Vashon Snow Day!
Royal Grevillea’s silvery sage leaves bending under the weight of winter white.
Snow usually visits the maritime Northwest briefly and more in spirit than in force. This week witnessed the exception as Vashon enjoyed a hearty dolloping of the white stuff, casting a spell on the island and islanders alike.
Grevillea’s hot colors flower beneath a cool disguise.
A dressed-up madrona branch fence separates the orchard and front field.
The dreamsicle that is my house; I see Boz left the backdoor open.
Pampered paws prefer a cozy couch to an icy walk.
There’s no place like home, especially on a snowy winter day.
The Olympics and a low-tide beach hold court between storms.
A wee bit brisk this vantage point, but warming upon later review. (Sun setting behind Vashon Island and the Olympic Mountains.)
Wow! I hope that your gardens won’t be damaged! The weather report here was for snow today but the sun decided to come out instead. Stay warm up there! Maybe more home cold remedies are in order? Happy weekend!
The snow has had me working at home, and I can’t say I mind it one bit. I hate to drive in it, but love to sit in a warm house and look out the window at it.
Postcards are in order. I want a dozen of my favorite fence.
Hi Tom, A bit of a rough run at our house this winter, and I can’t begin to tell you how your optimism and good humor have brightened many days! Thank You!
Pam that’s about the nicest compliment I could have received. Thank you. I’m sorry to hear of your difficulties, and hope with the warming weather and returning greenery, the rough patches disappear, and better times are before you. Warm regards and well wishes. Tom
Looks like Chicago…Boz and Gracie definitely have the right idea!
Looks beautiful. At least it isn’t -26C as it is here! The only leaves I see are fir needles and some dried seeds from astilbe.
I didn’t even know that grevilleas could tolerate cold! Pampered paws looks so content! What is that amazing looking piece outside your house, the huge blue one that looks like a Chinese vase?
We got hit with the same weather! With the windchill it actually got to 10 below – freezing. Like Boz and Gracie – we hunkered down too. And there we were thinking spring was around the corner – yikes!
Mrs Bok, Royal Grellivea is the most cold tolerate variety, surviving our toughest winter weather with nary a dropped leaf. It’s also drought tolerant and deer-proof (deer ignore it). Here are more pics when this fine shrub, Grevillea Victoriae, was in bloom: http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/2732/royal-grevillea-garden-dynamo-from-down-under. Other varieties have failed me or frozen back to the ground.
Just beautiful! Love your bulldogs! We have a Boston and he hates the snow.
Mrs. Bok, forgot to mention, yes the large blue vase is a four-foot high Chinese Jardiniere. It used to be the centerpiece of a fountain I had, but a bad combo of relocating it, serious weight (the vase more so than me), a bad back, slippery moss, and a timely spill spelled porcelain in peril and disaster. I could not repair it to hold water again, so it had to be reassigned as a handsome garden relic. I picked it up chipped a zillion years ago at a Nordstrom display sale, a store with some seriously nice props.
Talk about a winter wonderland, and what’s better than a snow day in the middle of the week. Your madrona fence is awe inspiring. Beautiful!
Wonderful scenes…just like ours in Oregon. I love your house!
Beautiful pics! Some of your snow took a detour and found its way all the way here yesterday! I’ll post pics Monday, but for the first time in almost 2 decades (according to the neighbors), we had snow here on the property. Not sure the fruit trees appreciated it, but it was a sight to see. Thankfully not as much as you though…which is good, as we don’t even own a snow shovel. I must admit, Boz and Gracie have the right idea about snow days though, adorable 😉
How do you find out about Nordstrom display sales?!
Devon, not sure they have them any more. This was about 15 years ago.
I will second what Pam said: I always come here to visit with a smile on a my face ’cause I know that weather or not nothing will dampen your spirit for too long! (that is the Lebanese blood in you!)
Love the “pampered paws” line. My brother shares his house with a bull dog of very little motivation, so this gave me a chuckle. It was indeed very strange to see crocuses in bloom last week surrounded by snow. We are so spoiled here on the west coast 🙂 Great pictures of the Winter Wonderland, Tom – your farm/garden must be magnificent in the summertime.
So you are the one who bought that beautiful house.
My husband and I always admired that one. I’m glad it found someone like you to care for it. But what I’m most thrilled about is your uber cool fence. Would love to take a photo of that on my horse some day. I do a Life Between the Ears series (just for fun) of all the cool things on island.
Hi Kristine, thanks for the kind words and you’re welcome to come over and take a photo. I just need to keep Boz and Gracie inside as they have one flaw; they’re equine-intolerant. 😉
After all of the snow we’ve gotten this winter, I still like to see photos of snow! Beautiful, Tom.
I am surprise that the comment I left some days ago didn’t show up.
Anyway, I was awake in the middle of the night to days ago and you came to my mind. I was thinking: Who takes pictures of the sky when they have insomnia? Well, now I know. 🙂
Saludos!
Thanks for sharing your snow experiences with us, Tom!
Beautiful pictures, but way too much snow!!