The Great Ice Storm of Christma 2013

We are back in a nice warm house making dinner!
Thank you to the line workers who gave up their Christmas with family to help restore downed lines and electricity and heat to thousands of homes :)
Just put up the Christmas tree after 7 days in a hotel!
Merry Christmas for us now!

Ice storm and power outage

We are covered in ice and much of the subdivision is still without power.  Almost every tree in the neighborhood was damaged with limbs broken.  It is 40 degrees in the house this morning and I have the faucet drizzling to prevent the pipes from freezing.  Feeding all the animals. They have nothing to eat with the ice so they are happy to see me this morning.

The winter soltice approaches

deer proof plants

The best way to protect your garden beds from hungry deer is to plant deer resistant plants.
White Flower Farms and Wayside Gardens has a large selection of deer proof annuals and perennials.
Deer and rabbits hate daffodils and several other spring bulbs.  Forget about tulips in this area.  The deer, rabbits, and woodchucks love them.  If you plant hosta, you will need to deer proof these with Connies egg milk pepper & garlic mixture posted earlier on this site.  You might also spray your yews now with that to prevent winter munching.  The deer are pretty hungry right now with the snow cover. 

leaves!!!!

We had over 100 tarps of leaves this fall.  I hired 3 people to rake them up but even so Roger and I have collected 35 more tarps of leaves after they were done and before the snow.  In the Spring we will have a lot more.  The trees are so big and produce so many leaves!
We have so many birds feeding at the feeders and in our drive way!  They are very appreciative of the seed and fruit that I put out.  Yesterday I had some very ripe strawberries that I put out on the driveway.  The birds and squirrels didn't eat them but after dark a deer was there in the driveway enjoying strawberries.  Nothing goes to waste here in my yard.

Connie

My neighbor, Connie, who is my gardening inspiration met a widower who has wooed her and she is selling her house and leaving her garden!  I am sad to lose my neighbor but happy that she is making a new life for herself with someone she loves!  Her yard is the showpiece of our humble neighborhood.  She has some amazing grasses and rare plants in her garden along with the expected plants.  Connie is the person who gave me the recipe for the home made deer repellent.