The best time to prune the blueberry bushes is when they are dormant;  which is winter.  So on Sunday, when the weather was warm and spring-like, we got out there and cut back the old canes and the branches that were covering the walkways.  It seemed like we were cutting back a lot, but when we were finished, you couldn't tell that we had done anything.  

 

I guess that's a good thing.  Hacked back bushes look terrible, and ours are still attractive.  

 

And if all goes well this spring, we will be picking blueberries come Fathers Day.  Yay!!!

 

 

HAPPY WINTER!!!

 

I don't know for sure, but I thought you might like to see this page from the Five Forks Website.  This is where I enter my blogs.  This is where I can view, edit, add, and delete blog posts.  The part of this page that I love is watching that Active number grow.  I circled it in red.  As you can see it is up to 2101.  That means that you can go back into the archives, and read 2,101 active blogs.  I can't take credit for 34 of them, but I wrote the rest.  That's a bunch, since 2017.

 

I hope you enjoy reading them, as much as I have loved writing them.

 

 

HAPPY FEBRUARY!!!

 

According to Punxsutawney Phil, we should be looking at Spring in 5 more weeks.  

 

In the meantime, I will be looking for signs of Spring.  Here's one:  flower buds on the Mahonia.  This is one of my favorite plants in the park.  It is interesting 12 months of the year.  I always love checking on her.  

 

 

HAPPY FEBRUARY!!!

 

 

 

The snow is all gone, but look what we got yesterday.  The trees were flocked!!!  

 

It was still only 27 degrees at noon, and it was like a fairyland.  Beautiful!!!

 

OK, enough of this,  I'm ready for spring. 

 

 

HAPPY WINTER!!!

 

It has certainly been too cold for me to go outside.  So this is what I did with my time (staying warm) in the loft.

 

I picked out a bunch of "sunset" colors, and organized them from lightest to darkest.  Then I cut and stitched the strip sets, keeping the colors lightest to darkest.  From the strip sets I cut rows of different widths.  Look at the top left corner and move your eyes down the row.  See the light to dark?  Then it repeats, shifting from fabric #1 to #2 and so on, across the top.  

 

Of course, I worked from a pattern;  it's called Bargello.  It was hard enough just choosing the fabrics;  no way I could have thought up this pattern.  But it really was fun.  I will probably do it again using different colors.   At first I had to really focus on the process, but then it just flowed.  And three days later I have a quilt top.  Now, back to the quilt shop to get it quilted.

 

I'm having fun in the cold of winter.  How about you?  What are you doing to stay warm and occupied?   

 

 

HAPPY WINTRY DAYS!!!

 

Do you recognize my beautiful rosemary?  I know, she looks a bit different.  

 

Rosemary can only tolerate a low temperature of 10 degrees.  So when the prediction is for 15 or lower, Jon goes into "Dad mode" and covers her with a blanket and a tarp.  He was out there at 7 am on Saturday to make sure she survives the snow and the cold.  Fingers crossed she makes it through the winter.  

 

Rosemary and I are grateful to our hero.  

 

 

HAPPY WINTER!!!

 

I wonder if Mr. Groundhog saw his shadow today.  I bet:  NOT.  It is cold and cloudy everywhere.  So, according to the legend;  if he doesn't see his shadow, winter will end, and spring should arrive in 6 weeks.  Which it will do anyway.  So.......

 

Violet sent me this picture that she took of a finch just outside her window.  Winter moves into spring:  we get it when we get it.  

 

HAPPY FEBRUARY!!!

 

 

This is our beautiful landscape, (ie. our driveway.)  It was WAY too cold to go out today, but we did manage a couple ventures.  Of course, Jon had to fill the bird feeders.  And I took a couple pix, but 12 degrees is just a little too cold for sledding, or anything else.  So we just stayed inside.

 

 

HAPPY WINTER!!!

 

 

 

Priscilla gave me an amaryllis bulb this Christmas, and we thought it would be red.  But!!!

 

Look how beautiful she is, pink and variegated.  We have loved watching the flowers emerge, and they are gorgeous!!!

 

 

HAPPY WINTER!!!

 

On a walk one day last week, we saw Violet's daffodils looking quite bold for January.  That one looks like it might bloom SOON.  I hope it survived the cold and little snow, or that our friend picked it, and brought a little spring inside.  

 

 

HAPPY WINTER!!!