The Happiest Day in Winter

Every year at this time, I walk hopefully through the yard looking for the first hint of spring.

 

In recent weeks, we have been snow covered in the Tidewater, which while beautiful brought a host of annoyances. Once the melt took place my daily survey continued and today I was rewarded! Those hopeful, brave green shoots poking through the faded leaves of last year make my heart grow three sizes....just like the Grinch haha.

 

 

"Life is the greatest gift that could ever be conceived ... A daffodil pushing up through the dark earth to the spring, knowing somehow deep in its roots that spring and light and sunshine will come, has more courage and more knowledge of the value of life than any human being I've met." - Madeleine L'Engle

Not Gardeny, But Important to Me!

I am not from the South, though I have been here for 12 years, I still consider myself a Philly girl. Going to the NFC Championship game was an amazing experience that I shared with my family.

 

Despite what you hear in the news media, most of the people who attend Eagles games are legacy families who have been season ticket holders for generations. Such a family are we. My father, now passed, had tickets several stadiums back. Some of my fondest childhood memories are sitting in stadiums with him, be it Eagles, Phillies, or the Big Five basketball, he and I were always at some game. I had no brothers, and was the oldest daughter, so love of sports came to me in all those hours of bonding.

 

I was present opening day of Veterans Stadium in 1970 and I was present the day they imploded it when "the Linc" was opened. Sitting in our seats always brings a rush of memories of all those years. 

 

One thing I miss living in the Tidewater is that sense of oneness and community that comes from a major sports team, something we lack here. There are instant connections in supermarkets, at gas pumps, at schools, wherever, a part of something sometimes joyful and sometimes miserable. It was truly hard to leave the city the next day, knowing I would miss the city fervor in build up to the Super Bowl.

 

We are the "underdogs" and in spirited fashion my son donned the dog mask made "famous" by Chris Long and Lane Johnson.

There were a fair amount of Vikings fans in out tailgate lot. But for some jeering going both ways, and one bonehead who chucked his beer into that crowd, things we a lot calmer than the media has portrayed. Philly fans are used to being portrayed as savages.....mostly we are hard working folks who are joyful to be cheering on our team and spending time with family and friends.

The sun set over the Linc....it was almost game time. It was exciting and nerve wracking all at the same time!

A beautiful national anthem ceremony....always brings a tear.

 

WE WON!!!!

Spring is when you feel like whistling even with a shoe full of slush.  ~Doug Larson

It was the first day I really got out in the garden yesterday...I always feel hopeful about a new season and bleak about all the work to come all at the same time! I wandered over to the garden section of the  big box store who had teased me with cool weather veggies when I drove in.  I picked up two varieties of  kale, Chinese cabbage, radicchio, and mustard to get started, oh and a flat of violas too. The whole garden sort of got away from me last year with too much school work and not enough garden time. There is a bunch of overgrowth that needs pulling. But I started with just a few of the boxes.

 

The plum is blooming its pretty white flowers which really stand out where there is no green.

 

Violas make instant cheer!!

 

The sky was glorious blue in contrast to the red buds appearing on the trees.

 Four boxes planted with a feeling of satisfaction. A forecast of cold and rainy weather for the next few days will give them a good soaking.

 

Lazy dogs pretended they weren't keeping an eye on me....

A pleasant and satisfying day spent outside. :)

In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.  ~Margaret Atwood

A Groundhog is a Rodent, Not a Weatherman

 

 

Punxsutawney Phil, the world's most famous rodent, popped out of his burrow Sunday morning and predicted six more weeks of winter, much to the disappointment of the crowd gathered at Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pa.  His prediction was: "A Super Bowl winner I will not predict, but my weather forecast you cannot contradict. Why that's not a football but my shadow I see, It's six more weeks of winter it must be!"

 

I say, forget the groundhog...I have evidence that spring is coming! Gorgeous spring green moss was revealed when the snow melted under the warmish 56 degree sunshine.

 

Not too far from the moss.....while slightly out of focus, the daffs are 4 inches up. Take that stupid groundhog!

 

The sunset was once again spectacular with the entire sky streaked in large swaths of pinky orange.

 

Magical....

Oh Snow!

“Snow falling soundlessly in the middle of the night will always fill my heart with sweet clarity.”  -Novala Takemoto

 

 

“The snow doesn't give a soft white damn whom it touches.”  ― E.E. Cummings

"The snow was whiter than what seemed possible." ―J. McSparin - 8th Grade

 

“Oh! the snow, the beautiful snow, Filling the sky and earth below, Over the housetops, over the street, Over the heads of the people you meet. Dancing, Flirting, and Skimming along.” -J.W. Watson

Snow Day

When all was said and done we measured just over 4 inches in our Virginia yard. The view out the kitchen window, while beautiful,  makes me long to be out in the garden covered in dirt and sweat. It is cold and will remain cold for some days to come. Perhaps when the snow is gone there will be some green poking through...one can hope.

 

Pre SNOWMAGEDDON!!!

You've got to love Facebook for providing the weather humor commensurate with the hype that has been all over the news that last 24 hours. Admittedly the south does not have the necessary equipment and salt stockpile to deal with the roadways adequately. I did wander to the beach house to bulk up the bird feeders while the temperature was 57 and the sun was shining.

 

 

My winter kale is quite happy in it's southern exposure. The camera didn't quite capture the true screaming violet color. They make me happy when I look at them.

