I want more...from my holidays than just poinsettias........although the little splashy variegation helps... ......and more than just gifts (but just look at all the coffee my dear friend sent me! Seven pounds!!!)

I want more snow.....
....although when it gets deeper, I have to break out this old plastic cutting board as a platform to keep the seed on the surface for my birdy friends......I want more scenic beauty...but to be out in it, not just wistful observations behind glass.......sure, I even want more catalogs! This was from just one post office trip-bet they're glad I have a P.O. box and they don't have to carry them.

I want more of these....wild birds everywhere! This is a Red-bellied Woodpecker... ....I even want more of these guys, as long as they stay off the bird feeders. Heh..."Got snow?"
My New Year is all about more, not less. Not less weight, or less spending, or less booze, or any other "cut backs" that are popular this time of year...
......I want more....a more involved, tactile, rolling-around-in-it year, filled with more sights like this.....

...and even this-Six Spotted Orb Weaver (Araniella displicata) on my side mirror at Walmart last summer, his body no larger than a pin head. But it's not enough to just follow my macro...I want to be less of an observer this year. Plenty of people say they need to take time to "stop and smell the roses", but for me the opposite is true...

...time to "shake the moss off this stone" and roll already! Happy New Year everybody!!

"Bright moon at night, skier's delight" (Yes, I made that up.) But that rang true Wednesday night into Thursday morning, as this was the scene when I got home from work after dark Wednesday... ....and here's what I had Thursday morning.
I really love snow, especially when everything is still coated, before the wind or sun can knock it off the branches...
....looks like a couple more early birds beat the plow like me-cool! More snow = more traction as far as I'm concerned! (To a point, of course.)
"High snow, high snow, it's off to work I go. I'd rather ski but boss says "no", high snow, oh please don't go! High snow, high snow..." *sigh* *~<{ :-)

That's right Mr. Gnat, this is a very comfortable place to sit. Try the leaf over there, it's very inviting! Come on, I know you want to! Nevermind that shiny surface-you won't stick to it...it's merely leaf polish...yea, leaf polish. This isn't a carnivorous plant or anything. Mwahahahahaha!

"I'm too sexy for my fur, too sexy for my fur, too sexy for suuure!"

Submitted to Friday Ark.

And "snow" it goes, day after day....after a brief semi-melt, we're back into winter up here. Personally, I enjoy the snow (aside from the other drivers on the road), and it makes the brown landscape nicer.The birds get excited too, but mostly for food. Amazing how much busier the feeders get when the wild seeds are covered with snow...

...though some birds seem willing to do a little excavating.
The garden is sound asleep though.
So aside from houseplants indoors, wild birds are my primary source of winter amusement outdoors...


.....unless I take a cue from this guy and "fly the coop" for awhile!

Or just go ice fishing! (Can you tell I'm feeling restless?)

Blast from the past...my life quit "roaring along" briefly today, and I realized that I missed Bloom Day! So let's rescue an orphan post from last summer (I can't even remember what I was gonna do with this).... below is a hosta ("Golden Tiara" I think), ostrich fern, and the immature "moon garden" in the background... ....portulaca/moss rose blooming....
....salvia "tea"....
...the fern and co. again....
...so that's it! Happy late-as-heck Bloom Day! This fragmented post is reflective of my mind lately, but it's all I got for now! (BTW, this post draft was originally dated 8/28...sheesh!)

New Project!! Many of you know how much this really excites me, especially this time of year. After last winter's "bonsai debacle", I wanted a project for indoors that I can actually handle as a rookie, and I think I found one: carnivorous plants! It came to me while surfing somebody's blog awhile back, when I was frustrated with all the ladybugs in my house and I discovered the concept of plants as indoor exterminators. Even though the ladybugs have mostly disappeared (into my vaccum!), I get a small group of fruit flies from time to time, so why not?! After some research, I decided that Houston Herpetological Supply had a nice selection and good prices, so I placed my order online....and this is what I got! One Butterwort (Pinguicula primuliflora), and one Sundew (Drosera capensis). Along with the plants, I got a small can of freeze dried crickets (small ones) to feed the plants on the rare occasion they don't catch a bug for a month or more. Heh...kinda makes me want to leave some fruit out to ripen so I can attract fruit flies on purpose. (Almost!)

As you can see, they did a great job packaging the plants. In fact, the box was rather dented up but the contents completely unharmed.
Here's the butterwort...it had a dried flower on the stalk (too bad I missed that)...
.....and the sundew (sorry for the blurry picture-I took a bunch, but my hands weren't too steady at the time)...I think these are very cute little plants! Tried to get a close-up of the sticky, fuzzy texture of the sundew....funky!
Since they both prefer humid conditions and my house is extra dry in winter, I decided to put them in this little tabletop greenhouse. Using a bonsai humidity tray and some stones, I fixed it so they can get some extra humidity without staying too wet... ...put the lid on slightly askew so the bugs can get in, and they're all set!
Now if I manage not to kill them, these little exterminators can get rid of the occasional bug chemical-free!

Cheap insurance...against winter kill. See, this area is under my porch roof, so snow really doesnt fall here at all (or rain, for that matter). My hostas need some help to survive here... ....so how about some snow? Works as insulation against our super-cold temps, and as it melts this area will get moisture too.
Even this spot needs some help, since snow is blocked by the roof overhang....
...there! I was already shoveling the sidewalk here anyhow, so why not put the snow to work?
Continue around the entire house....

.....there! Now the foundation plantings can enjoy the same "warm" blanket of snow that the rest of the plants around the yard get. On to the driveway....not! Hey, that's what four wheel drive is for! ;-)

Fun with houseplants... because eveything outdoors is under snow! When I had to bring in my new ceramic mushrooms for the winter, I wasn't sure where I wanted to put them. The caps are spring-attached to the stems, so I didn't want them to get bent up........I think they decorate these bigger houseplants just fine! Christmas/Thanksgiving cacti have been showing off for weeks...
....especially this one, called "Sunset"....


....is it so named for this nice yellow, orange, and pink coloration?.... .....absolutely! Which brings me to this minor quandry: why are the leaves of the rooted cutting (bottom) shaped differently and a different shade than the mother plant (top, diagonally)?
Not only that, but why are the flowers different shades? (Mother plant left, cutting blossom right). Is it a maturity thing? Ah, but this dark red is consistent, from mother plant to rooted cutting...strange.
Wow, schlefflera had a good summer in the screen house! Better re-pot that next spring for sure!

This plant, spathiphyllum, not so much! Oops...too much late-season dry out and exposure to fall temps...in fact, I was afraid it was a goner...

...but some trimming of dead stuff, water and prayer=resurrection!
This cactus dish got pretty sunburnt at first, even though it was just in afternoon sun for a couple hours a day in the screen house...
....burnt and somewhat crispy....
......I mean, that even looks painful to me.....but then they all seemed to get over it for the bulk of the summer season...
.....and now look at all this new growth!
Okay, if you can't tell the difference too well, then let me draw some arrows and such (in red, which looked a lot brighter in paint than it does here)...
...you can see the amount of new growth on these fuzzy dudes the most.....
.....so what's the lesson here? You need to be "cruel to be kind" to get good growth from cacti? (Whip me, beat me, make me write bad checks? ;-) Do they go into some sort of "survival mode" when stressed, resulting in a panicky growth spurt? Is this just normal, and I'm spazzing for nothing? Heh...guess I have all winter to research this and any other silly questions I might come up with!