Tag Archives: Photography

February 14, 2010 · 4:05 pm

Winter Wonderland

I am definitely not a fan of winter, especially in Minnesota. It seems to go on forever. By the time February rolls around I am completely ready for it to be over. My impatience with winter grows each year that passes and I dream of living somewhere much warmer and milder some day. There are those moments, however, that the beauty of winter catches me by surprise and my negative view of winter softens…at least a little. Yesterday was one of those days. We had a light fluffy snow fall over night and the sun was shining bright in the morning. It was sparkly and magical looking outside with the snow glistening on the ground and in the trees. I decided to take my camera out and take some random shots of this winter wonderland. Soaking in the winter sunshine also does wonders for the spirit! Happy Valentine’s Day!!

A view of our hayfield behind the house.

Lonely Liatrus plant standing in the garden.

Undergrowth in the woods.

Oak leaves hanging on until spring.

A view towards the river.

Coneflower seed heads ready to burst.

Standing on the back deck.

Crabapples.

Snowy branches.

A Rainy January Day…

Every Saturday I make a trip into the big city to take our daughter to rehearsal for the youth symphony. This weekend she also has a piano theory exam to take at a local college. I’m waiting for her now. I spend a lot of time driving and waiting for my kids at various activities these days. It’s one of the reasons I decided to start blogging. Recording aspects of our country life provides me with an outlet while I wait at practices, rehearsals and lessons in my crazy and chaotic modern life.

Today is a dreary and rainy winter day in Minnesota and it definitely doesn’t feel like January. Instead, it feels more like April with its snow-melting spring rains and I’m daydreaming about spring and my gardens. I’ve started noticing the gardening magazines in the grocery store check-out line. Although they call out to me as I stand in line, I have resisted purchasing any so far. The seed catalogs have also started to arrive in the mail and I peruse them with grand ideas of all the different vegetable varieties I am going to try this year.

My real gardening passion is flowers. As each growing season comes to an end, I contemplate all the things that I will grow “next year” in my flower gardens. On this rainy day, looking at random pictures of my flowers cheers me up and inspires me for the upcoming growing season….even if it is months away.

William Baffin climbing rose and Jackmanii Clematis

Zinnias and Bachelor Buttons

Hollyhock

Johnson's Blue Geranium

Pumpkin problems solved?

We have tried to grow pumpkins for the past several years and have always failed miserably. Our first attempt consisted of digging up an area out in our field to plant a pumpkin patch. The heavy clay soil was unfortunately not very amenable to pumpkin-growing. Frustrated, we moved the pumpkin patch next to the barn. Although the soil was extremely fertile as a result of years of composted manure, it seemed that we either watered them too much or not enough. Another failure.

The following summer our mischievous free-ranging chickens pecked all the pumpkins when they were young and tender, either completing destroying them or leaving them scarred and deformed. We tried to outsmart the girls and fenced the pumpkins off with a low fence, but they still occasionally hop the fence to snack.

Last year, some type of insect started to attack our pumpkins in the fall just as they were ripening and we lost most of them. I wish I had taken pictures so that some other gardener out there could have helped me identify the culprits for future reference.

Even after all these failed attempts, we did not lose heart. In spring of 2009, we once again planted several mounds of Gurney’s “Giant Magic” pumpkins. Trying to heed the advice on the back of the seed packet and from gardening books, we tried to remember to pluck off a few of those blossoms along the way so that the plants focussed their energy on fewer fruits. And finally….FINALLY…some success.

While I realize that these pumpkins are not perfect specimens, we were delighted with the harvest after all of our past failures.

As you can see, our youngest child was enthusiastic about the harvest and willing to help. His dad, however, takes this farming stuff much more serious and was very pleased with our pumpkin success. And he even got to haul them in a wagon behind his tractor…

At the end of the day, we are just two realistic farm kids. Like the crops grown on our childhood farms, we realize that our pumpkin success this year is only partly due to our evolving gardening skills and adaptations over the past few years. The rest of the equation is merely the whim of Mother Nature and just plain luck.

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Filed under Gardens, Vegetable

Tagged as Daily life, garden, Photography

January 12, 2010 · 12:38 am

Winter Walk

Due to the cold temperatures and the heaps of snow that were dumped on us over Christmas, we spent a lot of time around home and inside the house during winter break. Despite the frigid weather, we were determined to get outside for fresh some fresh air. We went for a walk down to the meandering river that runs through our property. Our dog Sofie came along, happy to be with us.

The river is always quite unpredictable and we never make any assumptions about its safety. We felt fairly confident that it would be frozen quite thoroughly, but still proceeded cautiously as we walked along the ice up the river. The only questionable areas we found were along the edges and around downed trees.

The areas of ice that were not covered with snow were covered with beautiful ice crystal formations.

During the summer months, the farmstead is not visible from the river bottom. Taken from the far side of the river, this picture shows our barn through the trees.