 

 

The reliable Camellia's are blooming a pretty soft Valentine's pink.

 

The plumes of the pampas grass rustled softly in the breeze.

 I wandered to the beach...it was gorgeous! Sunny, warm.....

 A couple of our beaches regular's came down to surf for a bit.

 Dolphins were lazily surfacing in a large school of fish that had the pelicans diving.

 Loyal dog goes for swim.

 And takes a good post-swim roll on the sand.

 

Sigh....spring and summer I long for you. Meanwhile......

Leftovers

Bedraggled but still hanging on, some leftovers in the beach garden still putting on their best faces...

 

Long gone are the peppers that grew nearby, the marigold, maybe from seed, looks sunny yellow on a grey day.

The asparagus fern looks downright festive with it's showy red berries.

And last but not least in a sunny, protected spot, these impatiens have been blooming since the summer, the coleus is spindly but hanging on.

As you can see I have a hard time pulling things at the end of the season. At the beach it's hard to tell the season sometimes...

Happy 2K13!

I've been pretty sick the last few days with this ridiculously contagious respiratory crud. Coughing so much I have pulled muscles in my ribs, either that or it's Pleurisy! I decided a ride to the OBX oceanfront would do the trick. Riding is about all I am up for, no Mummer's strut for me.

 

Walked onto our beach at Avalon and as if on cue a large group of dolphins swam by in no particular hurry. I decided it was a good omen!



 

 There was something downright magical about the light today...no sun, but these bright patches mixed with these twirling tubular clouds. Contrasted against the eerily calm ocean and sand, I wished I could paint...a camera must do.

 Goddess Support and I walked a bit looking for treasures and marveling at the calm surroundings.

 

My lungs full of moist salty air, we piled back into the car and drive home to eat our good luck pork roast.  A pleasant New Year's Day.

Top Photos for 2012

 

Inspired by Les at A Tidewater Gardener I took a trip through Picasa memory lane and picked my top pictures of 2012. Some gardeny some not so much but all bring a smile to my face...

 

 

I grew up in Philadelphia and spent a fair amount of time working in downtown Philadelphia hospitals as a younger nurse. I would see the touristy "Duck Boat" roaming the streets of Olde City with their quackers quacking. In 42 years, I never took the ride...until this year, returning to my "home," as a sort of tourist with my kids. One part of the ride is a "drive" into the Delaware River with views of the Ben Franklin Bridge that were spectacular!

 

 

 



 I was attending a research conference in DC and decided to take a walk before dark. About a half a block away I spotted this riot of pansy color. As a walked closer the fragrance of PANSY!! was amazing and energizing on an otherwise cloudy and gloomy day.

A favorite spot, if in need of an instant pick me up, is the rose garden at Norfolk Botanical Garden. According to the website there are "approximately 3000 plants in the genus Rosa representing 380 different species and cultivars." Again a riot of color...truly obscene roses of every size, shape and fragrance. You simply can't walk through it and be in a bad mood...

Back to DC...while I was there I decided to take a twilight tour of the city on one of those small buses. Totally worth the price, the tour guide was a font of information and it was cool to visit when there wasn't a hoard of people around. Snapped this from inside the Jefferson Memorial....

Sunsets and water, I have scads of pictures. This sunset was snapped on a pleasant summer evening as I was bumming around Jennette's Pier in Nags Head with my step-daughter. We had a nice time together checking what people were catching, reading all the fishy information on the pier. Just one of those moments that make you smile.

 I am lucky to speak each year at a patient safety conference in Las Vegas. I relish the chance to leave the strip and travel into the truly gorgeous countryside surrounding Vegas. This is an unretouched photo at Red Rock Canyon about 17 miles west of the strip. The rock formations here are gorgeous and the 13 mile trip through the park is a manageable short trip on a tight time schedule and no matter what vehicle you are driving. There are paths to hike and rocks to climb and the bluest sky....just incredible.

Last New Years Day at Pea Island..no matter the season, a place that I love that is beautiful and soul-filling

 I spend many hours on this beach each year, walking, reading, snoozing. The rickety, charming pier is part of our family history now. I have a huge collection of pictures here in all sorts of weather. A favorite pastime is to sit in my truck as a thunderstorm passes and get some pics of lightening striking the water. (This worries my husband a bit :))

I had the opportunity to travel to Malawi Africa this year on a medical mission trip for Physicians For Peace. My physician partner and I were teaching neonatal resuscitation and family planning in the Mwandama Development Village near Zomba. On our day off and along with my husband, we took a boat ride and a game drive. We rode in a smallish aluminum boat up a river filled with thousands of hippos, elephants, crocs, fish eagles and other things too numerous to mention. It was thrilling to see these hippos RUNNING towards the water as our boat moved passed. I read that one reason hippos kill is if you block their path to the water. This was just an incredible, indescribable experience in so many ways.

My Avalon Pier as the hurricane passed- two breaches :( She will be repaired and ready for the summer of 2013 I hear.

Lot's of time spent walking beaches always yields treasures. I particularly liked this vignette.

Another favorite beach, Cape May- the water on the rocks a contrast of colors on this grey March day.

 

 

Winter, spring, summer or fall, no matter where my travels have taken me, my favorite place, my favorite picture, my favorite everything is turning into the driveway and knowing that this wonderful man is my partner in life and wherever he is is home. <3 p="p">