My tree with son and daughter in law of one year. This was the day before their 1st anniversary and they dressed in clothes they had bought for an anniversary outing at a very snazzy restaurant and we took Christmas pictures for them to send in their Christmas cards. Must have taken 40 pictures, maybe more. My son helped me pick out the tree, my first live one in 4-5 years and it touched the ceiling. You know, when he was a kid and we were picking out trees, they were never big enough for them, even when they WERE tall enough to hit the ceiling. And now, he makes this 8 footer look fairly small. Ornaments are a mix of old, new, and in between and include ornaments the kids made in grade school, ornaments made by or given to me by friends and the kids (daughter as well as son) and other ornaments that have caught my eye over the years. I'm very sentimental and nostalgic an could never imagine buying all new ornaments and not hanging these. Some of my favorites are ones that my mom had hanging on her tree when I was a kid. We lost her in September of 2006 so those particular ornaments have an even more special place in my heart.

Claire, so nice to see the snowdrops! I love watching the seasons change, but we haven’t gotten anywhere close to seeing bulbs sprouting yet. Deanna, it is the dog, not necessarily my own motivation that gets me out into the woods and fields regardless of the weather. But once I am out there I really enjoy it. Most days we do three walks as he is fairly high energy, so we are out for more than an hour most days. He has learned to pause when my cell phone camera or my pruners are in use. I don’t usually have my real camera with me. Today our breaks will be quite short with temperatures in the single digits into the teens and 40 mph winds. The dog is too small to retain much body heat, even with a jacket when the wind chills are like this, and in the woods where we typically go when it is breezy, it will be too dangerous with such strong winds bringing down branches.

PM2, sorry, it took a few days but I finally got some photos of my agastache! The only thing is you and everyone else must promise to ignore the weedy paths and all the other overgrown stuff (not to mention my pathetic little tomato plants!) If you must look at the veggies, check out the squash plant behind this clump of agastache. This (and I think all of the clumps pictured) are growing in the holes of the cinderblock walls. You can see its all over this garden! I've let it go for one reason because these beds now get a lot more shade than when I built them, especially at the far end. The beds need to be revamped and I need to rethink whether I even need them or not. I could use them to grow some more shade tolerant perennials, but don't think that would work as this is really more about function. So I may just make them smaller. IDK... There is an oak tree that is really starting to shade this garden that the electric company has been saying for fifteen years that they want to take down because it's growing into the wires. I keep telling them PLEASE do, and they haven't. If they do I'll have my veggie garden back! :) Dee

I'm not taking many photos at all, and they're all repeats of what I showed in years past, but wanted to share theses. One of my favorite pairings in still echinacea with jewelweed. I'm learning to manage the jewelweed better. Boy, it is the bunny of the plant world, for sure. Two plants the pollinators love! A shout-out to Visions Light Pink Geranium. These bushes grow MUCH larger than online sites claim, and they just keep on blooming. Had to include a photo to show how nice they look, even in late August. An unusual pairing this year. Plopped some poppies in the garden at the closest availalbe spot. Just had to get them out of the jug in early summer and in the ground ANYWHERE, and do it fast. Turns out they look really nice with the pink 'First Love' Veronica. This veronica has been a bit of a mystery. It is supposed to be short, 18". It was the first year, then for two years it SHOT UP to 3' tall! I divided it early last summer and this year all divisions are barely making it. Makes no sense, but this year they are maybe 12" tall at most!