WHITE CHRISTMAS

A MERRY WHITE CHRISTMAS TO ALL ON PNW!

Merry Christmas to you too, darling!
And Merry Christmas and happy holidays to the rest of our PNW friends.

Merry Christmas to both of you!! Though I guess it is the day after Christmas technically. I've had family over all day. We had a live tree in a 5 gallon pot (Cryptomeria japonica v. chinensis) , so tomorrow I will plant it.

Hi ladies, There is supposed to be three or four days without rain this week. Hope to get out a give all beds a good weeding.

Happy New Year dear friends!!! Saw snow falling on Christmas Eve, but it didn't stick!!

Hi Jan, We had a little snow on Christmas morn. Just enough. Happy to hear from you.

Thought I'd check in with you and let you know I do think about the PNW a lot.

Thanks Jan, your well wishes are appreciated! The little dusting of snow we had was fun. It is amazing how kids will run outside with excitement for just a flake or two here in the PNW, because we never know if its all we'll get. I love snow too, if I don't have to go anywhere.

Jan have you recovered from Sande alright? Did it hit you?

Thank you for asking. The saying is location, location, location. We are very thankful that the eye passed right over our county. That is what spared us, I believe. North of the eye was hit very badly. We are located at the top of the Delaware Bay. Those that live on the river got hit, but they get hit with noreasters, too. We only had two big limbs come down. It could have been MUCH worse, as you probably saw on the news. Our area was spared the worst. Relatives of mine that live north of Trenton in western NJ were without power for two weeks. Lots of devastation for sure. A group from church went over to Atlantic City about 3 weeks afterwards to help demo drywall in a house. The piles and piles of debris sitting out by the curbs were amazing.

So glad to hear that, Jan. May the Creator shelter you in his hand this year as well.

What was it like being in the eye of the storm?

Wow, Jan! Even 2 big limbs is scary, though I am sincerely glad you were spared the worst of it. Kudos to your church group for going to help out. There is so much work to deal with the aftermath and then rebuild. A carpenter from my town got a crew together and coordinated with an organized group at the other end. I think they took camping gear too so they would not become another bunch of people in need of housing and in the way even though their intent was to be of assistance.

Lots of support from all over the country came pouring in the the hardest hit areas. Looking at pictures I can hardly fathom the devastation. There are still a lot of generous, caring people.

We finally got snow in time to have a white Christmas after having bare ground well into December for the first time since we moved here over 20 years ago. Happy New Year to everyone!

Great picture. Hope you all have the best of New Year's.

Lovely snow photo, Laurie. I do miss real winter living on the western side of the mountains.

A little late, but I just downloaded Christmas pictures. here's my Cryptomeria japonica v. sinensis that served as an X-mas tree this year. It is now planted, but I don't yet have a photo of it in the new location (taking the place of another tree the deer ravaged earlier).

Pretty little tree and handsome young man! Are you originally from this side of the hill?

HI, I agree about the tree and the young man. How big will the tree grow?

The tree could get to be 50 feet tall at mature height (the son about 6 feet tall, hee hee). I'm originally from the midwest, where winter required much more planning in the coat, boots, mittens, earmuffs and scarves department. I am amazed how little people wear to go out when it is below freezing over here in the Seattle area.

Looks like it might be sunny and thawing for the next four days. I'm going out there and do some work. Sowing winter wildflower seeds. Paper and compost on two new beds. A little cleaning up of deceased growth. Yippee!

Maury, I am one of those who do not dress appropriately for the weather. If the sun is out, I assume it is mild enough to not wear a coat, often to my dismay. If the house is warm and it's just raining out, I also assume it is mild enough to not wear a coat. Again often a mistake. I am a native Washingtonian, so I guess I'll just continue to be a bit chilly when out and about...

I don't mind getting a little chilly and wet if I have a nice warm house to come back into.

And I don't own an umbrella - another odd quirk of us natives.

I own umbrellas but I use them to shade plants. Seldom wear an actual coat or boots or socks,no mittens or scarves.

I guess I just have to admit I am an outlandish midwesterner even after 30 years out here on the West Coast. I still have wool socks, scarves and mittens in a drawer and get them out several times a year when it goes down below 25 degrees. A measly 32 or hovering just below freezing does not warrant the winter gear, though I do wear the wool socks when gardening in a cold drizzle (without an umbrella).
I will add this. Though we are well known for the rainy clime here, it rains a lot more in the Summer where I was raised, and on top of that it is often a downpour, not the gentle misty drizzle. A raincoat becomes a sauna in those circumstances, and an umbrella does allow a person to arrive at a destination without needing to wring buckets of water out of your hair!

That's all very true. The best way to keep your feet warm in any weather is to buy real fleece insoles for your shoes and boots. They are amazing and good for your skin also.

I've never heard of fleece insoles.
Must get some.

Places that sell fleece lined slippers usually carry the insoles.

I'm a sheepskin-slipper gal. With the ridged soles so I can stomp around outside.

Me too. They are so warm.

I have perfectly good slippers, but was still barefoot out on the porch feeding the cats at minus 4º the other morning. Go figure.

Fahrenheit? Ow.

I got my niece and mom sheepskin slippers for X-mas. They both love them.

Yesterday, I planted some wintegreen as a groundcover for the huckleberry bushes I put in a few months ago. The local nursery had a 40% off sale, so I bought a few things.. 'firefly' heather too. Does anyone have experience with wintergreen? Does it grow successfully in our climate? I only know of it growing wild in the woods in Michigan where I visited a friend and we went on a wintertime hike, dug down in the snow to find the berries.

Could not find wintergreen in the "Western Garden" book. Does it go by something else?

Gaultheria procumbens. After buying it on impulse (the red berries looked so cheerful and smelled so good +childhood memories kicking in) I found it in Plant Files, only to discover it is finicky, needs well draining soil, and does not like clay, which is what I have. On the positive side, it needs acidic soil, which is also what I have, and I planted it in a slightly raised bed where I had dumped a lot of compost last year. Soooo, it might survive and it might not. We will see.