Winter Takes Hold ~ All Is Well ( Thursday Update )

 Time to pull the Christmas dishes out of the pantry. This chickadee teapot is not strictly for Christmas but I use it especially this season. The teapot reflects the sights around Cedar Pond this time of the year. We have so many chickadees helping themselves to the sunflower seeds filling our bird feeders. The chickadees don't seem greedy either. They grab one seed and fly to a nearby branch to crack it open and eat the seed meat inside before flitting back to the feeder for another seed. The chickadees are with us all year and although easy to overlook for the more dramatic birds , they make me happy. Chick-a-dee-dee-dee !

 Ella and Fella my Sebastopol Geese hang out under the bird feeders eating any seeds the birds fling over the feeders. It is good to know the expensive black oil sunflower seeds don't go to waste around here.

 The bees are snug in their hives during the very cold weather. My husband makes his honeybees sugar boards to eat during the winter.

 Deciduous trees have shed their leaves . Our cedar and fir trees seem even more beautiful to me in winter with their deep green showing against the stark bare trunks and branches of the aspen, oak, alder, and maple trees.

 The last few days were very cold, below 30 degrees. We kept a fire in the wood stove the whole time. Nothing warms a body up as well as hauling several loads of firewood into the house. Now the temperatures have risen sharply and according to the weather man we're in for a very big wind and rain storm. It is good to be prepared for these storms because we frequently lose electric power when the high wind gusts knock trees down onto the power lines. I've already filled containers with water , have the candles and matches near, firewood stacked and ready to burn, a battery powered radio , and books to read. Especially books to read !

 Our pond was almost bone dry the end of September and two weeks into October we had big rains . More rain in November helped fill Cedar Pond and the water overflows the banks of the island in the middle of our pond.

 Our creek ran dry in June ( very early for this to happen ) and is now flowing rapidly adding more water to the pond.

 My sheep don't suffer the cold or wet because their wool coats keep them very comfortable. ( This is Tovah , one of my 4 horned sheep.)

 I found some dishes for our Christmas table settings. The green goblets and cream cloth napkins I bought at the dollar store go very well with the dishes. My winter teapot also looks pretty nice with these dishes.

I could easily use these dishes all winter because this is a common winter sight for me, wild bunnies bouncing across our lawns, gardens, and under the firs and cedars. Winter has taken hold and all is well here at Cedar Pond. God is so good to me and I am thankful.

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Last Of Autumn Splendor ~ Thursday in the Garden

Another update on the gardens , pond, and woods around Cedar Pond. Hawk, our Vizsla prefers napping in the sunshine on the porch. He's getting old and craves warmth to ease his old bones.

Mushroom growing out of the trunk of a dying alder at our pond's edge.

The day after I took this picture we had a 3 day down pouring of rain ( almost 3 inches ) that washed the bright leaves right out of this Japanese maple tree. This tree is showing the last days of autumn splendor. Soon we might see the bare branches adorned with the icy crystals of late fall and winter.

A baby fennel plant has sprung up at the edge of one of the paths in my herb garden.

Rose hips on our Rugosa bushes in the herb garden are so bright and cheerful.

Mallow plants that escaped my weeding are blooming in the front garden under an ornamental grass. I have two kinds of Mallow growing here and they are hardy survivors , seeding themselves far and wide around Cedar Pond. The honeybees love them.

Our burning bush ( don't recall its real name ) has scant leaves but is full of berries the birds are plucking quickly.

One of my granddaughters snapped this photo of me as I was burning almost 5 months worth of storm debris down by our pond. After the big rains we can safely burn , and I had a very big burn pile going for 2 days.

My huge burn pile is now a cozy fire near our special spot at pond's side. The wood neatly stacked behind the fire is ready for future outdoor fires by the pond. ( All that wood is from trees the storms brought down around and into the pond.)

Sometimes our fall and winters bestow upon us a rare sunny day. On many such days we wrap ourselves in warm clothing ,build a fire in the fire pit by the pond and sip hot coffee or cocoa as we take in the beauty of the season. ~ " Instead of the call of the meadowlark, we hear the sharp call of the busy nuthatch as he probes tree trunks for juicy beetle-steak hidden in the cracks of bark. The November wind scurries fitfully and the cold rain falls in a leaden sheet across the brown fields."  ~ 'The New England Butt'ry Shelf Almanac' by Mary Mason Campbell

Our Pacific Northwest autumn splendor is giving way to November's late fall palette, preparing us for winter damp and dark, a beauty all its own.

I am thankful for my faithful dogs, my entertaining cats , our pond, and ever-changing weather .