Hey! I just saw a stream like that today! Nice photos, terrene.

I took a walk through the 'hood today figuring to capture some of our 15 minutes of snow here in the snow-challenged southeast coast.

These are views of the woody area across the street. The hill slopes down to a pond, which was once a working cranberry bog, long abandoned.

Walking down the road, I got a glimpse of the salt marsh/harbor.

Turning away from the marsh I passed a stream like terrene's. This stream is the outflow from the old cranberry bog.

I looked back along the road where a few tire tracks delineate the road (this isn't the road we drive on - that one gets plowed, mostly).

A little farther along, I got to the old cranberry bog from the other side. You can't tell now, but there are loads of wiinterberries growing there. The berries have mostly been eaten.

During the summer swans nest on the pond/bog.

I wanted to wait until the sun came out for my walk, but I didn't dare wait until tomorrow - they're forecasting warmer temperatures and this snow won't last much longer.

When I got back, the sun came out for a few minutes so I took new photos of the woody area across the street (posted above).

Claire

Yes, it's hard to see someone's Hellebores breaking out in bloom as we haven't seen the ground for months now....but it's just a different kind of beauty. Lets us appreciate our gardens even more....not to mention REST lol.

Here's ours a week ago:

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And waaay back then:

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Well OK then...........lol.

Terrene...gorgeous pix. During rainy springs our wetlands turns into a little stream.....sound is delightful.

The sun came out this morning and I took a few shots as the first morning light touched on some grasses in the front yard. That's my big old winterberry in the background - most of the berries are long eaten.

The sun came up a bit higher and highlighted more vegetation.

The back yard has the most dramatic view, particularly in the early morning.

But I also like the more subtle beauty of the grasses in the front yard.

Claire

Claire, your stream does look like the one near me! The salt marsh and old cranberry bog are beautiful - and that view of the ocean is amazing! I remember seeing you post other pictures of that ocean view. What a beautiful area you live in. I can see why you have lots of birds and wildlife.

Jant, can't see your pictures?

Claire...lucky you! Where do you live?

Terrene......I stink at getting pix in posts lol. Here's a link to 4 pix...the last one is the summer photo of the arbor.

Here is a link that might be useful: Snow pix

wow...I am GREEN with envy, is that a beach right there?

jant: I like your photos. That must be a great sitting area in the summer.

I live on the top of a coastal bluff in southern Plymouth, about 45 feet above the beach (70 steps down and up). The view is best in the winter when the leaves are down, but the summer shade is very welcome, even if you can't see much of the bay. I need to take a shot straight down the bank - it's deceptive looking straight out.

The snow is melting fast. It's almost past the Marshmallow Fluff and peanut butter stage (sandy soil here). More and more chocolate jimmies getting sprinkled on the top.

It will probably be all brown again tomorrow.

Claire

Claire - what an amazing place to live. You must see some great storms coming through. Do you get whacked by winds? What kinds of trees and shrubs are growing there, that can take those very unique conditions?

JanT - I think we have the exact same arbor. We built ours from a kit that we bought mail order a few years ago...you have a beautiful garden!!

Ellen: Nor'easters can be pretty hairy here, and winds off the water can be fierce. Surprisingly, the winds in the winter aren't as bad - the prevailing winds are northwest then and hit us from the other side.

Eastern red cedars (Juniperus virginiana) and various oaks are predominant on the bay side, We have many wild black cherries (Prunus serotina) also, but I'm not sure how many are indigenous or if many of them were planted by my parents (my mother loved to make jelly from the fruit).

Bayberries and rosa rugosa grow on the bank along with poison ivy and sumac. The oaks astound me with their ability to grow down where they have to be occasionally washed with salt water.

On the street side of the house the oaks and cedars are interplanted with pitch pine (Pinus rigida) and Eastern white pines (Pinus strobus). Also wild viburnums, winterberries....

Claire

Thank you Claire and Ellen! Ellen........we found that arbor rather flimsy....did you? Not the best I've ever bought...hence we added the side pieces to stabilize it.

WW Asters.....I can't keep them DOWN lol! They're everywhere! No secrets....kinda poor soil, dry, woodland setting. Oh ya know? I think I did prune them back in the summer sometime so they wouldn't get as floppy. But I like their floppy look in some cases too...depends what they're near.

I actually discovered this plant in Denver 15 yrs ago. It wasn't in bloom but I was taken with the burgundy stems and gorgeous leaves. When I decided to move back home to MA 4 yrs ago my partner built shelves in our 5 x 8 utility trailer, made a roof and I loaded up cuttings of hundreds of perennials and shrubs I "thought" I couldn't find here.

That fall? WW Asters EVERYWHERE I go.........lol.

Early yesterday morning...about 5. We see their tracks but haven't yet seen THEM. There were 3 in all...right off our sunroom patio garden.

Here is a link that might be useful: deer

Jan - agreed about the arbor..ours has fallen over a few times and shoring it up is a regular maintenance task for hubby who would just as soon take the thing down and burn it!

White Wood Aster...so yours are progeny from plants you brought from Colorado, or are they the native ones? I will try pinching mine this year to try to get them fuller. I always pinch the New England Aster but never though to try it on the White Wood Aster.

Ellen.......you might do what we did. It's very stable now. Yep, we got tired of the staking too lol!

