Backyard bliss

My little corner of the world...

Just a little glimpse into where I'm hanging these days.

• Out back of the house, a rescued table and plastic chair, plus an old fish crate to rest my feet on, furnish a secluded corner to sit and read.
• An old crab apple tree provides a splash of pink joy while the stick fence seen in the background keeps the expectant garden contained (& deer out).
• One of many lilac bushes aburst with blooms.
• The woodpile grows in anticipation of winter, even though summer is not yet here.

A simple life.

A Matter of Daze

Today I am dazed and confused by the raging blizzard outside the windows of my east coast home.

Winds gusting to over 100 km/hr. The world a snowglobe being shaken by a hyper-kinetic poltergeist.

Snow is heaping in impassable drifts on the driveway as the world outside appears and disappears in swirls of white.

And yet mere days ago, on the other side of the country...

my farewell walk around the neighbourhood presented tiny daisies in green grass,

an improbable palm tree proud of its curb appeal,

streams rushing with the promise of spring,

and an elderly couple taking a leisurely stroll

 along the beach, as I basked in the warm afternoon sun.

After enjoying an unusually dry and sunny winter in Vancouver these past four months, I find I have arrived back to my east coast home in time to experience what is being described as the worst storm of the winter, and this after one of the coldest and snowiest seasons in years.

At least the wood stove keeps us feeling cozy as the old house groans and strains to withstand the force of the roaring winds, and we know that eventually spring will prevail.  Won't it??

Oh, deer...

It seems we humans are not the only ones getting anxious 

for spring and summer to arrive...

the deer are getting ever bolder and wandering very close to our house, likely in anticipation of the vegetable garden they feel certain will be planted for them before too long.  Meanwhile they seem pretty happy to be munching on grass.

They're not the most co-operative models, but I managed to get a few pictures of them through our sitting room window, providing me with some fodder for Photoshop fun.

It's illegal to shoot the deer within the village limits and the herds seem to be getting bigger every year.  Until a few years ago, we never saw any deer at all in the village but now they've become a common sight.

Common or not, we still get excited when we spot some of the critters grazing or wandering through our yard, and we rush to the windows to watch them.  Sometimes I even have enough time to grab my camera before they've mosied on across the street.  And they are not ones to look both ways before crossing!

I'm going to add this picture to Bonnie's Pixel Dust Photo Art virtual gallery this weekend where the theme this time is "shadow and light."  I feel I've reduced this little creature to a mere shadow of her former self and have flooded the background with light.

Here's the original 

Meanwhile, snow is in the forecast for tonight and tomorrow, so I guess the deer will go back to nibbling branches.  Personally, I may gnaw off my arm in frustration over this neverending winter!

The Gift that Keeps on Giving

And what would that be?  WINTER!  SNOW!  Pardon me for yelling, but I've had it up to here!
Up to where you say?  Right about here...

This is what the back entry looked like the morning after the last blizzard when I opened the door (shot taken from down on my knees...where I'd collapsed in disbelief).

This is what it looked like when I came to my senses and was able to stand up...

This is what I found just outside the door in our little summer patio sitting area...

a snow meringue!

After a storm, the sun comes out and makes tree shadows dance on the snow.

The howling blizzard winds left evidence of their passage in wave-shaped drifts.

These are the post-blizzard photos I promised you some posts back.They seemed appropriate to put up tonight as we're under yet another Winter Storm Warning. Not a blizzard, mind you.  

Lots of snow, but less blowing, is what I think it means.

I guess there'll be a few frozen 'peckers tomorrow.

See you after we've dug out!

s'no joke!

I was going to share some photos of the post-apocolypse  blizzard but we got hit with yet another charming bout of winter weather today.

I didn't actually venture out but opened the kitchen window and zoomed in on the wheels from the hay rake that we have in our yard as decoration...probably much to the amusement of the locals.

It makes for some scenic winter shots, though, 

don't you think?

You can just see the neighbouring abandoned house peeking out from behind the evergreen tree that sits in the middle of our "yard."  

We're wishing that the old house would finally cave in under the weight of the snow...

but instead it seems it's going to be me who caves under the heaviness of winter.

Stick scribbles and polka dots.

Somewhere between the bottom edge of this photo and the bare branches of the lilac tree lies our driveway.  I doubt we'll get ploughed until tomorrow sometime.  Pierre's going to have fun trying to drive our old Mazda up it tonight when he gets home.  But he's from Quebec so knows all about snow and winter driving.  Definitely can't say the same about myself...

I'm still looking for snow drops and daffodils to be blossoming at this time of year; but the only kind of snow drops for a couple of months yet will be the kind that make you shiver if they get between you and your woollies.

Getting Hammered...Again

No, not that way (unfortunately)...getting hammered by another snowstorm today and into the night.  This time not a blizzard but a winter storm.  The difference?  The storm brings not only snow but freezing rain, ice pellets, rain, and back to snow and freezing rain, carried on strong winds.  Needless to say, I haven't been out to take pictures, but here are a few from the night of the blizzard last week...I assure you it looks much the same tonight.

