Em's Garden

June has been a very wet and humid month. We’ve had just a handful of dry days, so I’m way behind on weeding and deadheading. I haven’t had many opportunities to take any decent photographs either.

I’m not afraid to tromp around the garden in the rain with my camera, but right now the number of mosquitoes in my yard rivals the amount of the national debt. They are vicious and hungry and want nothing more than to feast on my face. Most of the photos I’ve taken are blurry. It’s a tad difficult to hold still when a mosquito is biting you on the eyelid. But who wants to apply repellent for a quick walk around the garden? If I did that I’d be taking a shower a half-dozen times a day.

We’re finally going to get a reprieve this week—seven rain-free days in the 70s and low 80s. We haven’t had a stretch of weather this beautiful since April. I’m thrilled because the daylilies are poised to put on a spectacular show, and mosquitoes or not I’ll be outside enjoying every minute of it.

Tags: Insects, Weather by Em
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I should have known. Things were humming along much too smoothly at the feeders this winter. There were no pests or marauders in sight. Then in the midst of the latest snowstorm, they arrived.

Just as there is no such thing as a unicorn (sorry if I ruined your day), there is also no such thing as “just one” European Starling. They may send out a scout to find out what you’re serving for supper, but that’s the last time you’ll see only one. In mere moments your feeders will be inundated with scores of the pesky birds. They can empty a feeder in no time.

Other than squirrels, no critter makes me crazier. The birds are easy to scare off, but they are also undaunted. The second you turn your head, they reappear. When they are in my yard I can’t get anything done because I’m constantly whipping around from my work to see if I need to startle them from the feeders again. I flail about in the window, I yell, I knock on the glass. It only works for a few moments.

I almost went outside and took down the feeders during the storm, but there were so many other birds snatching seeds that I didn’t have the heart.

Once a flock has added your backyard to the “restaurant tour”, you are usually doomed for the foreseeable future. In this case I may have dodged a bullet. Once the snow subsided, the birds miraculously vanished. Now if I could just get rid of my nervous, head-turning twitch, things would really be back to normal.

Tags: Birdwatching, Weather by Em
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“Don’t worry, there will be an El Niño effect this winter”, they said in October. Then, even after 17 inches of snow dropped on our city in less than 12 hours last month, the meteorologists were still adamant that our winter would bring higher-than-normal temperatures and less snow.

The snow thing might still pan out, but we’re in our 4th lengthy, below-zero-dipping cold snap of the season so far. Unless some unprecedented heatwave cranks us into the 60s in February (oh please, oh please!), there’s no way this winter is going average “above normal.”

To fight my wicked case of cabin fever, it’s time to escape into some warm photographs:

Tags: Snapshots, Weather by Em
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I ventured outside to fill the birdfeeders this weekend, and my gloved fingers became numb after only a few minutes in the below-zero temperatures. Imagine how challenging it must be for the birds to keep their naked little legs and toes warm when it’s so chilly.

I observed some Juncos trying out various foot-warming strategies as they pecked around for seed under the feeders.

The most popular method is the “hop and squat.” You jump forward, grab a seed and then squat down in the snow so your warm feathers cover your feet as you enjoy your morsel. Then you hop forward for another seed and repeat:

If you’re someone that can rub your belly and pat your head at the same time, the “hopscotch” method may be for you. Draw one leg up into your feathers and hop around on one foot until it gets cold. Then switch feet. This one gets a bit challenging when you’re trying to eat at the same time.

My favorite strategy is the “hovercraft.” Whiz about so quickly that your feet barely touch the frozen ground. This is another one that can be a bit tricky at meal time. And you probably burn as many calories as you take in which isn’t a good idea when you’re trying to stay warm.

While all three techniques are laudible, I’m going to have to cast my vote for “watch-from-the-window-with-a-cup-of-hot-cocoa.”

Tags: Birdwatching, Juncos, Weather by Em
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This is my little shout-out to warm weather on a day when the temperature is struggling to get above zero.

Tags: A Bevy of Blooms, Weather by Em
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We just can’t seem to get a break from annoying weather. Every since winter reared its ugly head last week, it seems something is constantly falling from the sky that requires our attention—snow, sleet, freezing rain.

Yesterday I was relieved to finally get our steep driveway in good shape after the freezing rain. I went inside to have lunch and within an hour a snow squall appeared that quickly deposited a half-inch of snow.  I grudgingly went back outside and started all over again.

After last week’s 17-inch snowfall, the temperatures immediately plunged below zero, freezing everything in place. I’m glad I cleared the snow from my arborvitaes, otherwise they probably would’ve been permanently mangled. It’s painful to drive around the area and view all of the damaged trees and shrubs. Some trees just simply snapped in two.