Asters? They're the natives.......just happened to be for sale once in a Denver nursery. Just one plant. Turned into a LOT more than that as I kept dividing each year. EXTREMELY valuable plant in Denver as it can grow in dust, hard, dry clay....pretty much total shade in sunny Denver though. But there aren't a lot of plants that can take absolutely dry soil in shade so I used them extensively. I have it primarily in shady spots here...or morning sun. The white flowers last longer that way....turn brownish faster in too much sun.

I think I pinched sometime in June...maybe early July.

Rain here in the snow-challenged southeast coast, and the snow-which-became-slush is slinking away.

I hope we won't have to wait until March for the next snow.

Claire

JanT, I will try pinching them this year. They are one of my common wild flowers that grow here, and I am always looking for easy white flowering plants as "filler" plants...yours looked great, the pinching obviously makes them bloom so much fuller.

We even have White Wood Aster growing at the very base of an old Hemlock tree, the soil under which is highly compacted because our 3 dogs like to chase each other around and around and around this tree...nothing else at all will grow there, but White Wood Aster somehow manages to survive the abuse and it even flowers...

Jant, your arbor and the snow in your backyard look beautiful! I'd love to see what it looks like in the summer. Those Asters are pretty, sounds like they might grow well in tough spots in my yard like under the Silver maples, where it's dry and rooty.

I took a walk earlier today because it was such a nice day out. The snow is melting fast, but there's still quite a bit of snow cover. Took some photos with a wintry feel and noticed a "ground" theme emerging...

This is what the snow looks like underneath the crabapples with the large red fruits - so many fruits have fallen on the ground the snow appears reddish!

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I loved the way the snow looked as it was melting away along the edges of a field...the farmer planted a cover crop (rye grass maybe?) and it's still so green under the snow!

Walked to a small local pond and out on the ice.Here are some old ice fishing holes that have frozen over...

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The late afternoon sun above the frozen pond -

Nice photos terrene, and that sunset is spectacular!

It amuses me when people talk about planting white wood asters. I stopped mowing some sections of lawn in the yard, and was rewarded the next year with 3000, give or take a few, white wood asters. I left them there, and they're spreading.

Claire

I left many white wood asters in the beds outside the lawn area by my wooded areas. They come up on their own. I just remove the ones maybe in the wrong place. I have many of them and I like the look.

This has been a beautiful photo thread. Thanks to all of you.

Terrene -- gorgeous photos! Love the texture of the grass and snow, and those frozen fishing holes are really a beautiful composition.

I took a walk at the Arnold Arboretum after the storm in Jan. Here are a few pics:

mayalena: Wonderful photos! Although I'm a member of the Arnold Arboretum, I'm embarrassed to say I've never actually gone there (I did get to the plant sale once or twice when it was off-site).

Claire

Mayalena, beautiful photos! Your stream pictures are pretty too (we've got a theme "running" through the thread). I think that storm we had in January was the prettiest we've had so far this winter.

Between winter photos, winter bird-watching, and winter-sowing, the winter has become a lot more fun than it used to be!

I agree that this winter is more fun than usual. It's much nicer when winter is full of interesting things to look at, and to do, rather than just being the absence of gardening.

It's been dreary and rainy (or rain/snowy) for a while now, but I looked out the back window today and was struck by the subdued colors and the cloud mass over the Bay.

Claire

Very cold and windy today, and there's frozen salt water on the sand bar. Not a day for flip-flops and bathing suits.

That's ice, not sea foam, but I'm not wading out there to confirm it..

Claire

Driveway garden, "where's zoomie?"

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driveway garden in August

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Lovely buried garden franeli. It just occurred to me that we haven't seen any photos of snowmen, or snow-whatever.

Not much chance here right now for snow sculpture, but you more northern or more inland types must have some in your yards.

Claire

Wow, what a difference Franeli! Isn't it amazing to think that big pile of snow will be a lovely garden in a few months.

Claire, no snow persons here but plenty of snow! Come to think of it, we have had nearly continuous snow cover since December 2. Unusual winter that way. I haven't seen much of the garden beds for awhile. I will be really ready for Spring and bulbs and things when it comes.

Last Sunday morning, I was able to snap a picture of the bird feeding area and the evergreens with snow on them before it all melted. You can see the a couple feeders, the corner of my house, and all the evergreens and shrubs the birds can hang out in.

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I love the winter vs. summer shots! It gives me hope that spring will arrive some time soon and replace all that frozen white stuff with green...

Here are mine: (can you spot the cardinal in the picture)
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and the same bed last spring:
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My ducks. I have a few free drakes available, if anyone's interested.

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ellen_s: The winter photo only partially loaded for me, so I couldn't see a cardinal. The rhodies in the spring photo are very lush, the birds must love lurking in there.

zootjs: That's a very solemn procession of ducks! They look elongated - are they an unusual breed? (I know nothing about ducks).

Claire

Ellen, those pics are great - I love that Rhododendron it must be at least 50 years old! So nice to have such big beautiful one. (And yes, I can see the cardinal...)

Zoots - love your ducks! That's a great pic...

Well, there's some snow left in the open areas, but most of it just melted away in the rain we had on Monday. Took a couple pics of trees on a walk on Sunday -

There's a little grove of Sassafras trees nearby - these are the two oldest ones (the trees with the "wavy" trunks) -
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Bark from a couple of White Birch -
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