Enough of February 2015

February is finally done and it was quite a month for much of the country. It finished here in Chicago as tied with 1875 for the coldest February ever, with an average temperature of 14.6°F, and the third snowiest with just under 27 inches. I hope March will not be anywhere near as record breaking.

I took the last day of the month to go around with Daisy and see how things were looking. Snowy would be the best description.

I have no idea how the plants are faring this year. I’ll have to just be patient and wait and see.

This is what I call the “sparrow corner”. The sparrows love having their own feeder filled with inexpensive food, and have spent all winter flitting back and forth from the viburnum to the feeder. Keeps them occupied and away from the other feeders.

Like most winters, the arborvitae and yews took the worst beating. The “privacy fence” of arborvitae are actually beginning to look better than they did earlier this month, so maybe it’ll last another year.

The yews still show winter burn and snow damage from last year, and I’m expecting that they’ll look worse this year. They’ve been crushed by all the snow once again. Maybe I’ll be pleasantly surprised. and they’ll bounce back. Or it’ll give me chance to start over again 🙂

The vegetable gardens in the back and side yards are well insulated and just waiting for spring, which can’t come fast enough. The sticks mark the overwintering garlic.

This birdhouse doesn’t look very inviting. Last year I put them out too late, so no one made it their home. Hopefully this spring.

My feeders on the feeder pole have been a hit (This Birthday Was For The Birds)! Cardinals, red-breasted nuthatches, white-breasted nuthatches, downy woodpeckers, chickadees, goldfinches, purple finches and house finches are daily visitors. Juncoes happily scavenge anything that spills on the ground.

At least it’s been a lot sunnier lately and my solar snowman finally cheerfully lights up the night.

How are your plants faring? Are you worried?

The Seedlings are in the House, Literally!

Just when we all thought we had turned the corner to spring, Mother Nature decided she doesn’t want to let go of winter quite yet.

Temperatures dropped down into the mid 20’s and we got about 1.5 inches of snow, although it didn’t really stick to any pavement type surfaces.

Because of the freezing temperatures, my seedlings that have been quite happy on the porch in their mini greenhouse needed to come inside or risk freeze damage. Quite unceremoniously, they get to spend the next couple of days on the kitchen table in the warmth of the house. Luckily no company coming over, but even if they did, they know me so they’d understand. Temperatures should be back up by midweek, although still below average. I’ll move them back outside when the danger of sub-freezing temperatures has passed. It’s probably a good thing I got the seeds started a little late.

The rhubarb is looking wonderful and will handle the snowfall just fine.

The Sedum “Autumn Joy” and Hens and Chicks that looked so good over the weekend, got a little buried last night. Hopefully, they will be ok with the additional moisture and freezing temperatures. Not too worried about the sedum, but the potted Hens and Chicks are less predictable.

Relaxing on the patio will have to wait for another day.

Angel Wings in the Snow

Of all the tracks in the snow this winter, I have been the most fascinated by the ones that look like angel wings. Every so often in the newly fallen snow, I’ve found soft little wing-like brush marks. Are they from birds dancing? Showing off for a potential mate? Or just stretching in the sun? Whatever the reason, they leave the softest little flutter marks to be enjoyed by us. I’m not positive, but I think these have been left by the Cardinals.

Or maybe they were just making snow angels that no one, including my husband Steve, can resist making in fresh, fluffy snow.

A Yard Full of Snow

Since I moved to Chicago about 20 years ago, I can’t remember having this much snow on the ground for this long. It would snow, be pretty for a few days, and then melt leaving everything covered in a layer of depressing gray and brown. So for as much as this winter has been a struggle, I do find it much prettier and cheerful than a normal winter. One caveat though; it would be easier to enjoy if it weren’t so constantly frigidly cold.

After the last snowfall earlier this week, we are now over 60 inches of snow this year so far, making it the 7th snowiest winter ever. For the true weather nerds out there, by my measurements this is equivalent to 5.5 inches of rain since December 1, and has average around 7-8% water content. That’s very fluffy snow–great for all of us snowblowing and shoveling, but not very good for snowmen.

Chicago snow

We have not seen our road since Christmas. The main roads are clear, but we’re a little lower on the village plowing totem pole. I’ve never used my 4 wheel drive as much as I have this year, and on the plus side, my two relatively new drivers have become great snow drivers.

