I had originally thought holly would be the February plant of the month but then I was drawn to the seed pods of the crepe myrtle. I’ve already included images of them in my earlier post about our yard. Those were taken at a time it was cloudy.
More recently I photographed them again in very bright light although when I look at them in the images it almost seems like they are glowing from within! Right then – Crepe Myrtle became the plant of the month.
I like the way the pods split into wedges that are the seeds…that the interior is a lighter color than the exterior husk. That lighter color reflects the light better and creates the ‘glow from within’ look.
Hurray for some February color in the wild!
It was below freezing for almost 24 hours before I ventured out last week an hour or so after sunrise. The temperature was in the 20s and I anticipated capturing ice on our neighborhood pond. I bundled up in my heaviest coat and gloves…already had the lens cover off my camera since it is hard to remove with gloves on. I noticed the robins were around and probably beginning to scout nesting locations.
There was a small group of Canada Geese; most stayed on the bank but two ventured into the pond through mats of algae. I began to worry that maybe the sun shining on the pond surface had already melted the ice even though the air temperature was still below freezing!
As I looked more closely I noticed that there was ice between the mats of algae! Some of the ice had a look of cut glass. There were leaves just under the surface in some places – distorted by the ice – but some are, quite clearly, oak leaves. The color of the algae is a nice contrast with the ice!
My favorite picture of the morning was a patch of ice surrounded by algae. The green mats creates a fuzzy (slimy?) frame around the ice structures.
I continued aroud the pond and noticed that a twig of red maple flowers had fallen onto the path. The tree blooms so early that the hard freezes sometimes are problematic. The red maple that this twig came from seemed to still have quite a few flowers that had tolerated the cold so the tree should still be producing seeds this year.
Overall – I’m glad I went out when I did. This could be one of the last times to capture ice on the pond since spring is one the way.
Edamame pods have become my favorite light meal/snack. I usually look for shelled edamame for stir fries but recently discovered snack-sized packages of frozen soybeans in pods that are intended to be microwaved 2.5 minutes in the package…then eaten. They are unseasoned. I like them plain but variety could be added by sprinkling with your favorite no salt seasoning. They have 9 grams of protein…90 calories…along with fiber, essential fatty acids and isoflavones….probably one of the healthiest snacks around.
My daughter had introduced me to soybeans in pods served as an appetizer at a restaurant while we were in Canada. The learning curve to get the beans out of the pod neatly was an adventure…but didn’t take long. In restaurants they are often served with salt crystals. I’m glad I noticed the packages at my grocery store so I can include them more frequently in my diet.
The pods are left after the snack. They are not edible. Another edamame pod adventure: some macro photography (with my phone – a Samsung Galaxy S10e). The pods retain the bumps from where the beans were….and begin to curl as they dry. The inside has a lighter layer that looks like padding for the bean. There are also bristles and tiny dark channels on the outer part of the pod.
Now - I’ve collected enough pods over several days. I am putting them in my small compost pile.
There was frosty morning last weekend at our house, and I photographed the crystals about 30 minutes after sunrise…in a hurry because the temperature was 20 degrees Fahrenheit, and I hadn’t put on my coat! There was frost on the lamb’s ear and an old leaf that looked like crystals of sugar.
\I was more interested in finding more complex crystals. Our wrought iron table had frost all around the outer edge.
The first ones I saw were columns…sometimes in clumps…emanating from films of ice (that might have started out as water).
I was surprised to find very different crystals on the other side of the table! They were a lot like the frost ferns I posted about back in January. They were not quite as large, and they grew out of a thin film of ice rather than as ‘fronds’ around a common center as they had in January.
I wondered what caused the crystals to be different on opposite sides of the table. In the past, I found column type crystals when the temperature was closer to 30…the ‘ferns’ when it was 20 or below. The columns were on the side of the table closer to the hollies and some cedars; the ‘ferns’ were on the side next to the posts supporting the deck stairs. Could the vegetation be creating a slightly warmer temperature? Maybe next time – I’ll take a thermometer out to test that idea!
All photos were taken with my Samsung Galaxy S10e (most are at 8x magnification).
