Category Archives: winter

One Last “Nemo In Salem” Post

Michael took a little ride yesterday, dropping people off and picking them up while I took care of things at home. I didn’t leave my house for three full days over the weekend. There were two blizzard days with the driving ban, my little guy was sick yesterday, and it was just so nice to be hunkered down (in the words of our governor) here at home that I never went further than the chicken coop. I’m making up for that today of course. Anyway, here are some scenes from Michael’s trip.

Two of our former homes are in these photos. Anyone remember, or want to guess which ones?

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Hint, we didn’t live in the Lobster Shanty (in the photo just above) but it was on The Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” show last year.

Leave a comment if you know (or think you do).

Michele

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Nemo in Salem— Down on Essex Street

As I expected, Blaire and her camera were out today. Here’s what she sent me:

Looking toward the Narbonne House. The Narbonne house is located at the Salem Maritime National  Historic site and dates back to 1675. It’s used as a historical study house and can be toured on a limited basis.  The other thing that’s interesting about this shot is that right below that huge drift of snow lies a beautiful bleeding heart plant that’s just waiting for spring to arrive!IMG520

The snow pile is very, very tall. I’m pretty sure it’s taller than the person who put it there ;).IMG527

Drifting snow, blocking the walkway next to the Narbonne House, with the Hawke’s House in the background. The Friendship is just beyond. If Blaire could have walked through that snowdrift we might have seen the Friendship too. Those NPS workers better get busy!IMG524

Thanks Blaire!

Stay warm everyone!

Michele and Blaire

Nemo’s In the Garden and On the Street— Update!

As promised, here’s a little update:

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Same view as earlier, but shoveled.IMG_0635

This guy went rolling by a few minutes ago.  I’m hoping that he works for the city.IMG_0625

Looking down at our cars. This may be an all hands on deck situation.

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Kids getting ready to head out

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Little guy’s awesome fortDSC01610

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Dino and Maddie, they have the good life!IMG_0618


Time for lunch! I’m hoping that my downtown correspondant, Blaire, will send me some stuff to post from the Common neighborhood a little later. What do you think Blaire?

We’ll venture out too, if the governor lifts the driving ban.

Stay warm!

Michele

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Nemo’s in the Garden!

We’re having a blizzard today!  We still have power which is a huge blessing. I’m not really awake yet, but here are a few photos while the power is still on.

The view from our front door yesterdayIMG_0586

and todayIMG_0593

Here’s Michael’s car and looking down the street.  I just read on facebook that two city snow plow trucks have caught on fire. We may be snowed in for awhile. The roads are all closed with a $500 fine if your found driving. I sure wouldn’t want to be stuck in a snowbank and then fined $500. IMG_0595

And of course here’s the garden, buried under drifting snow. The snow is wonderful insulation and is often called “nature’s fertilizer.” My perennials are always happy after a really snowy winter.IMG_0589

It’s still snowing quite hard and I’m not sure about the total accumulation yet. It’s hard to tell with all of the drifting.

The kids went outside since I took these photos. I’ll try to get some shots of them a little later. They are going to have a great day!

I’ll try to update after my coffee~

Michele

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A Blizzard is Coming!

So, it sounds like we might be getting snow. Every time I hear about it, it’s a little more. The guy who’s fixing my ceilings today just said that it’s up to 33 inches!  I didn’t live here in 1978 when the biggest blizzard of all time hit New England. It’s the storm that every other storm is compared to, including the event that’s forecast for tomorrow and Saturday. I can’t help but think that it would be nice for my kids to have “blizzard memories” like my adult friends do of the Blizzard of ’78. We’ll see what happens!

Our preparations are well underway starting with the most important thing, what should I make to eat? I’m thinking chocolate chocolate chip cookies and a Pioneer Woman chocolate sheet cake should do it. I know that there are other flavors but we are chocolate people. I have a good stock of milk, juice, tomato sauce and pasta. There’s also some canned food and two pounds of bacon (thank you Michael). I bought bags of apples, oranges, veggies and even some blueberries the other day.  Michael and the kids have the firewood stacked up and I may do a sweep of the woods to collect extra kindling a little later, just to be sure. I think we’ll be just fine here in the Salem Garden.

I have some fantastic snow day projects lined up. Last night we picked up the new white roman shades that I ordered for the office. I think that installing them while the wind whips at the windows will be fun! I also have a collection of matching boxes just waiting for all of my paperwork to be organized into. Hopefully we’ll spend some family time relaxing and playing a board game. I may brave the trip to Target to find something new and fun to play. My plan is that just as the troops get restless, I’ll whip it out and wow them, then peace and happiness will prevail until we can get outside to shovel.

I’m off to fill water containers!  I’ll keep you posted as the snow falls.

