. and noticed that it had started snowing. The flakes were huge and really come down.
Everyone at the retreat from out of town packed up quickly to head home. We were not long behind them. We headed towards the grocery store, but before we got out of town decided the roads were already too dangerous so we headed home, slowly.
We spent the rest of the day watching the snow fall and transform the landscape. Bob watched the snow from the living room where he built a fire. I watched from the family room while trying to catch up on e-mail from being gone all weekend. In our family room we have a full glass door to the outside and six additional 6 and 1/2 feet windows. It is a gorgeous view no matter the weather, but I had an amazing view of the snow falling and accumulating.
The prediction was for three to six inches. I went outside a little while ago and measured the snow on the table near the gas grill and the ruler showed eight inches, more than I think we've ever had since we lived here. It is still coming down. The high today was 34F with predicted low tonight of 22F. I noticed that tomorrow's prediction was changed and now the high is supposed to be 33F with a low of 9F.
Bob had to go out to the meadow a half dozen times this afternoon to clear the snow off of our Internet satellite for me to be able to get online. Once the snow flakes got smaller and finer around suppertime, the satellite link has been OK.
The picture below was taken around 4:00 p.m. through our bedroom window. I think we probably only had a couple of inches at that time.
Bob has promised to take some outside pictures tomorrow.
Bee Pond Cottage overlooking and reflected in the pond.
Yesterday was overcast, but today was another beautiful mild sunny day with a high of 61F and a low of 45F.
Despite the mild temperatures and sunshine, it is looking like the ground hog was right. The warm weather of the past couple of days is predicted to shift in the other direction starting tomorrow. The prediction is for rain for the next two days and then for a possibility of snow by Sunday. Right now the high predicted for Sunday is 38F.
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