The plants and shrubs are hopefully surviving the snowpack. I wasn’t really prepared for so much snow, so the evergreens are on their own to battle the weight of the snow. The yews and boxwoods seem to be doing pretty well, but some of the Arborvitae are not fairing quite as well and pretty large branches are falling over. We’ll have to do some more tying up of the branches in the spring. I’d hate to lose the privacy screen they provide.

Another casualty of the snow is the Christmas decorations. Santa is apparently still welcome at our house, and will be until he ground thaws.

The lights are also going to be up for a while. As much as I love Christmas lights, we have at least unplugged them so as to not annoy the neighbors.

Our shed has been snowed in also since December. And not just snowed in, but the frozen ground heaved the stones in front of the door and we haven’t been in since before Christmas. Thankfully, the snowblower had already been brought up to the garage, but inside is still all the sleds, snowshoes and a few more bird feeders. Bummer for such a snowy winter!

Then there’s the ice. As the sun has become higher in the sky finally, the snow-covered roof is beginning to drip. Many of the shrubs have become encased in ice. This Alpine Currant reminded me of an icy jellyfish.

While the icy shrubs are one thing, icicles on the roof are much scarier. There are inches of ice on the roof and in the gutter. This is not going to be good as the temperatures begin to rise this week 🙁

And I’m sure this pretty monarch wishes it had found a way to migrate south instead of spending the winter on my fence. But, on the flip-side, it’s located right out the side door and reminds me that one day, the real butterflies will return

Snow and More Snow

The last couple of weeks we have already had what feels like, and may turn out to actually be, a whole winter’s worth of weather here in Chicago. The problem is, it’s only early January. I grew up in the snow belt of Buffalo, so I should be used to this. But, over the last 20 years, I’ve become a bit more used to the weather here. And the weather we’ve had lately is highly unusual both in low temperatures and snowfall. In some cases even record breaking and we I know we aren’t alone!

Storms all seem to be needing a name these days. The Weather Channel has officially named this storm “Ion”. But, really, I find the whole concept of officially naming snowstorms like hurricanes odd. The US NWS Chicago is using #chiberia to tag photos and comments. That’s actually fun since you can easily follow storm reporting from everyone on Facebook and Twitter. Then there’s #windchillmageddon. That’s my husband Steve’s contribution. Do you have a name to add? Whatever the case, this has been quite a couple of weather weeks, and I’m sure this will be a stretch of weather we’ll all remember.

I finally got all my feeders and seed out there just in time. I wish I had already picked up the heated birdbath my mom is passing on to me since she got a new one. I think the birds could be using some spa time. She says hers is busy all the time.

The feeders are all full.

The arborvitae and other shrubs are providing the birds with some winter protection from the snow and wind. They collect in the shrubs, then pop out to the feeders. Back and forth all day, until something invisible scares them off for a bit.

Daisy spends most of her time outdoors staring at the tree…

..and the squirrel quite boldly staring back.

Here’s some more storm images from my yard. Doesn’t look quite as inviting as in the summertime.

As of Sunday night (1/5/13), we’ve had about 8.5 inches in the last 24 hours, and about 21 inches since New Year’s Eve when this all started. The water content has averaged about 8%, making it nice and fluffy snow. While I am writing this Sunday night, the temperature has just dropped below zero with significantly dangerous wind chills. It’s not expected back above zero for about 34 hours. Brrrr. The kids are getting and extra day off so they are happy. Hope you are all warm and safe!

Brrr, it’s Cold

As expected, we sunk down below freezing Tuesday night. Glad I got the last of the vegetables harvested. Surprisingly, many of the garden plants actually looked pretty good in the morning, but we’ll see after 2 days of below freezing temperatures overnight.

I ended up leaving the single perfect rosebud on the plant. In the morning it was still tightly closed, just half the size as the day before.

The coleus and petunias showed their unhappiness by curling up their leaves and petals like they were trying to stay warm.

Then later yesterday, I headed up to Michigan for a quick visit to my mom’s. The drive was interesting, both from the quirky weather and the seemingly random changing of the colors. I would have expected a gradual transition as I headed north, but instead, the colors were highly variable, with some places still green, others showing beautiful colors, then still more already bare. This morning, we woke up to this–

Not sure I’m ready!

Tag: snow