Up Ramp, Down Ramp

When Ed and I retired and moved to the Stone Wall Garden, we tried to plan ahead. The house was built with everything on one floor, with wide doors for easy handicap accessibility. All of that was for later. We have lived here for 11 years and later is creeping up on us a bit. It is because I have been told to avoid stairs when possible that Ed is working on a ramp to the kitchen door. Fantastic progress is being made, and the end of the project is in sight, but the cold weather has slowed things. This morning it was cold enough that a thin layer of snow was easily swept from the ramp.
Just a few more sunny days warm enough  for outdoor construction  and the ramp will be ready for code enforcement inspection.  Perhaps if the code officer is here on a cold wintery day he will not linger.

As I stood and focused to get the picture of the ramp, I saw movement in the shade garden. I turned and walked in the direction of the locust tree. Believe it or not I shot the red squirrel with my camera! It's hard to imagine he let me get so close. Obviously he knows I am totally harmless. He takes off like a bolt of red lightening as soon as Ed opens the basement door. I just hope that he sticks to eating  the suet and bird seed and leaves my bulbs alone.

Cold and Frosty...Warm, Wet, and Wild...Cold and Frosty

I was just two days ago that I took this picture of frost on the foxglove. The garden and its plants have been on a wild ride the last couple of days.  We had wind and rain on Tuesday, but yesterday the day started out with the temperature in the sixties. Much of the day our view of the garden from inside  was obliterated by sheets of rain. You would think nothing would be going on in the garden on such a day, but the red squirrel still made his visit to the bird feeders.  The chickadees didn't let the heavy rain stop them from visiting either. They have to eat to stay alive. Getting drenched doesn't seem to be an issue.

 Later in the day the  I saw  a very wet hawk sitting in the locust tree,  watching the bird feeder, and hoping for  a quick meal. But service was slow, no birds ventured near . As the water soaked bird left to look elsewhere for his dinner, I got a glimpse of his white rump patch. That means it was  a Marsh hawk also known as a Northern Harrier. They are famous for preying on smaller birds. In our garden, it pays to be wary. There's no such thing as a free lunch.

By late afternoon the temperature dropped below freezing and snow began to fall. For a long time it didn't stick, but in the end the plants  returned to a light  coat of  frosty white. We are back to cold!