 Back door window.

 Arty shot.  I bought that vase when I was in art school in 197-something from a pottery student and have been carting it with me on all my cross-country moves ever since.

A field of snow is much like a desert...complete with mirages.

The trees looked spooky, silhouetted by the street lamps and blowing snow.

And this is what the blizzard really looked and felt like.

Morning after shots coming up next...

Digging Out

Well the blizzard blew in and blew and blew, for more than 24 hours.  Can't tell how much snow fell because it was largely airborne: blowing snow, drifting snow, swirling snow.  We have 3 foot high drifts next to patches of  frozen grass.  I took a few pictures...

...this is not one of them,

but a scene from earlier in the winter, after a snowfall of heavy white clingy stuff that outlined the trees and lawn ornaments in a pleasing way.

The recent storm shots are still in my camera.  But I got preoccupied with this image today

 and thought I'd share it here.

For those of you out there who are actually experiencing signs of spring, 

such as flowers peeping through the earth, birds chirping, frozen dog turds melting

(oh wait, that's probably just an eastern Canada thing)

please keep it to yourselves.

We've still got a ways to go in my neck of the woods.

 (PS. Just kidding about keeping it to yourselves;
I love hearing about what it's like where you are!)

Winter Weight

Winter continues.
Snow falls.  

I watch the without from within.

Linking to Danielle's My Town Shoot-Out: Frozen in Time

Golden Apples of the Sun

Went outside today to listen to the snow melt.

And for the first time in a long time, I felt like bringing a picture back with me.

I sat in the sun, sipping green tea, getting lost in a book,

lingering with the last warm rays of the sun.

Grateful for the simple pleasures of life.

Bowled Over

A New Year awaits us like an empty bowl

waiting to be filled.

It is up to us to choose the ingredients,

be they bright and revelatory

or quietly contemplative.

Whatever your choices,

 may they bring a little taste of magic into your life.

A pile of sticks stacked beside the bare-branched birch,
as if a warning to the tree of what its fate may be.

But no ordinary pile of firewood these,
they are the very walls that fenced in the summer garden,
removed and neatly piled to dream through the winter
of someday being upright under the sun again.

Meanwhile, out in the yard, the supporting posts
send mysterious semaphore messages,
stalwartly trying to guide the sun back to the frozen land

The Winter Gate stands still
against the storms to come
as if a portal to another mysterious realm of ritual

The over-arching reach of winter haunts us again

decorating the woods like a Christmas card.
Life imitating art imitating life.

May your holiday season sparkle and glow

whether or not it be dusted with snow.

The Enchantment Begins

The cold enchanter cast its spell on the world outside my window today...

And snow it begins.

More, much more to come...

Do Fence Me In

Country living has its charms.  Deer are sweet to behold wandering down from the woods, coming to nibble on branches and grass in the yard.  Not so sweet to see when they are grazing at the "salad bar" laid out in the garden.  Hence, the need for fencing.  En garde, critters!  We're going to stick it to you.

The garden was planted by Pierre.  The fence was hand hewn by Pierre.  The plants have been coaxed and encouraged and watered by Pierre.  The deer were lectured by Pierre.  The plants mostly listened and responded in a cooperative manner by growing edible bits.  The deer listened but clearly did not understand. Security was breeched!  Hoof prints were found!  Leaves and veggies had been nibbled!  Some recent reinforcement seems to have largely discouraged further entry by the four-leggeds.  (And, yes, there is actually a gate but it has been moved aside so we could go pick a few veggies for supper).

This is how the fence was begun, back at the end of June when it first became clear that the deer were anxiously awaiting the dinner bell.  Pierre gathered the sticks, mostly from deadfall in the woods out back and put it together all on his own.  No help whatsoever from me, other than offering smiling encouragement.

It's perhaps not quite up to the standards of the garden walls at Fortress Louisbourg (a replica of the French fort originally built in 1713 in Cape Breton NS)  but I think it's pretty impressive in its rustic authenticity.  And it's doing a pretty good job of discouraging all but the smallest of deer, who can manage to squeeze between or under the bars...but they'll be getting big soon, especially if they keep on nibbling the peas and beans.

Linking up with Rural Thursday
over at Nancy's A Rural Journal

Leapin' Lupins!

I thought I should laud the lovely leggy lupins that came leaping across the land last month, though alas, they're now beginning to lag.

This batch was spotted in the Laurentians, north of Montreal.  Doesn't that old fashioned fire-hydrant make a colourful sculpture in this wildflower garden?

This one is doing her best to imitate the fire hydrant.

The hot pink and lime green make a bold fashion statement.

You may have noticed that I like colour.  I like my photos to snap, crackle and pop with high contrast and bold tones.  There is a vogue that I've noticed for very pale, washed-out effects, which I do enjoy seeing in other people's photo editing, but it's just not my style.  

These pictures are about the life force of the flowers;

how they leap out at passers-by and demand to be appreciated.

But even in their bold brightness, 

they maintain a delicate softness.

Forgive me for waxing lyrical here.

Taking part in Flower Art Friday