Snow in October?!

Another surprise!
We moved here to get away from crazy weather but it seemed to follow us.  Let's see . . . flooding from a tropical storm . . . AFTER the earthquake that damaged two of our 'sister' churches.  We are still cleaning up and repairing that damage when the snow came . . . Saturday, October 29!

Early morning - Wet snow begins to stick.

Can you imagine, I had to serve at a funeral that morning.  I managed a quick shot of the front lawn as the snow began to stick.




It was a very wet snow that froze.  Fortunately, my husband and I put on our snow clothes . . .  with rain gear on top . . .  and 'fluffed' our rose bushes, holly trees and our beautiful Leyland Cypress tree that towers over our tiny yard.  Notice how the Cypress branches are weighed down with snow?  That 'snow' turned to huge clumps of ice before I could get out there and help a little.

October 28 snow! Our Leyland Cypress looked sad

Fortunately, I had just finished re-digging the back yard to add more garden space.  ["Garden Dig" pictures next time]   We cleaned, tied, fixed and prepared everything.  We even brought in the garden hoses. . . but I forgot St. Francis!  He is now nestled neatly in our shed.  He is made of resin and can easily break in the cold.  I am glad he did not tip against our stone bench.
  I knew it was going to get cold enough for a light dusting of snow but never imagined this much before Christmas, much less before Halloween.

Variegated Red Twig Dogwood

 This lovely bush has white tipped leaves in the summer but once the leaves are gone, the red 'twigs' really shine in the snow.  Some of the twigs got buried so I had to, ever-so-gently, lift these thin branches from their icy grip.

Fall?  Snow smothers everything!

 Heavy, icy globs of this white stuff were smothering my lovely rose bushes.  Even our Forsythia was laid low.  With broom stick in hand, crawling on my knees, I found the very tips of each branch and carefully lifted each one.  Almost immediately they sprung back and continued to show off their blooms as this heavy whiteness lingered for a couple of days.

Rose Bushes perked up a bit after being rescued

 Ahhhhh, so much better!  The roses stretched back to their normal, queenly stature and now . . .  after the snow has melted . . . linger a little longer in this cool air.  It's as if nothing happened.  They are determined to continue showing off.  How wonderful!

Gaillardia covered with Russian Sage and SNOW!

 Even my Gaillardia 'Goblin' was determined to last at least through Halloween!
What a fun name for this persistent bloomer.  It starts early and never stops.

More garden space invited some changes

 Once I 'fluffed' the branches of our precious little Cypress tree, it seemed to stand taller than before.  At least it seemed a little freer to blow in the breeze.  See that object that looks like a basket?  Our new garden space afforded a place for a tiny rose bush that was hidden behind a huge bush.  I thought I would 'plan ahead' and circled it with wire mesh and overlay it with burlap to keep it's tender roots from freezing too soon.  Glad I lingered in the garden a little longer before our snowy surprise.

View from our house: wetland area with farmland beyond

 A hazy shot of snow on dirt and whatever pops up in between.  Our little wetlands that got bulldozed this summer.  Long story.  At least they did not touch the cattails that are now standing tall on ragged stalks.  They look so lovely on a sunny day.  With so many leaves gone from the row of trees in the background, we can now see the old farmhouse in the upper left corner.

Notice the green post in the picture below?  I removed my birdhouse and placed an old pot on top to protect the hole that holds the birdhouse.  All that was done the day before the storm, the only time we had to get things done.  Glad we took the time.

Roses continue to show off their blooms

Today is November 1, and very little snow is left.  I hope we can enjoy a little bit more Fall before more of this white stuff falls.  I love snow but . . . there is a time and place for everything.

Next time I will show you how we expanded our planting space . . .  and almost filled it up with transplants.  But, we saved a lovely patch for Spring planting.