We moved to Missouri eight months ago and have adjusted in many areas…but there are still things to do. My previous ‘settling in’ posts were made in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th month; it’s time for another update. The upheaval of the move is waning. The changes between our 4th month and now are more gradual; there isn’t the frenzy of activity like in the first few months. We’ve voted in the mid-term election, subscribed to a local news feed… are experiencing winter and working on our 2022 tax filing (it is more complex this year with the sale of a house and two state taxes). I’ve sustained my treks to Texas; it’s become apparent that the monthly plan might need to be adjusted quickly depending on the care my parents need; the priority of being available for my parents will keep me from signing up for volunteer gigs or university classes. Our three kittens are keeping us close to home too; they need a lot of attention but we have successfully done day trips and 1-2 nights away; my daughter checks on them when we are gone for more than a few hours.
There are still things we are anticipating:
Spring in Missouri. The rhododendron flowers were already fading by the time I first looked at the house…the irises had already bloomed too. I’ll enjoy seeing the flowers…supplemented with the additional bulbs I planted last fall. We are also talking about day trips for gardens and birding hotspots within the state.
All-electric. We are talking more about the order of steps we will take to move the house toward being ‘all-electric’ over the next 3 years or so…and then adding solar panels/battery.
Dark sky. My husband is keen to go to a dark sky site…hopefully once the temperature is a bit warmer, he’ll be able to do it.
Yard. I have been putting off contacting a nursery…but need to do it soon if I want things in before it gets too hot (and potentially dry) this summer.
Overall – we are not venturing out very much right now because of the cold…but we’ll do more outdoors in the spring. And maybe meet more of our neighbors too!
February started out bitterly cold – with sleet/snow that stayed on the ground for days. I bundled up and ventured outdoors with my camera to document the situation in our yard. There had been some freeze-thaw cycles already, but the concrete and rock covered beds were still very white. A downspout had dribbled water than had frozen before it could escape. In the yard, the grass bristled through the whiteness; I left footprints, but they didn’t go very deep. The yard was pristine; our Missouri yard (and neighborhood) is not a deer highway like our Maryland house was. The iris leaves in one bed seemed unfazed by the cold (hope that continues to be true!).
I went through the house to go out to the front because all the gates were frozen in place. I was surprised that mine were the only footprints on our sidewalk; with schools closed and the bitter cold, people were not taking walks as usual.
I was intrigued by the round seed pods on one of our larger crepe myrtles. The wind and gravity had emptied some of them, but others still contained the seeds from last fall. The seeds were ready to scatter…they fell out easily with a nudge of my fingernail.
There were a few days of snow and ice early in the month; I stayed indoors for the first days but then the sun came out and I decided to bundle up and walk around the neighborhood to document the event. The pumps in the largest pond were keeping some open water.
Two geese ventured out on the ice…but turned around and rejoined their friends on the bank before getting all the way to the unfrozen part of the pond.
The snow that fell on the slides in the playground had gone through some freeze-thaw cycles and was extending past the end of the slides!
The contrast of tree trunks and snow/ice was stark…the snow creating a different pattern than usual when the mulch around the trees is almost the same brown as the tree trunk.
My favorite sights of the morning were the neuron shapes in the pond. My theory is that the center part that looks unfrozen is either a shallow spot or has a lot of water plants near the surface. The ‘dendrites’ coming out from the center are cracks in the ice that are mostly refrozen. I zoomed in on one of the centers; the texture of the ice looks like cut glass!
Or maybe I was just thinking about neurons too much since I’ve been learning about them recently…stay tuned for tomorrow’s post for more about that.
I’ve enjoyed oranges all my life….sometimes cutting them in slices…sometimes in wedges. In recent years, I cut them in wedges so that after I eat the pulp, the peels fit nicely into the food processor.
Once the peel is chopped up, I let it dry on a plate to be used in cooking…or in hot tea.
It feels good to use the whole orange….getting all the nutrition from the fruit! I have some recipes that use the whole fruit as well; my favorite is cranberry orange relish that I make any time I see fresh cranberries in the produce section (usually November and December).
My mother reminisced that oranges were special treats of the holidays when she was child, and her mother often candied the peel. Every time I use the whole orange, I feel an affinity with my maternal grandmother…good vibes through the years!
Moving to a new area of the country….a new house…I am full of dreams for the yard.
