Most of the Snow has Melted

It's been quite cold lately, but the last couple of afternoons have been warm.  My husband Larry has been sick, and finally went to be seen yesterday.  When I got my coat on to go get his prescriptions and a few groceries, Heidi got up, hoping my plan was to go out with her.  I decided to take her out awhile, and take some photos with my new camera.  (The photos in the previous post were taken with it, too.)

It's back to looking like fall.  I continue to enjoy the plants throughout the seasons, and am hoping the critters are making good use of the food and shelter they provide in the winter.

This is the east side of the front yard.

There are still some seeds left for the birds t enjoy.

This is the east side of the house.

Amsonia hubrichtii is one of my favorites, and it has pretty blue blooms in the spring.

The Hellebores seem to be pretty much evergreen.  In the spring, when the bloom stems come up, I need to remember to take last year's leaves off.

See, there was still a little snow left.  I'm thinking after today's 60 degrees, it may all be melted.

The tall plant in the fenced area is asparagus.  I am looking forward to seeing how it does this spring.  It will be the fourth season for it, and I will be able to harvest it for a longer period of time.

We walked back to the front yard, and this is the east front yard bed.  The dark in the corner is from the lens hood Larry bought for me.  I will have to be careful not to have the camera set to the widest view, or else take it off to take the wide shots.  I spent quite a bit of time cropping photos last night.

I have been using the setting on the camera that senses what kind of shot you are taking, and adjusts.  It will figure out when the macro setting needs to be used.  I need to read the manual and do more experimenting.

Here is my favorite area of the yard, right in front of our house, where the tree used to be.

I'm glad I didn't dead head the Golden alexanders.

The sky sure was a pretty blue, and the Cup plant is another one I decided to be brave and not deadhead.

I love the look of the spent Cup plant blooms.

Hey birds, I hope you eat some more of these seeds!

I love the colors of the Switchgrasses and such.

Wild quinine is one of my favorite plants for all season interest.

This was my first year to grow Illinois bundleflower, and it stole my heart.  It's another favorite.

The Liatris is holding up well.

The Wild senna is also holding its own after the snow melt.

The Heuchera richardonii continues to look good near the porch.

 

 I love to show the view from the front porch.

Here's one more from the front porch.

This is a bit of a hodge podge post, but the main point of wanting to do one is to show that the snow has melted, and we are no longer looking white. 

I hope you enjoyed the Christmas season, and celebrate the New year coming in a safe, healthy way.  I am pleased that the days are now getting longer, and am hoping spring comes as quickly as winter did.

Hey, I just remembered I didn't do a Wildflower Wednesday post.  I think there may be enough wildflowers in this post to go ahead and use it.  Gail did a round up post.  Go check it out.