Sigh. It turns out that Bella likes gardening just as much as she likes knitting. Becky, be warned, you might not want to read any further.

My heirloom iris from Becky that I planted back in October have been happily and cozily snoozing away under their blanket of autumn leaves and winter snow. Several weeks ago when the snow finally left I noticed that several of them seemed to be heaving out of the ground with their roots showing. I tucked more dirt around them and reseated a few of them and didn’t think too much of it. I asked Becky’s advice and she said it was pretty normal.

I was outside this afternoon raking leftover leaves and debris out of the flower bed and when I turned around I saw this. My gardening help had decided to pull up and relocate my precious iris!

While I was putting the camera back down before picking them up to plant them again, she grabbed iris #1 and started off with it. See the roots sticking out of her mouth?

[me] BELLA,  nooooooo, drop it!

[bella] uh oh. mom sounds mad. did I do something wrong?
[me] PUT THAT DOWN .... NOW!!!

[bella] geez, okay. like this?

[me] Good girl!

[bella] gee mom, i was just trying to help ...

Just in case you are wondering, no, I did not stage this. I didn’t have to. Bella was just being Bella and my camera goes everywhere with me. She has done this a couple of times and I haven’t caught her in the act. Each time she did it I was convinced after strict scoldings that it would be her last. I was wrong. She doesn’t chew them, just carries them around. I think because their flags are sticking up and they are not rooted yet they are easy targets. Problem is, my nice little map (see above heirloom iris link) of which iris was planted where is of no use anymore. I think I need a fence.

Did I mention she starts obedience class tonight? She’s a naughty girl.

Sunday morning we woke up to more new snow. The predicted “coating to a an inch” turned into three inches. It coated the trees and branches perfectly with its fluffy whiteness. Such a pretty snow!

Anyone up for an al fresco meal by the pool?

Okay, so maybe we didn’t have our usual poolside Sunday lunch. We took the dogs for a walk since it’s really been too cold to take them this past week. Bella preferred the snow to the road.

When we got back she was still a bundle of energy, so I took them in the back yard for a proper snow romp.

Snow really sticks to soft, downy puppy coats!

Heck, this kind of snow sticks to most anything!

And now for a few more serious shots.

Here is Alex, deep in thought.

And Hailey with snow nose.

And Bella.

Who you can’t expect to be serious for very long.

But I need to buckle down and get serious. I have five interview questions from Reya to answer which I have been giving much thought to over the past few days. I hope you’ve enjoyed this little taste of winter!

Just look at my feet and tell me what you see. Anything wrong? Uhm, I didn’t realize I had put on two unmatched shoes this morning until I got to the grocery store and looked down. Good grief. One old Merrill yard shoe (complete with hole) and one newer Merrill. One grey and one brown. Such a class act. I hope no one noticed.

Even though my day started off on the wrong foot, it’s not going badly. I just got back from taking the two big dogs for a walk in the wintry white greyness that is hanging around outside today. It looks like winter and if feels like winter. The snowfall from the other day is staying solidly in place, probably because of the coating of ice on top that is like a layer of shellac. Crunchy stuff, that. It’s just above freezing and that’s a heat wave compared to the frigid cold moving our way. Friday’s high temperature is supposed to be 10 F. brrrrrrrrrrr. Even some snow here and there over the next few days. But we all know how well the weather can be predicted, especially snowfall. I am sceptically optimistic.

Even though it’s white and grey outside, look what I get to look at inside to brighten up my day.

Gorgeous, isn’t it? Neighbor Aileen gave me this lovely amaryllis bulb for Christmas and it’s just now starting to bloom. I took it outside for a photo shoot because I liked the contrast of winter and spring.

And, look what I kept alive since last year and managed to force it to bloom again this year! What green fingers I am acquiring here on the East Coast! I am thrilled!

All summer long it lived outside and thrived. I brought it in before the first hard frost and stopped watering it. About three weeks ago I started watering it again. The growth you see here has all taken place in about one week. Here is a link to what it looked like last year blooming.

Bringing in a little sunshine with its warm color, here is the first half of my scarf completed. I’ve now started on the other half. I am just loving this pattern!

and even more sunshine for the soul ...

I hope you find a little sunshine in your day today too!

The Snow Queen must have been jealous because yesterday morning she swept through, covering up the work of the Ice Queen with a fresh coating of fluffy white new snow. So there, she said. I can cover up all your work just like that. Of course, the Ice Queen’s work is still there, lying treacherously only an inch below. Some of the tree branches still carry their icy coating and our driveway shows no improvement. Our local stores are all sold out of ice melt. Me thinks the Ice Queen still rules.

Bella likes it when the Snow Queen comes. She likes to try and catch snowflakes in her mouth just like any other little kid.

There is something very sad about Christmas decorations after Christmas is over with. Just look at these reindeer in my neighbor’s yard down the street. They’ve keeled over from the stress of it all, while the one left standing looks on forlornly. I’m afraid there is no rescue for these poor little reindeer if last year is any indication. (Last year they left them up until Easter.) Take them down, put them away, and get on with life after Christmas folks!

We certainly did. On Sunday the tree and all the trimmings came down and got packed up and put away. The living room looks naked without the bedecked tree but we’ll get used to it. It’s nice to have the house back to normal again. A fresh, clean house to start the new year with.

As for the weather, it bounces back and forth. We had a bit of snow on New Year’s Eve which is still around in spotty bits, but right now it’s raining. At least I think it is but it’s too dark outside to really tell. I think it’s freezing rain. That is something I can’t quite get used to. Here it is 31 degrees F and it’s raining instead of snowing. I can see icicles and a good coating of ice on the deck’s railings. Yuck. When it gets lighter I will try and get some photos if it’s worthwhile. But by the time it’s bright enough outside to take photos the ice will probably be melting. We’ll see.

I think canoeing is out of the question, don’t you? Green Turtle Pond now belongs to the ice fishermen.

As for me, I am feeling pretty much back to normal thank goodness. Still coughing some but it’s a dry cough instead of the one I did have.

How is Bella doing, you might ask. She’s doing just great. Growing like a weed in rich soil. She weighs in at 50 pounds now at 4 months of age. I think she’s going to be a big girl. I can’t even write about her misadventures much anymore because she’s turned into a little angel. She’s really a very good puppy. Well, most of the time. She still has her moments. Like when I just now tried to take her photo and she started barking at me.

Poor thing. I just let her out to pee and it’s so icy out there her legs went in every direction trying to squat. I can see now that everything is coated with ice. Lovely.

Did I tell you that I saved a bird’s life the other day? We came home from running errands and saw Sam staring intently at a female downy woodpecker just sitting in the snow on the other side of the glass door. I knew just what to do as I’ve done it many times before when we’ve had birds stunned from flying into the glass. I put my gloves on and went out and picked her up. At first she tried to fly, but couldn’t. She soon settled down in my cupped hands, turning her head this way and that looking at me. I stroked her feathers every so lightly, trying to warm her up. After a while I opened my hands and she still just sat there. I was hoping she wasn’t hurt internally when all of a sudden she took flight. Hurray!

With the nasty weather outside I’ve decided not to go anywhere today. I am going to make this Irish stew this afternoon, complete with cheddar scones. Just the meal for a day like today, don’t you agree?