I’ve already bought way too many seeds for the existing flowerbeds. Most of the beds contain landscaping cloth covered by river rock. Maybe I could plant mini-pumpkins in those beds by poking a hole in the fabric. I’d like to grow enough plants to have a good harvest in the fall. I’ve already identified some beds in the back of the house that will be changed dramatically. And there are areas between trees that I will turn into flower beds because I don’t want to mow there. One plant I want to grow…and harvest…is stevia; my CSA in Maryland had hardy plants that withstood harvesting of their leaves/small branches all during the growing season; putting a few leaves to steep with tea gives just a hint of sweetness that I enjoy; I will order organic seeds.
I have chives seeds gleaned from my parents’ Carrollton yard that I will plant to grow as ‘edges’ of flower beds. Since I purchased seeds as well (that have pink flowers) I will probably mix those seeds with the ones I gleaned to add splashes of color/texture variety.
My larger plan it to plant some native bushes in the back yard to reduce the amount of yard that is mowed and have some deeper rooted plants on the slopes at the side of the house. I need to go to a nursery to hone my list of natives that are hardy in this area. I’ll ask about some of my favorites: oak leaf hydrangea, beautyberry, and ninebark. I’d like to plant something that would provide winter food for birds; maybe the nursery will have some recommendations. I need to check the guidelines from our Home Owner Association to see if I need to get permission; if I do, hopefully it will be an easy process.
February is the ‘yard dreaming’ month….I’ll need to act soon to make it happen…but maybe it won’t all get done in 2023!
January is usually the calm after the flurry of holidays and other big celebrations in November and December. Still - there are plenty of little celebrations to choose from; these are the top 10 for January 2023.
50th wedding anniversary. My husband and I celebrated our 50th anniversary….a delivered lunch with our daughter. Our anniversary celebrations have always been relatively low key; this year I thought more about my parents’ 70th anniversary back in December…savoring enduring relationships with my family.
A new low weight for the year. I put on some weight in November and December. I put myself on a “healthy food” diet (logging my food into the Cronometer app) and celebrated that it worked…slowly but surely taking off pounds!
Lake Springfield. A winter meadow…and black vultures. Celebrating being outdoors in winter.
Another frost data point. I celebrated getting a second frosty morning to add to my project…noting temperature and humidit and photographing the crystals.
Hurray – bone density results still in the ‘normal’ range. Every time I get new bone density check, I am always a little anxious. I am leery of medications to treat bone density issues so I’m glad my preventative exercise - calcium – magnesium – Vitamin D regime seems to be maintaining my bones.
A sunny day in Carrollton (and seeing a downy woodpecker). After clouds and rain, a sunny day is always welcome and seeing a small woodpecker getting breakfast in a tree near a window adds to the celebration.
Coursera anatomy course. Starting a new course…celebrating filling in gaps in what I already know. Its always fun to slip back into the student role.
Pumpkin custard with peanut powder. I celebrated the success of my culinary experiment of the month: adding a cup of peanut powder to pumpkin custard (and rounding up on the spices). Yummy…and high in protein.
Snow (pictures) from Nixa/Springfield. I celebrated the event while I was in Texas.
Frosty morning in Carrollton. I added 2 frost events into my project while I was in Texas…celebrated that the conditions were cold enough…humidity high enough too.
I was in Texas last week when I snowed at home in Nixa, Missouri – this is the third snow in Missouri that I’ve missed entirely! This time there was about 5 inches of snow overnight. I enjoyed the event vicariously through pictures.
My daughter sent pictures of the snowy scenes from her windows in Springfield first thing in the morning; she has big plans to enjoy her Snow Day. Her house is on a corner; one street was plowed but it wasn’t the one her driveway is on! The magnolia – with its big leaves – held clumps of snow. Even the maple, that doesn’t have any leaves at all, looked flocked.
My husband sent pictures a bit later. Around our house, the pines and hollies held a lot of snow. There were tracks in the snow from an animal – not sure what it could have been; the area we live in now is not at all like our Maryland yard that seemed to be a highway for deer heading back to the forest.
I was surprised that the Japanese dogwood (a deciduous tree) held so much snow. I checked it when I got home and was glad that none of the branches seemed damaged.
My husband walked out our back gate and then around the pond. It was a winter wonderland!
Maybe eventually – I’ll be at home when a big snow event happens!
It was warmer than I expected when I walked around our neighborhood pond…a pleasant surprise. I photographed the Lambs ear in our flower bed on the way out…both the mother plant and ‘children’ seem to be weathering the winter.
The dying back of vegetation makes it easier to see nests in the trees and the reeds/grasses at the side of the pond. Was this one built by a red-winged blackbird last spring?
