First November Snow

Yesterday we had our first real snowfall. We got a couple of inches and the temperature is cold enough that it is staying on the ground.  It feels good to have the snow.  It brightens up the landscape and the  air feels crispy and fresh.  No more damp fall weather.

This is a Christmas card I made for my French friend who lives in Quebec. The fuzzy white circles are a watercolour take on Bokeh.

The sky was a lovely intense blue today.  I guess the cold arctic air is very clean. The sky is not only more blue but somehow it is brighter. Normally at this time of year it wouldn't be so blue.  Less air travel is still having an effect.  I wish the eco people would talk more about trying to cut down on air travel.
 

November Plants

It's not easy to find colour at this time of year, but there are some spots of contrast.

I let the broccoli go to flower at the end of the summer because the pale yellow flowers last even after frost.  I can still pick some little bits of broccoli to eat.

The Bishop's Cap has some nice colour.

The Solomon Seal has fallen over but I like the wavy shape to the leaves, almost looks like hair.
 

The Burning Bush is not vibrant red (not enough sun) but I like the range of hues, almost nicer than a solid bright red.

Christmas Cactus

I bought this Christmas cactus last year in December.  It was in bud but, as often happens when a plant goes from greenhouse to store to home,  it dropped all its buds. I thought it was just a solid colour but it's actually quite fancy.  It reminds me of an amaryllis. 

 I kept it on the south facing windowsill last spring and summer, then in October I put it in an east facing window in the basement for a month.  I didn't water it so that gave it a bit of stress and rest.  Once the buds started forming after a month,  I brought it up to the south windows again and watered it regularly. It still has some very small buds which will come along so it will bloom for several weeks.  

Christmas cactus are easy to propagate - just take off a couple of leaf segments and plant them in soil- and I may start a couple more after it finishes blooming.

Bird Nest and Dried Flowers

Some dried flowers from the garden: yellow statice, magenta gomphrena and white astrantia.  Nice reminder of summer.

This bird nest blew down near the house.  I haven't been able to identify who it belongs to as the internet was surprisingly inadequate for bird nest identification.  It is not a chickadee or nuthatch as they are cavity nesters as well as the woodpeckers.  Too big for a goldfinch and they usually line a nest with fluff, perhaps a warbler or sparrow? Anybody know? The nest is about 3" across.

The bottom is well fortified with birch bark strips.  We have birch on our property.

The inside is lined with pine needles with some small twigs underneath.  The bird had to travel to the neighbours to get the pine needles.

I didn't notice this at first but there are blue yarn fibres wound around near the outside. No idea where the bird found that.  It feels like wool or acrylic. Just fascinating to see how birds build their nests.

We're getting frost most nights so it's out with the warm mitts and hat. Quite a few sunny days though so that's pleasant.

Soon be time to plan next year's garden.