So Long Winter

 

As Gregory and I walked to school today, a snowy first day of spring, we closed our eyes and thought about how excited we would have been if, instead, it were snowing on the first day of winter. This inspired me to dig through the pictures I’ve been taking all winter of various snow storms.

In the picture above, Bradley was hiking up a snowy mountain in Vermont. He loves this picture, but I forgot all about it!

Note to self: make a print for Bradley.

 

Back at home in Metuchen, the snow was as thick on the trees as summer leaves. Check out the snow shade on the yard.

 

For my tree-loving friends, in the foreground, center, that’s my Japanese red maple. The taller one behind it is my Greenspire Linden.

 

In the backyard, the Bradford pears have practically become one tree.

 

The tree house looks so small now. I remember when we planted the trees and finished the little house plan. I couldn’t imagine the day when the trees would be bigger than the house. This is proof that time really does fly.

Surrounding the tree house: October Glory red maple — purple leaf plum — royal red maple — and those dreaded Bradford pears.

(Click the links to see their various journals and growth charts or click here for the full list of trees covered in my journals.)

 

That’s my dogwood covered in snow.

 

Another dogwood shot. I think the dogwood gets photographed more than any other of my trees. (It’s right outside the window. I don’t even have to go outside.)

 

I was experimenting with aperture settings, going for a layered look without totally blurring the background. This is fun photography for me!

 

Dogwood from the top. The background is the snow-covered ground.

 

Little dogwood bud snowhats are so delicate.

 

See, I’m hanging out the window, swinging around to get this shot. The brick background is the chimney.

 

In the sideyard the Aristocrat pear is near to my heart because of the year-in-the-life video that made it famous.

 

Looking for a great mother’s day gift? This tree, a Japanese red maple, was my mother’s day gift back in 1999. I love that tree!

 

The greenspire linden towers to the sky now. We planted that tree in memory of my Junebug dad. He was born in June. June is father’s day month, my birthday is in June, and dad and I used to celebrate together. His tree gets subtle little yellow flowers in June and it makes a cool canopy of shade. This is a great shade tree! I recommend it if you’ve landed here looking for a fast-growing shade tree to plant as a focal point.

Beware though: the flowers do attract bees so don’t plant near your patio! This tree also produces lots of ground clutter in winter from fallen twigs.

 

So long winter! Happy first day of spring!

Note to self: print this one for Bradley too.