A Little Light Fog

Garden Path
Heatherwood Japanese Garden

A little fog in the morning adds interest to my morning strolls through the garden. Colors seem to pop out while the background is somewhat blurred. What lies around the corner? What is behind and beyond the trees and shrubs?

We only have a few of these mild winter days left in the horizon. In a few days the temperatures will drop down to -7 degrees at night and highs will be only in the low single digits. I hope that the sudden severe drop in temperature will not harm the garden!

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Bright New Day, Bright New Year

Sunrise over Lower Garden
Heatherwood Winter

A bright sunrise is a welcomed harbinger of a bright New Year. I look forward to new adventures and new experiences. I look forward to sharing good times with family and friends. Thoughts of new additions to Heatherwood and the Yakima Arboretum dance through my mind. I am anxious to reintroduce myself to my old hobbies that I have let lapse over the last few years. Being and enjoying life with loved ones is always at the top of my list. Each and every day is precious. I hope to live each one to its fullest.

Happy New Year!

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Last Stroll of the Year

Kotoji and Dry Winter Stream Bed
Heatherwood Japanese Garden

Today is December 31st, the end of the year. How fast the year has flown by. It just seems like yesterday that we were cleaning the garden to prepare for spring. Heatherwood is still full of winter color. We anxiously wait for the first major snow storm of the new year.

Just like the year has flown by, my strolls through the garden flash by as well. Today I started out for a quick stroll to create a few foggy images. Two and a half hours later, I came in. It is so easy for me to get lost in thought as I walk through the garden with my camera. I see one interesting vignette, then another, then another. Today, I started out with a thin layer of fog covering the garden. I could not see the surrounding hills. By the time I finished, the fog had moved through the valley leaving the hills projecting up over the garden. It was a wonderful last stroll through the garden for 2023.

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Merry Christmas

Chief Joseph Lodgepole Pine
Heatherwood Winter

Even though we do not have snow this Christmas, I can always dream! Christmastime is a time for dreaming. I dream of all the wonderful times we had with Grandma and Grandpap up at the ranch. I dream of the time that Dad stayed up all night putting up the Christmas tree and our first American Flyer train. We kids could hardly contain ourselves on Christmas morning when we could not come out of the bedroom until Pop finished helping Santa to get the train running. I remember the wonderful years when our whole family, Mom, Dad, we kids, Grandma, Grandpap, aunts, uncles, and cousins gathered together at our Hillcrest home for Christmas Dinner. I smile as I remember how our family grew and we watched all our nieces and nephews energetically opening their presents. Many times when Karen and I were in the Washington, DC and Philadelphia areas, we could not make it home for Christmas. I fondly reflect on those special quiet Christmases. And now as Mary and I enjoy the wonderful Holidays, I dream to the future Christmases with family and friends. And as I dream, I reflect and contemplate on the true meaning of Christmas.

Merry Christmas!

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A Beautiful Early Winter Day

The Woodland on a Bright Winter Day
Heatherwood Early Winter

It is hard to believe that it is December 23, just two days before Christmas. Our early snowfall has vanished. Today was an absolutely gorgeous early winter day. The sky was blue. Warm winter sunshine spread across our Heatherwood garden. Even though I had a lot to do inside, I could not help myself from strolling around our little Eden with my camera.

Based on today’s beauty and looking ahead to the forecast, it does not look like we will have a white Christmas. Last year we were blessed with snow. This year we will be blessed with what ever nature will bring. We look forward to a beautiful day filled with family and friends as we reflect upon the wonder of Christmas.

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Late Fall vs Early Spring

Woodland Path in Late Fall

Woodland Path in Early Spring

I love the four seasons. Above is one of the reasons. In early spring the red buds are bursting and the daffodils are blooming. Leaves on the woodland maples are just starting to emerge. Six months later, the leaves on the red buds have dropped and the leaves on the maples have turned brown and are just starting to drop. The foliage on the perennials have turned brown and are starting to die back. As winter moves in, the branches of the red and yellow twig dogwoods along with the red winterberries will provide winter color to the woodland.

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A Painting from the Woodland

Snow-covered Maple Tree Leaves
Heatherwood Woodland

Our October Glory maples are one of the last trees to display their fall colors and to drop their leaves. The first two light snowfalls this year sprinkled the leaves with patches of white, leaving a beautiful woodland winter scene. Last year, an early heavy snowfall blanketed the branches with a layer of heavy snow. Several large branches bent over and broke, leaving large wholes in the tree’s shapes. This year, we have not seen any damage, yet!

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Winter Is Coming Early

Winter Color
Heatherwood Lower Garden

Even when the ground is covered with snow, the color of Heatherwood shines through. This is one of my favorite intimate scenes in our lower garden. The bronze of the sawtooth oak, the red of the oak leaf hydrangeas, the yellow of the yellow-twig dogwood, the the grey-blue of the blue spruce, the purple-brown of the nine-bark, and the background orange and green highlight the winter garden.

This image was taken during our first snow about a week ago. Today we are getting our second snowfall of the season. It looks like it will be a big one. The good news is that I have my tractor back from its seasonal maintenance check up to plow the driveway. The bad news is that we have not put on our snow tires yet.

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An Eastern Washington Blue Sky Winter Day

Looking Up to Selah Ridge
Heatherwood, First Snow

We had our first snow of the season a couple of days ago. After the snow flurries stopped, the sky opened up to this beautiful blue sky. Off I went with my camera! The remaining late fall color created a nice contrast against the fresh snow. It will be several months before we will have a morning cup of coffee here in one of our little garden hideaways.

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