The National Weather Service reported that the snow in our big snowstorm was 20 times heavier (more dense) than normal. Perhaps that would explain why it looked so strange. I don’t remember ever seeing anything quite like it. The snow resembled Styrofoam, fake snow from a can, or perhaps vanilla frosting. It was stark white and it attached itself to any horizontal or even vertical surface like it had been slammed there by blunt force (which might make sense if the storm had produced high winds, but they never materialized).

Even when the temperatures finally got into the 30s for several days, the strange white stuff didn’t melt much at all—not even on vertical, south-facing surfaces. That’s just weird. One week later, it’s still plastered on tree limbs and stoplights and playground equipment as if the storm had just passed hours ago.

As we enter our third year of winters that aren’t kidding around, we should be getting used to this, but I still haven’t quite adjusted. Sometimes I feel like I’m trapped in a snowglobe.

Tags: Weather by Em
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After the last two snowy winters, the amount of snow in this photo I took this morning doesn’t impress me at all except when you consider that most of it fell during the seven hours I was asleep.

By 6:30 this morning I measured about 15 or 16 inches of snowfall depending on where I stuck my measuring tape. Since then I would guess an additional inch or so has fallen.

The temperature hovered in the low 30s all night so the snow is very wet and heavy and all of the tree branches are frighteningly weighted down. I fear what could happen later this afternoon when the winds pick up and the temperate drops like a rock into the teens. We may hear some snapping and clunking.

When I stepped outside to shovel for the birds this morning, my three 20-foot arborvitaes were splayed in all directions with many branches touching the ground. I spent the next hour shaking and whacking all 45 of my arborvitaes to prevent them from further damage. I hope they appreciate that fact that most of the snow I knocked off ended up on my head, down my back and in my boots!

The snow blower worked like a charm and provided hours of entertainment for my husband. Unfortunately, I somehow managed to lose my favorite shovel outside. I used it near the front door this morning and now it has disappeared. I’ve searched everywhere inside the house and out. All I can think of is that I stuck it in a snowbank and it tipped over and got covered by the snow flying from the snow blower. Maybe I’ll find it again in spring.

Tags: Weather by Em
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I better get hungry fast because I’ve got a lot of crow to eat. About 10 days ago I said that it didn’t feel like it was going to be a very snowy winter. In fact, I didn’t mention it, but I really thought we’d have a brown Christmas. We’ve had two small snow events since then, but today is the big one. We’re expecting 10 to 16 inches and near-blizzard conditions.

Winter clearly did not appreciate me calling it lazy. Not only could we see up to a foot of snow, but the temperature will climb into the 30s today and then nosedive to a low of zero by Thursday night. Wind chills will be in the twenty-degrees-below-zero range. That’s January weather, not early December weather.

I apologize for riling you up, Winter, but I would like to point out that it’s still not too late for you to consider a lovely trip to Hawaii.

Tags: Weather, Winter by Em
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My gut tells me we’re not going to see a lot of snow this winter. October was rudely chilly, but throughout November the temperatures have been very mild, and there’s a feeling in the air that winter is pondering a lazy vacation.

I could be making a foolish prediction. Two years ago we didn’t see a single flake of snow until December 1st when we were not-so-eased into the season with a 6-inch snowfall. Then it snowed measurably just about every other day for over a month. I still feel all of those flakes (over 100 inches worth) in my right shoulder.

This year, besides my intuition, I have a little insurance policy. We finally bought a snowblower. If that doesn’t guarantee an almost snowless winter, nothing will.

Tags: Weather, Winter by Em
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So far fall has been as strange as summer. On the day we left for Colorado, the high was 82 degrees. When we returned 10 days later, temperatures were struggling to get out of the 40s and it rained for 12 straight days.

October was so cold and gloomy that it felt like November. In fact I got over half of my Christmas shopping done because there was nothing better to do. I was hoping to clean up the garden, but I’ve decided to let it slide until next spring. The birds are doing some of the tidying for me. The dead flower seeds are being devoured by Juncos and White-throated Sparrows.

It wasn’t a good year for fall color either. Just as we were starting to see hints of bright red and blaze orange, the nighttime temperature dove into the lower 20s which caused “freezer burn” on many of the leaves. Some of them curled up and turned black, and many others just dropped off the trees with the first strong breeze. As a result, the maples just didn’t dazzle this year like they have in year’s past.

Thankfully, I was fortunate enough to get an eyeful of color in Colorado.

Tags: Fall, Weather by Em
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