There are many leaves decaying in the pond…and bright green algae. I wondered if there might be some interesting macroinvertebrates in the water. We did see a lot of dragonflies in the summer so their larvae might be in the water. Maybe I will get a small net to see what is hiding in the decaying leaves.
I always stop to look at the weeping willow at the edge of the pond that has grown around a metal stake. The leaves are gone now…but the lichen on the trunk is colorful! I took pictures at various magnifications with my phone (Samsung Galaxy S10e). I’ll continue to check the lichen on my walks around the neighborhood pond…see how much it changes when the weather is warmer.
18 degrees Fahrenheit and humidity at 98% in the sunshine shortly after sunrise. Those were the conditions shortly after sunrise a few days after we got some snow. I went outside on the patio for some macro photography.
My first stop was where there was some residual snow (and maybe some fresh frost) on the deck stair railing. There has been too much freeze thaw…maybe a little interesting, but not worth standing out in the cold to fully capture.
I looked around for another surface where frost crystals might have formed…took a closer look at the wrought iron table and charts. There were small crystals around the edge of the table! I set my phone (Samsung Galaxy S10e) magnification to 8x and walked around the table. Most of the crystals looked like ferns to me! I am going to check the table rim on upcoming cold mornings…and document how the forms of frost change with temperature and humidity. Enjoy the sideshow below to see the results of 18 degrees and 98% humidity!
I went outside just after sunrise to photograph the fog; there had been no color with the sunrise because the fog was so dense. There was an advisory for the morning commute and I was glad I didn’t have to leave the house. Then I looked up and saw that the sky was quite blue and the moon distinct! The blanket of fog was clearly thin and close to the ground!
I am a morning person. This time of year, I am always up before the sunrise and ready to welcome the light of the new day. A colorful sunrise is always welcome but sometimes clouds and fog can be just as interesting because they alter the perception of surroundings. Noticing the beginning of the day…however the increase of light happens…is the best way to start my day.
The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.
How do snowflakes form? Is each snowflake really unique? Why is some snow light and fluffy or heavy? The amazing science of snow – A good topic to explore in the winter! The article includes a video of snow and ice crystal growth.
Falling birth rate in US not due to less desire to have children – People are not having as many children as they say they want, especially at earlier ages. There is some evidence that people reduce the number of children they intend to have as they get older. They may realize how hard it is to have and raise kids in the US…and decide to only have one child rather than two. They may have more challenges conceiving as they get older too. Larger economic and social forces are also impacting birth rates.
Meditation and mindfulness offer an abundance of health benefits and may be as effective as medication for treating certain conditions – An overview of the strengths/weaknesses of studies about mediation/mindfulness…a good introduction.
Drone Photography Celebrates the Beauty of Historic High-Rise Buildings in the U.S. – Wonderful views of the highest parts of tall buildings.
9 in 10 drivers in the US would save money on fuel by going electric – Good! Hopefully the cost of the electric cars will come down a bit…and we’ll have more models to choose from…and the places to charge them during road trips will be convenient.
Why obesity is more dangerous for men – Evidently men have a lot more inflammation associated processes and don’t grow as many new blood vessels in their fatty tissue.
See the Lavish Pompeii Home Owned by Two Men Freed from Slavery – Reopened after 20 years of restoration work. It was originally excavated in 1894-1895.
Broccoli looks more like cauliflower in a warmer world – Looking at the chemistry behind the changed growth of broccoli at higher temperatures…avoiding the change in the lab…but will it enable us to still produce broccoli that looks like broccoli as the planet warms?
Another step toward an insulin tablet - A lot of diabetics would appreciate ‘no more injections’!
Why Electrifying Everything Is a Critical Pathway to Decarbonize The World & Our Lives – I like these articles that get specific about the options that individuals/families can take. It gives me more hope for my future and the future of the planet to take the actions I can to 1) decarbonize the electricity used by my home, 2) move toward an all-electric home and transportation, 3) improve efficiency/reduce waste, and 4) sequester carbon. Focusing on the ‘all electric’ concept this week. I have natural gas powered heating and hot water heater…will probably replace the heating/cooling first. The gas fireplaces are turned off already – removing them is not a high priority.
