Just when we thought the weather was getting a little better and a little warmer, we are entering our fourth day of consecutive rainfall and high winds. Saturday was the worst with trees uprooting, debris floating about, roof tiles coming undone and power outages.
Raging Clouds and Sunset.
The only damage we incurred around the property was a broken clay planter.
Thick Clouds and Snowy Mountains.
Evenings are gorgeous, but the extreme cold prevent us from fully enjoying the sights.
Sun Set.
Mornings are the hardest, but it gets better once I get moving. I am an outdoor person; but due to the severe weather I have limited my time outside as much as possible. I make sure my kids dress warmly for school and sometimes put an extra jacket in their backpacks, just in case. This has been by far the coldest winter.
We hope these rainy and extremely cold days will soon come to pass.
For those of you across the US Midwest, our prayers are with you as you fight the extreme weather.
It’s that time of year again and this season, I am doing the best I can to avoid any form of cold injury. Last winter I suffered from a mild case of chilblain and I was quite miserable.
Some of you may remember the furry Report Cove, an Alpine-inspired boot. I purchased mine back in 2006 (just because I found them interesting). They turned out to be very useful 12 years later and are now part of my favorite Winter boots.
Report Cove Boots.
Although I am not a fan of UGG® (some of the designs can be an eyesore, to say the least); however, these shoes are well made, light, extremely comfortable and will keep your feet comfortably warm.
UGG® Maylin Ankle Boots.
Surprisingly, my UGG® Raana Rain Boots are the most comfortable of them all. Too bad I can’t wear them all the time.
UGG® Raana Rain Boots.
I like UGG® Boots and I love Sneakers, so when I saw the gorgeous fusion in these UGG® Mika Classic Sneakers, I was drawn like a magnet. They are not only beautiful, but comfortable and warm too. I got all the colors available (Antilope, Black and Chestnut).
UGG® Mika Classic Sneakers.
I hope you keep your feet warm throughout the Winter season.
The kids are out of school for Winter break and I am so happy to finally get some personal time to tend to my plants. Yes, it’s cold outside, but I have a few unfinished projects. The mountains are once again covered in snow, and the view from my backyard is breathtaking. All I need is a cup of coffee and a nice spot where I can soak up some (limited) afternoon sun.
So far the days of the week have been brighter than the previous week as we went through a few days without seeing any sunlight. We have beautiful sunrises and sunsets. For the first time in 12 years, the intensity of raindrops from the heavy, non-stop rain we had a couple of weeks ago created soil erosion here and there, and the ground in some areas is still soft.
Rain (double rainbow), Fog and Frosty Roof.
Heavenly Bamboo also known as Nandina, is a beautiful evergreen shrub, drought tolerant and a toxic plant too. This plant as well as Dwarf Nandina ‘Nana’, add dimension and color to the landscape as their foliage make them a great accent to the yard as they brighten and light up the grey, dreary days by becoming the focal points in Winter.
Heavenly Bamboo.
This summer we redid our 44 years old driveway and in doing so, we had to remove three of our mature Photinia Fraseri ‘Red Robin shrubs. There is still a gap next to the gate and as you can see, the ugly stumps in the landscape. The good news is that new growths are forming at the base of the stumps and they will continue to fill their place in the landscape as they regrow.
Photinia Fraseri ‘Red Robin.’
My Agave Ovatifolia has gotten really big. Five pups can be seen coming up from the larger mother plant (the 5th one is still breaking through). There is another pup that is not in the photo because it’s growing on my neighbor’s yard.
Agave Ovatifolia ‘Frosty Blue’. Mother plant and pups.
I went to Lowe’s last week to get a couple of fuses for the Christmas lights and I ended up buying a few Asparagus plants, including Plumosus, as seen below.
I am still collecting Antique cast iron patio sets. The arm chair is one of the new additions I got this year (the matching bench/settee can be seen in the first picture). I am searching for the extremely hard to find planter.
Asparagus Plumosus.
I am grateful that my yard is still weed free. I did well, the weekly maintenance if paying off. This is also a good time get outside and pull out those weeds, while the ground is soft and the weather is not too cold.
Weed Free Yard.
It has been a wonderful year with no set backs:
We are safe, happy and healthy
Our families and friends are doing great
We completed two major projects
We were given so much and we gave as much in return
Happy New Year 2018, dear readers! I hope your holidays went well and you received everything on your wish list.
The previous year ended well for our family. We are healthy, happy and for the first time I have lived in the High Desert, the weather has been just wonderful. November is usually the start of the rainy season in the High Desert and last year however, ended with no rain in sight (which means no messy yards/gardens and no weeds in sight either).
We were treated to the sight of a beautiful double rainbow stretched across the sky before the rain began on Monday morning. It rained and it rained and it rained. Lightly all day Monday and heavily on Tuesday. It was quite dismal, to say the least, but the plants and soil needed it.
Double Rainbow on a cloudy day.
Today was a beautiful, chilly day and the sun came out bright. The skies were clear and blue with a stunning view of the mountains from my backyard. They were covered in snow with thick clouds floating at the bottom.
Blue skies and Snowy Mountains.
Winter always has the most beautiful sunsets.
Beautiful Sunset.
Wishing you a good start for the new year.
To new beginnings!
Much to everyone’s surprise it still hasn’t snowed in the High Desert and my kids, who were looking forward to making snow angels were a little disappointed. Our mornings are chilly and the nights are long and cold. It has rained a lot lately, causing flooding, mudslides and other property damages.
Thick clouds floating at the bottom of elevated snowy mountain peaks.
Even though we didn’t get any snow (and most likely will not be getting any this Winter season), for the first time in many years, our mountains covered by thick snow look prettier than ever.
By JM Perez
