Daily Walk in A Winter Wonderland

It is the second week of Christmas break.  The rush is over, and I'm finally getting a little relaxation time.  The missus and I have been trying to get our walk in each day.  We walk through some of the most beautiful scenery every day, and I thought it would be great to share what we see.

Monday we had green grass (well some of it was brownish) everywhere, not a snowflake to be seen.  Yesterday, snow and lots of it.  The trees were loaded and the sky that ominous shade of grey, that threatened to unleash another dump of the white stuff (mind you it didn't). 

 These wonderfully laden stalks are the remnants of our pampa plume grasses in one of the smaller flowerbeds.As a gardener, I am coming to appreciate more and more the value of grasses in landscaping.  I know they are probably a fad the garden world is going through right now. However, they do provide some amazing texture and colour in summer and still provide an interesting focal point in the winter months (when there isn't much else aesthetic in the garden).

This is the view to the south of our driveway.  The little building is my garden shed, which I built two years ago.  The hemlock siding is starting to weather to a beautiful grey patina.  Tamaracks are one of my favorite trees.  They are such a vibrant blue green in early spring, lemon yellow in the fall.  Their form is so amazing.  This specimen was moved from the far end of the property, the fall we moved to our new home.  It has settled in amazingly well and grown in leaps and bounds.  I think if I could photoshop the hydro pole out of this shot, it is my favourite of the day.

Wild parsnip is a noxious weed in the summer.  I had a run in with it this past year, and it was several weeks before the itchy, weepy blisters finally cleared.  Amazing how a few short months can transform an ugly old weed into a whimsical winter fantasy.

Buckthorn is also an invasive species, but the black berries contrast so dramatically with the snow, I couldn't help snapping a quick shot.  We are nearly to the end of our property.

I took this as both a portrait and a landscape shot.  This was the better one in my estimation.  I cropped the landscape into a panarama.  I think all it needs is a horse and sleigh racing across the snow covered field.

I've been threatening to photograph this herd of cows all fall.  They are a fine group of Charolais-cross cattle, who spend their winter in the shelter of the cedar grove you can see.  The four o'clock sun was getting pretty low and the blue of the sky totally dominates the mood of this shot.

This lone girl was up on the hill by herself coyly peaking out around a few shrubs.  It took quite a concentrated effort of whistling to get her to turn her head and face us.  This photo marks the halfway point of our looped walk.

One more shot of the ladies in their winter yard.  This gives a better view of their natural barn.

This magnificent soft maple shades a little stone home, which was once a school house by the looks of it.  Maples are such wonderful trees, either clothed or unclothed.

My wife was enthralled with the way the snow hung on the page wire fence.  If you look closely there is a beautiful old stone home camouflaged in the woods behind it.  Did you ever wonder how the snow seems to be able to pile into those fluffy caps on the top of the fence posts?

And that is about all I have to say today.

Musings and meanderings from the Musical Gardener.