Sunday, December 30, 2007

Frosty Sunday

It was foggy this morning when we got up. The temp was about 14 degrees, but there was no wind and the humidity must have been almost 100%. Once it got light we could see that there was a good coating of hoarfrost on everything!

Here are some of the beautiful frosty sights from my backyard.

Leaves still on the Pin Oak

High Bush Cranberries

Winterberries

Cedar Tree (grew from a seed planted by the birds)

Joe Pye Weed (today and 8/5/07)















Goldenrod (today and 8/28/07)














Purple Coneflower (today and 9/6/07)














Some apples still frozen on the tree (the woodpeckers like pecking on these)

Crapapple tree
The starlings have been eating these (I hope they save enough for Cedar Waxwings and Robins in the spring!)

This morning I also spotted this little goldfinch who looks like he's getting his summer plumage back....what do you think?

10 comments:

Lisa at Greenbow said...

Brrrrr Ruthie that Goldfinch is a little ahead of schedule it looks like.

The hoarfrost is beautiful. I love seeing the now and then pictures. It gives me hope for the coming seasons. :)

Anonymous said...

I love the use with Monarch butterflies with all these! Happy New Year to you and your family!

Ruth said...

What a lovely post with gorgeous pictures. I love the high bush cranberries. It has been so dull and grey here the last few days, you gave me a lift!

Mary said...

The little goldie does look like spring has arrived. Odd...

Your photos are fabulous - so colorful admist white. I haven't seen hoarfrost in years.

Beautiful!

Meggie said...

Lovely photos, Ruth. I love the contrasting photos of summer and winter....great idea! Happy New Year to you and your spousal unit.

Maud said...

Oh, it looks so clean and crispy! We are still having this never-ending November weather, a cple of degrees on the plus side, no snow, lots of rain and wind - November! Second green Christmas in a row, not what we are used to.
And Happy New Year!

Jayne said...

Love the stark contrast of the spring and winter photos Ruthie. :c)

Robin (Bumblebee) said...

Hi Ruthie -

Most of our goldfinshes have that lingering yellow color. I'll be interested to see how they look around February or March though.

Have a Happy New Year! I'm going to be more disciplined about blogging this year. And I'm going to keep slowing down. (Are those contradictory goals?)

Hugs,
Robin (Bumblebee)

RuthieJ said...

Hi Lisa,
That's kinda what I thought too. I think last year I didn't see them starting to change color till February.
It was fun to look back and find the summer pictures of those flowers!

Hi Mon@rch,
You know, I was looking for the flower pictures, but all of them had butterflies in too. I knew you would approve!
Happy New Year to you also.

Thank you Ruth, I'm glad I could lift your spirits.
I like that the cranberries keep that red color all winter....my winterberries aren't as colorful as they were a few weeks ago.

Hi Mare,
Glad you enjoyed the pics and I must tell you that really the best way to enjoy hoarfrost is through photos on someone's blog (especially south of the Mason-Dixon line)....'cuz it was darn chilly while taking those pictures!

Hi Meggie,
Glad you enjoyed the pictures. I was glad I saved the summer pictures to use for comparison.
Happy New Year to you and your household too!

Hi Maud,
Sounds like you're suffering from the effects of global warming too. It's not good when you get rain in the winter. Our weatherman is predicting temps near freezing by the end of the week--not like the January weather we used to have 20 years ago.
Happy New Year to you and your family also (Ludde too!)

Hi Jayne,
I'm glad you enjoyed the pictures. I wish I could get good close-up bird pictures like yours but have to settle for things that don't move (like plants & trees) ;-)

Hi Robin,
Some of my goldfinches have a little more yellow on them, but this guy seemed to be getting his black "cap" back too.

I look forward to more blog posts from you in 2008--your posts are so much fun! Got any new garden plans for next spring??

Anonymous said...

I love the comparison pictures, spring and summer are always so colorful, kind of nice in the middle of winter. Yes the hoarfrost has been so beautiful the last couple of mornings, so now you can post these next July for comparison. What fun!!!
Mom