Stay warm today!

Love, Michele

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More Fluffy Robe Photos

We had just a little bit of snow overnight. It was so pretty that I had to wander outside with my camera for a few minutes. It was gorgeous this morning!

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The buds on the pear tree are looking ready. to. go!! Yes!!DSC01580

I miss the days of pushing my little kids on the swings in the middle of the morning. Hug those babies everyone, they grow so quickly!DSC01581

I love our black pussy willow. Michael and the kids gave me this bush on our first Mother’s Day in this house. It’s one of my favorite plants in our garden.
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Hi Zoe, my cute little compost factory…DSC01586

Hi pretty chickadee…

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and guess what?

I wore boots instead of crocs today!

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He, he, he…no splat for me!

Enjoy everything!

Michele

A Little More Houzz–Winter Gardens

In between grocery shopping (done!) and working on our taxes and financial aid forms (definitely not done),  I just spent “a few minutes” poking around on Houzz.  I love to look at everything but of course the gardens draw me in the most.  Here’s a few highlights from my little break in the action:

A beautiful witch hazel tree, said to flower in winter and do well in zones 5-8.  Hmmm….

Hamamelis mollis landscape

Beautiful!

Glencoe Residence Winter 3 landscape

Wow…

January check list traditional-landscape

Yellow-twigged dogwood, looks like a nice alternative to red-twigged…

Cornus sericea 'Flaviramea' traditional-landscape

More beauty…

Glencoe Residence Winter 5 landscape

Very interesting. Michael will love this, but it’s a stretch for me.

Between Naps on the Porch eclectic-landscape

And finally, some sculpture…

Evanson Horses mediterranean-landscape

That’s it! Time to get back to work~

Enjoy Everything!

Michele

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What’s Happening In the Garden– January Thaw Edition

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted a garden update.  It’s time to get out there and look around!

Our winter has been mild so far. We’ve had lots of warmer than normal days, with a little bit of snow and ice. Here in the Boston area a common saying about the weather is “if you don’t like the weather, wait an hour.” It’s true, we have dramatic changes year round, sometimes in the course of a single day.  The warm ocean is so close yet the cold air from Canada is right in our backyard. We never know exactly what type of weather the next week will bring. We’re officially in the middle of a January thaw right now so there’s some wonderful hints of green in the garden.

Here are a few things that I enjoyed this morning:

Lots of oregano…IMG_0537

Rosemary! It just needs to be covered  if  when it gets cold. This plant is getting big.  Maybe someday it will resemble my Mother-in-law’s beautiful Rosemary plant  in Delaware. IMG_0542

There are fresh, new thyme leaves, plenty of them!DSC01492

The foxglove is just thinking about spring..IMG_0539

And this garlic is confused. I’m confused actually. It died in the heat last summer, now it’s back? What to do? I’m not sure, I’m just thinking about it.DSC01494

And there’s mesclun! This will make a nice lunch today.DSC01495

Hi ladies, sweet little girls…DSC01497

The snapdragon is poufing up. I wonder if we’ll see blooms if it stays this warm.DSC01501

Creeping sedum… this always pops up when we have a warm day. It’s everywhere and I smile every time I see it.DSC01503

And the highlight of my photo tour, the snowdrops are coming up! These are real! Everything else is kind of a warm weather fluke/treat but the snowdrops really are a sign that spring is on the way. Yesterday I was enjoying gardening blogs from the United Kingdom and France and saw lots of snow drops in all of their glory. It seemed that I would have to wait a very long time for that but maybe not!DSC01507

Red twigged dogwood is so pretty in the winter. DSC01515

Lamb’s ear peeping through.DSC01521

And looking up at the gray sky, there are buds on the flowering pear that we planted last spring.DSC01512

I’m likely to be posting photos of my kids sledding over my buried pumpkins next week, but spring will be here before we know it!

Enjoy Everything!

Michele

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Winter Morning In the Salem Garden

Michael took these shots while I was still sleeping. I love the early morning but he’s much better at getting out there than I am…

Waiting for spring…DSC01421

The asparagus bed…DSC01422

A cold little girl…DSC01423

She’s not too happy…DSC01425

The rest of the ladies preferred to stay in the warm coop (kind of like their mama)  😉 DSC01427

Compost bin, still cooking (I hope)..DSC01429

The birds need some food. Michael sat down to eat breakfast and glanced out at the feeder.  As soon as he was reminded of it he ran outside to give them some seed before he ate. He really takes care of things, unlike me… I would have finished my french toast. DSC01431

The boys wasted no time… I’m not sure about why their using a wagon. We do have sleds??

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I just looked out and the yard is full of kids and sleds. I love these days!

Enjoy Everything~

Michele