Winter garden

cardinal and junco

Its COLD here, this is the part of winter that grinds down on you if you let it. Getting outside to do even simple chores can start to wear on you, its gritty, salty, stark and most of all cold. Even going to the transfer station to drop off the recycling is made that much worse.

Glocester Transfer Station

Yesterday was a bit warmer so I did the outside chores and took a few photos
I notice different things in the winter, like how the azalea leaves curl up when they are cold to protect themselves. They make a good thermometer, the tighter the curl the colder the air.

azalea buds

I leave  most seed heads on the flowers and grasses, partly to protect the root crown and also to provide food for and critters or birds that are looking for a meal. I plan to get more native plants into the gardens to provide as much habitat as I can

miscanthus in the snow

I'm keeping the feeders full too. The birds seem to appreciate having full bellies. They need extra to keep warm

junco

time to start a fire to keep us warm tonight while we continue to hunker