The Seventh-Day Project: May 2016

 Lungwort

 Primula

The Seventh Day Project: April

 This Seventh Day brought to you by the weekend of April 9-10. Jasmine in the house.

 Species crocus.

The Seventh Day Project: March

 This Seventh Day brought to you by March 6. 

Amaryllis. This one has rebloomed for three or four years.

 Nice enough to have a cocktail on the deck.

Deep and cold: Seventh Day December

 The view out to the vegetable garden. Below: Homemade vegetable soup.

We're enveloped in winter. We have just under 3 feet of snow on the ground thanks to a three-day storm earlier this week. Bitter cold followed almost as soon as the snow stopped.

It's beautiful and brutal. Time to break out the snowshoes and stoke ourselves with hot food, hot tea and our favorite port.

With everything buried, it's even more comforting to have a simple Saturday supper of vegetable soup with carrots, onions, potatoes, green beans and tomatoes from the garden. The harvest lives on.

Make yourself a cup of tea or pour yourself a glass of port and take a look at Seventh Day December.

Finally ...

... Seventh Day November. See it here.

Sun setting on summer: Seventh Day Project does September

What are those brilliant orange flowers in the back garden, you ask. Well, those are Tithonia rotundifolia, also called Mexican sunflower. One of the owners at Garden House in Solon Springs recommended them during a chat last spring about favorite annuals. They don't look like much now, she said, as she placed two plants with plain foliage and no blossoms or even buds in one of our boxes. But just wait -- you'll love them, she promised.

And we do.

See other fun things in the garden in Seventh Day September 2013.

Seventh Day Project: Back at it for July

I love baptisia. This is Baptisia australis.

So. It's been awhile. Here's a peek from earlier this month. 

We had a bear in the herb garden tonight. No photo, you'll just have to take my word on that. First bear we've seen in the yard for a couple of years.

Seventh Day January: Weekend

 The woods behind the back garden.

Seventh Day January 2013 is brought to you by the weekend of Jan. 5-6. It's quiet out there, and we could use more snow. But easy access into the woods is nice. Enjoy.

Seventh Day weekend

The Seventh Day morphed into the weekend of the 8-9 this December. Alden Township hosted its second Holiday Market on Dec. 8 -- that's where I got this wreath created by Karla, a very talented neighbor. 

Here's a look at the snowy garden.

Seventh Day on the 10th

Willow lights up on damp, gray days.

 
The schedule made it impossible to spend any daylight hours in the garden this Nov. 7. Instead, we were out a bit on Nov. 10, a cold, windy, rainy day.

Winter prep is either completed or under way: Goldfish are in the house; water lilies, umbrella plants and begonias are under the stairs; potatoes, onions and garlic are cleaned and stored; containers have been emptied; and netting and caging have been deployed. And thanks to Brian, we can look forward to lots of new lilies next year.

Here's a quick peek at November at sillydoggarden.

Seventh Day Project: October crab apples

The crab apples on 'Molten Lava' are now gone thanks to the grouse -- five at once on at least one morning. Take a look at October at sillydoggarden.

Closing out the season: Seventh Day September

 Fish feed in the small pond in the backyard. (Photo by Brian)

It won't be long until we move the goldfish from their summer resort back to their winter quarters inside the house. Here's a look at what was happening this Sept. 7.

The summer that slipped away

 The portulaca did well in this summer of extended heat.

June ... gone!
July ... gone!
August ... gone!
A series of bad timing and odd weather and now we're into September. Here's a peek at the garden on the Seventh Day August.

Singing along with Seventh Day April

 A chickadee perches on the Therese Bugnet rosebush in the herb garden.

The spring soundtrack is playing loud and clear around here. The forecast is for a little snow next week, but today is supposed to warm and sunny. The birds have been active, from the chickadees that stay through the winter to the sweet-sounding red-winged blackbirds that appeared in recent weeks. This week I saw my first cardinal in the yard ever -- a female.

Take a look at what was going on this April 7.

Seventh Day March: Marching into spring

 A lineup of dainty larch cones.

That snow you see in some of these images -- forget it. With temperatures pushing 70 degrees the past few days, much of it is gone. Oh, we still have significant pockets of white, but the palette is much more buff, brown and green. Can crocus and tulips be far behind? Check out the Seventh Day Project: March 2012.

(Thanks to Brian for taking these photos.)

Seventh Day February ...

... is up for viewing. One of the crazy things about this February -- about this winter -- is the lack of snow. You'll notice patches of bare ground in some of the photos. Crazy, but true. See for yourself. (Or check it out at right.)

Another year, another Seventh Day

We watched last summer as the robins built this nest in the bur oak. We weren't sure it was a good location for a home; it's not very high in the tree, just a bit over my head. But there it was and before long mama robin was spending a lot of time in the nest. We were looking forward to watching them raise their brood. But ...

... then came the squirrels. We watched several times as squirrels raided the nest and the angry robins chased them across the lawn in the woods. We rooted for the robins, but in the space of a few days, we found broken, pale blue shells on the ground.

The nest was abandoned.

Now that the leaves are gone, the nest is even easier to spot. See some of what else we saw on this Seventh Day. (Or go to the sidebar at right.)

Seventh Day December

Some days, when the sun is bright, it's comfortable enough to sit on the deck in the winter. 

But not for very long.

I was gone before the sun was fully up and didn't get home until after the sun had set, so Brian took on photography responsibilities for this Seventh Day. This time of year the garden is spare and muted but still pleasing. Days are short, snow is a constant companion and cold is the new normal. Take a look at what we see when we go out and about. Find photos here or in the sidebar at right.

(Rosy) Seventh Day November

Some mornings, when the timing and circumstances are just right, the sun crests the trees across the road and throws beams of golden or pink light onto the tops of the trees behind our house. The effect only lasts a few minutes, but those few minutes are magical.

On this Nov. 7 we were treated to a "rosy-fingered dawn." And then we were treated to an evening meal of freshly picked lettuce and parsnips. The hours between were filled with work so we're a little shy on photos this time around. Still, click here or see the sidebar at right for more images.

Better late than never: Seventh Day October

 A bee works over a stand of asters in the backyard.

Did you think that maybe we had fallen off the face of the Earth? That maybe we had finally had enough of all the nonsense we've been witnessing thanks to the politicians and big-business types? That maybe we had decided just to pack it in and go off the grid? As tempting as that may be, the real reason you haven't seen much here lately is that we've been really, really busy.

October was a month of transition -- both in the garden and out of the garden. So let's talk garden: 

• Containers of summer annuals and vegetables have been emptied.
• Pots of scented geraniums and other plants for overwintering have been brought inside. Still need to find homes for everything. The dining room floor is way too crowded!
• Waterlilies and umbrella plants stowed in the closet under the stairs.
• Fish moved into winter quarters in the aquarium in the guest room. All four appear to be adjusting well.
• Harvesting potatoes, carrots, onions. Eating celeriac, beets, parsnips, spinach and lettuce.
• Planting garlic.
• Planting the martagon lilies we bought during a visit to the Chicago Botanic Garden.
• Cages going up for winter deer protection.

October passed by too quickly. Here, at least, we can slow down a little and see where we've been.  Take a look here or in the sidebar at right.