Sunday Morning, Snow Has Stopped

A cold and windy morning following yesterday's and last night's suprise snowfall. According to the National Weather Service, Southeastern Wisconsin is reporting snow depths which exceed current snow depths in the northern part of Wisconsin. This is highly unusual as the northern part of the state normally sees more than triple the amount of snow we do. I'll take it though, things are quiet beautiful with the fresh powder. Total accumulations from this storm were around 7-8 inches total, with some drifting up to a foot. Enjoy the photos.

I am running out of room to put this stuff!

I wonder if we have any mail???

Still Snowing.....12 AM

These were taken just after returning home from a Chirstmas Party. Snow is about 7 inches deep or so, and beginning to drift. Still another inch or two before morning they say.

Just Some Flurries-So the weatherman said!

Originally predicted to be "flurries that will be able to be swept away with a broom". We will now be seeing moderate to heavy snow for the rest of the evening and overnight hours yielding around 7 inches. I don't know about you, but last I checked, you couldn't clear 7 inches of snow with a broom. Looks like the old Airens will be fired up tomorrow morning for yet another bout of snow. At least the fresh snow will keep things white here for a while. Chances for a White Christmas are looking good!
Heavier snow just starting now around 3:30 PM CST. Flakes have grown in size even after taking this picture.

I will take more pictures tomorrow morning and post them later that day (after Christmas shopping is over).

Change of Seasons-Winter Continued

More snow pictures taken this morning.....enjoy.

The next two images are courtesy of the National Weather Service website in Milwaukee/Sullivan.
We are located in the very southeast corner of the state, in the very dark blue just to the west of the 11.5 inches notation.

Change of Seasons-Winter

After a few rounds of snow.....compliments to Lake Michigan for the 9 inches! These were taken today. We received 2 inches on December 1st, then 9 inches on December 4 and 5 (mainly overnight), and an inch or so last night. Should be getting around 4 inches this weekend, as our snowy pattern continues. It's about time!

Change of Seasons-Fall

Just some shots from the front yard of the Maples. The trees were very colorfull this year. Not as much red, but plenty of shades of yellow.

First Snowstorm of the Season

This is some time lapse video shot over 2.5 hours out the upstairs window. The video is about 3 minutes in length. It was shot through a screen, but it is suprisingly not that bad of quality. Enjoy!

Garden Update

Here are some updated pictures I took yesterday of the garden and flowers. This tall plant is Celosia. It has really started to grow tall in the last month and a half. Almost over the top of the fence!


Below are second generation peas. I took the dried pea pods from the spring pea plants, and replanted them. Behold, another set of peas. This was more an experiment to see if it would work, and it does. So next year, I will plan to plant a second planting in August with the peas from the spring. Below are pictures of our Marigolds, which were planted from seed.
They are very rich in color and scent.
This is our toad lily. It actually bloomed about a month ago, and is still holding on. I thought the flowers would be bigger, but it is still a very pretty plant.

Rainbow Pictures

I took these pictures of a rainbow shortly after returning home from work on Thursday. It was the brightest rainbow I have ever seen. The pictures were taken looking East, over the neighbors' houses. Enjoy

Potatoes :(

Not good news from the potato department. This year, the plants grew, and grew nicely. They flowered and then died off just as they are supposed to do. This is the time when the potato is maturing. Unfortunately, right around that time we received around 10-12 inches of rain in less than one week. You may have heard about the flooding in Racine and Kenosha counties. Well, all that water ruined the potatoes. I went to dig them up last weekend and most were shrivelled up or not there at all. The larger ones were mushy and rotten. So there will be no potato harvest this year. I guess next year, I'll have to make sure to harvest them before any large rainfalls. This rain that we had was extraordinary and fell under the 100 year flood category. So meteorlogically speaking, I should have good potato harvest for the next 100 years!!! Every thing else is coming to an end. The cucumbers have waned off very quickly following the rains. A fungus or mold attacked the leaves and dried them up. This is probably because of the excess water and lack of sunshine in that particular location. The Yellow Squash plant continues to produce about 2 squashes every week. This vegetable was by far the winner this year in the garden. The tomato plants are also doing well. I am harvesting anywhere between 5-6 tomatoes every 4 days or so. Also lots of little grape tomatoes which are great on salad. The green bean plants are making a comeback with the cooler weather. The peas finally dried up after a great season. As an experiment, I have taken the dried pea pods, removed the seeds and planted about 10 seeds in a different area of the yard to see if they will grow. Would you know it, the little plants are already poking through the ground. I guess the experiment worked. Now I have my own seeds for next year. I will post more pictures soon. Thanks for being patient with the lack of postings for a while. Feel free to leave comments.

Vegetable Variety

Mid July Continued

The cucumber plants have really started to grow and spread out. They did take well to the fencing I put up to encourage upward growth. There are many small, spiney veggies forming. The Yellow Squash is growing and flowering nicely. I have already picked one squash. We had it for dinner yesterday. I sliced it, dipped it in an egg wash with seasoning salt, breaded it with breadcrumbs, and grilled the slices on the grill for about 5 minutes. Delicious.
A closup of the yellow squash. This will be ready tomorrow or the next day.
Our herb garden finally looks like an herb garden.

New Pictures for Mid July

The corn grew very tall this year. In Wisconsin, the average corn height this year is 72 inches (6 ft). The corn in this picture is about 6 1/2 ft tall. Our neighbor on the other side of the fence commented on the corn, as she can see it from her backyard. Closer look at some of the corn growing on the stalk.

The carrots have filled out well. No orange tops above the ground yet, but the plants are well anchored into the ground, which is a good sign that the root is developing into carrots.
These are the Big Boy tomatoes, still green, but growing fast.
Two varieties here, notice the grape tomatoes in the background
I picked one grape tomato earlier this week, and it had excellent flavor. That particular plant is also just over 6 ft tall, and some of the tomatoes are growing on the neighbor's side of the fence. I told her to feel free to pick and keep whatever grows on her side of the fence. Hopefully the tomatoes will be ripening up soon.

Recent Sunset Picture

I know it's not a picture of the garden, but I couldn't resist taking this photograph of this sunset. We were sitting outside the other night, and the sky was absolutely gorgeous. Enjoy everyone!

Special Request by Grandma (Louise)

The next series of pictures are in response to a special request by Grandma L. to see the entire yard. These are for you Grandma....enjoy!!!!