Finally – I was not in Texas when it snowed last week in Nixa, MO; so… I have experienced my first snow at my new home. Unfortunately – I had an appointment and had to drive in it! When I first backed out of my garage, it was still dark, and sleet was falling (it seemed large enough to be small hail!); I almost decided to cancel my appointment. The data that kept me from doing that was the temperature: it was 38 degrees F. I continued to my appointment; the sleet was just rain by the time I was halfway there and then the rain paused just as I finished parking.
A little over an hour later my appointment was done. It was snowing but still above freezing. I had to clean snow off my car. The side mirror heaters worked very quickly! The roads were wet with the temperature at 34 degrees; I still was careful to keep plenty of distance between my car and the next. There was a snowplow on one road….not plowing but probably deploying to be in position if the roads started to be too slushy. I was glad to get home…and that I didn’t need to get out again
I decided to take a few snow pictures before I took off my coat: snow caught in dried vegetation,
The evergreens (holly, rhododendron, pine) flocked with snow, and
The snow dust on yard furniture and stones leading to yard.
We have three pines in our new yard, and I appreciate them as big contributors to the greens of January. Only one of them appears to have cones…and it has a lot of them in all stages of development. It has shorter needles than the other two.
I enjoyed taking some macro images of the cones close to the ground. As the cones get very old, I will probably harvest some of them to add to the pinecone wreath that was made years ago from cones from my sister’s house. It will be a good way to fill in thin places as the wired cones (that are larger) shift a little…and add even more of my heritage to the wreath.
I read an article recently about pine needle tea and have started cutting a small handful of pine needles from the two longer needle pines to add to the black tea bag and home-dried orange peel in my tea maker (a coffee maker that has never-ever been used for coffee!). I like the flavor of the result…no sweetener required…and it smells good too.
The January yard is full of plants surviving the cold – a cedar damaged by last summer’s drought, the hollies that are very green all 12 months, and bushes with growth damaged by the abrupt frost from last November.
There are pokeweed fruits that never ripened (because of that abrupt frost) and seeds on ornamental grasses.
I was surprised by the irises already coming up in one bed that must have been planted by the previous owner and a few of the bulbs I planted in November sprouting through the stones in another location.
The rhododendron is full of buds. The first time I looked at the house was just after it bloomed last spring, so I am looking forward to seeing it thise season. The leaves are not universally green and I am wondering if it too was damaged by the November frost or if this is just the way rhododendron leaves look when they are old. This is the first time I’ve had a rhododendron at my house.
The lamb’s ear is surviving the winter. There are small plants coming up in other locations. I’ll need to decide about whether to put mulch around the ones in the yard to curtail the growth of grass around them!
2022 has been a year with more memorable events than most years.
My health. For most of the year, from the surgery at the beginning of the year until early fall, my health seemed to be sputtering; it was the longest period of my life to be uncertain that my health was good to excellent. Fortunately, it seems that I have recovered and am back to feeling as healthy as in recent years. Every other time I was concerned about my health was much shorter in duration: the month before and after pregnancy in 1989 and the month after a surgery in 2006.
Pets and family. 3 kittens…oh my! They are getting a little older now but still quite capable of causing havoc. The last time we had a kitten around was in 1985. The first baby in over 20 years has arrived in my extended family…and he adds a whole new dynamic to family gatherings. The milestone 70th anniversary of my parents adds to the list of memorable events in this category.
Home and Travel. Moving from Maryland to Missouri was a big undertaking and we’ll probably look back years from now, seeing it as a pivot point in our lives just as the move from Texas to the east coast In 1983 turned out to be. On a smaller scale, the week in London, Ontario was memorable for time spent in another country (the longest since my trip to Mexico City in 1966 when I was in elementary school) and the amount of time I was on my own in a new place.
Changes in the world. Queen Elizabeth II’s death is on my list this year because she was queen for my whole life…a constant in the world that I consciously knew would not last but that I will miss. The other change is one that reversed something that was constant for my entire adult life and increased my confidence that I would receive the care I needed when my husband and I decided to have a child (which we did successfully and without complications); when Roe v Wade was overturned, I became anxious that younger women will not have access to the same level of care that I did.
I am hoping that 2023 will be a little less memorable!
Copyright © 2024, Gwen Morrison. All rights reserved.
Celebrating the whole of life....
Thanks for visiting my blog! Enjoy the photo picks from last month:
Copyright © 2024, Gwen Morrison. All rights reserved.
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