Update

I'm in Florida for a bit. Not the beaches part of Florida, but nonetheless it was 70 degrees here yesterday; a welcome change from the snow. Unfortunately, I'm not here for pleasure but to see about my mother who has had a quadruple bypass.

While I grew up in Florida, it has been many years since I have been back.

I had forgotten about the Spanish Moss in the trees...

Snowverkill 2

Saw this on another road in my neighborhood...



...and this, taken yesterday 021309....do you suppose they'll ever find their car in there??


I am so...totally...over snow....for this year, at least...however, 1-4" expected tomorrow...I think it will never end. DH tells me it is 70 degrees where he is....can you believe that?? He is missing all this historical record breaking...whiteness...or as my daughter pointed out...dirty-ness...as along plowed roads the piles are rather brownish...

.....Happy Valentine's Day....I think we'll take in a movie...while we can still get out....

(I really think a garden visit is in order....perhaps tomorrow...)

Garden Reading: The White Garden

by Stephanie Barron

The White Garden could only be, to gardeners, Sissinghurst. This book, though, isn't found in the gardening section but in the new fiction area. As someone who loves to browse in a good bookstore (or even a not-so-good one), this book was in my hands as soon as I saw the title.

Interestingly, while it's set in Sissinghurst and is about Sissinghurst, most specifically...duh...the White Garden at Sissinghurst...this is not a true story. Oh, but as you read it...and if you know a little of real life history...you may just find yourself asking: Is it possible?? And, then, my friends, that is when you know the author has you.

I plowed through this book (haha...plowed...get it?...I do love amusing myself) in just a couple days...or rather a couple of late nights up reading. (Another sign of a good book...). It engaged me to the extent that I found myself looking up Virginia Woolf and the Bloomsbury Group to learn more...where I discovered how seamlessly the author has incorporated actual people, events, etc. into her tale.

You see, without giving anything away, there was an unexplained and unaccounted for amount of time from when Virginia Woolf was discovered missing...and when her body was discovered.

And, then, too, we have a horticulturist (of course!) from the USA visiting the famous Sissinghurst...who discovers she has a connection to this garden...an actual connection. Set now, we get to explore Sissinghurst and its famous former inhabitants with her.

If you've visited Sissinghurst, you will enjoy remembering (and learning more) it; if you haven't, you'll want to and appreciate seeing it through the eyes of others. Plus, it's a delightful story with a touch of romance...what more do we need on Valentine's Eve?? (You aren't really expected to answer that. My DH is far far away, so I must be content with someone else's romance...sigh....for now.)

Thanks to Dr. NBC for the most marvelous Christmas gift card with which I acquired this book!

*****
My previous Sissinghurst posts (of which one needs to be re-worked...sorry, I'll get around to that one day...another thing on the to-do list..)

Snowverkill...

....We now are under a blizzard warning vs. a snow storm until 7:00 pm....It looks like we've gotten an additional six inches or so. A couple hours ago, the snow was coming down heavier than it is now...although we've got wind blowing around as I write.

Before I get out there and push snow around on my driveway and walkway, I thought I'd play around and see if I could capture some snow pictures. (This is when I think I should consider the photography blog...)

In the category of What-on-Earth-Is-that....

That is...you guessed this, right...snow on Kobe...

I wanted to get actual snowflakes coming down...

....it occurred to me that it is hard to get white-on-white

...snowflakes are challenging...

White everywhere...

You can kinda see by Riley out there in the driveway that there's probably around 6 inches or so of new snow...

A last attempt...for now...you can see some snowflakes against the darkness of the bench....ah ha...contrast...that might work...

....off to the never-ending task of snow removal (Did I wake up and find I've moved to Wisconsin or somewhere??)....

Snowpocalypse Continues....

....and continues...as we await the next storm...due in tomorrow with the "potential for greater than 5 inches"...as we are only on the edge of the storm...thankfully. I heard on tv that this winter may be the all time record for snow in this area. No kidding.

I thought perhaps you'd like to see the nice icy patch that I slipped on...

Ha. That's the end of my driveway....that's the unplowed road straight ahead....which as of today has had a cursory plowing...

Below you can see my shovel...I was making some progress on the driveway...

...when, what should I find (after putting the camera away) but that my wonderful most magnificent neighbors were out there finishing off my driveway! Now, don't you wish you had such neighbors! That's not all...the snow plow barricade? I went out to find it had disappeared also...and I don't even know who to thank. I am very blessed to have such folks around me.

....back to our snow scenes...

Some nice icicles...which we'll get a closer look at a bit later..

Snowy trees...

Guess we won't be going down these stairs...

Glad this isn't your house; unfortunately, it's my next door neighbors' (they're fine; I called and checked on them)...

My daughter and I were working on the truck...we thought DH should see (he's gone....missing all this fun)...

Something I don't usually do, but here's my beautiful daughter working on her dad's truck...

After much work on her part, she's clearing out the massive load of snow in the back...

A little reward for you, having gotten this far...some fun pictures...

(Be afraid...be very afraid....wahahahaha)

So you can see the size of this thing...

Kobe likes icicles, too...

....sweet....actually, Kobe unwilling to part with the icicle...

.....think about us tomorrow.....you take care, too...

Update: We've been upgraded to 6-12 inches. Lucky us.

Update 2: Hmmm, now expecting 7-14 inches. I'm not liking the direction this is heading...

Multiples M-Z

Let's finish up my little winter escape with the remainder of the alphabet. Just a few images with multiple blooms...

Orchid Corsage

Peppermint Pinwheel

Pink Peppermint

Pirate Code

Raspberry Goosebumps

Ruby Spider

Sandra Elizabeth

Shoo-Fly Pie

Small World Ali

Small World Looney Tunes

So Many Stars

Spacecoast Dream Catcher

Spacecoast Eye Declare

Spotted Fever

Starman's Quest

Swan Pond

Thanks Mister Wizard

Tuxedo Junction

Waiting in the Wings

Lots of nice color...on a day when my front door is iced shut....

Snowpocalypse

I was all set to continue with the rest of the multiple pictures of daylilies...however, we interrupt our previously scheduled post for....SNOW....again....

As I write, it is still heavily coming down. My walkway has been cleared twice....I'll think I'll rest up before the third go...it is refilling rapidly...

Before the snow started, here is a picture of Leo making his way home...



Here is the twice-cleared walkway...



Here are...this amuses me...I am easily amused...no, not a new breed of animal, but my dogs...changing shifts as I like to say...one in, one out...



Poor Riley...making her way back in....



This is my Magnolia Grandiflora...a magnificent tree...in the right place...which this one isn't...at any rate, it is limbed up so I can walk around it...the snow has the limbs dragging on the ground...hmmm, I bet there will be some broken limbs left for me...



My backyard...and my neighbors'....my slope doesn't look so steep with all the snow...(trust me, it is)...



Snow weary....



Well, enough of all this....I think we're in need of pancakes...(and scrambled eggs, my daughter announces)...we will forget about the snow for a little while, at least...