Ruby Tuesday - Red jackets

Pin It

 I found red not in the garden this week, but hanging on the jacket hooks of the mud porch. We are easy to pick out in a crowd wearing these. Or in a forest. Or on the beach.

Mary showcases lots of red photos for Ruby Tuesday. Take a look.

© Copyright 2006-2011, Raven Ridge Gardens. All rights reserved.

Winter in My Garden - Early Narcissus

Pin It

Harbingers of spring in my garden include these narcissus that have been left neglected in an old wooden half-barrel. They are not my favorite narcissus but they're steady bloomers and they do make me smile when I come across them.

The day began sunny and mild this morning but in the blink of an eye turned cool with dark gray, lowering clouds with a breeze full of the smell of rain.  The January thaw is over. Winter isn't.

© Copyright 2006-2011, Raven Ridge Gardens. All rights reserved.

The View From My Backyard - Another Beautiful Sunset

Pin It

Taken from the back deck last night

This morning, not a cloud in the sky. It has been sunny and relatively warm for a week.  Sunny, warm temps in January make northcoasters nervous:  we wonder what will February bring.

Weather like this makes me want to dig in the garden and plant seeds.  But I know better ...

Winter is not over.

© Copyright 2006-2011, Raven Ridge Gardens. All rights reserved.

Ruby Tuesday - Finding the Hidden Red

Pin It 



It wasn't easy to find red in my garden today. But there it was, hiding in plain sight.

Lots of ruby red photos can be seen at Mary's blog Work of the Poet.

Check 'em out.

© Copyright 2006-2011, Raven Ridge Gardens. All rights reserved.

In My Greenhouse - A Soaking Tub

Pin It

One of the things I wanted for my birthday was to have the tub in the greenhouse plumbed with hot and cold running water. Yesterday, that's just what Mr CC did.  Yes it's a bit rustic but, hey, it's a greenhouse.  I had a good soak this morning - just the ticket for my cold. And what could possibly be better than a soak in a steaming hot tub accompanied by orchids and Meyer lemons?

 This little volunteer greenhouse poppy bloomed this morning, just for my birthday, I'm sure.

 

Outside, the Rhododendron that I received as a birthday present ten years ago

is beginning to bloom, right on schedule.

© Copyright 2006-2011, Raven Ridge Gardens. All rights reserved.

Shadow Shot Sunday - January 23, 2011

Pin It

Not the best shadow shot I've ever taken, but I kinda like it because I'm quirky that way. The shadows are from the fennel growing just on the other side of the greenhouse wall. And, yes, that is chicken wire.

Each and every Sunday Tracy hosts wonderful shadow shots from her blog Hey Harriet. I encourage you to go there to see what's going on in our shadowy world.

© Copyright 2006-2011, Raven Ridge Gardens. All rights reserved.

Winter in the Greenhouse - Susan's Orchid

Pin It

 Last year Susan's orchid put out a scape of buds, much like this one, only to perish in sub-freezing temps. This year, when not one but two scapes were produced, I insulated the plant when our temps fell into the 20s and ...

... this was my reward.

See Susan?  I've been taking good care of it. :)

© Copyright 2006-2011, Raven Ridge Gardens. All rights reserved.

The View From My Backyard - Waning Full Moon

Pin It

Moonset around 6:30 AM, January 21st

The days are getting longer, the sun is setting a good half-hour later than on the Solstice. A few paperwhites are beginning to bloom. Spring is not far off, and I can feel gardeners everywhere just itching to get out and dig in the dirt. Count me among them.

© Copyright 2006-2011, Raven Ridge Gardens. All rights reserved.

New Year's Day Walk on the Beach, Part 3 - Mr CC

Pin It  

Clam Beach is truly stunning when the tide is low

Mr CC is blogspeak for Mr Christine Cooks. Back in the day when I just had the food blog, it was common practice to not give out the given names of family members. Now, with social media telling all, anonymity is practically unheard of.  Still, when I refer to my husband, Clay, on my blogs, he will forever be Mr CC.

© Copyright 2006-2011, Raven Ridge Gardens. All rights reserved.

New Year's Day Walk on the Beach, Part 2 - Pocket Change

Pin It

© Copyright 2006-2011, Raven Ridge Gardens. All rights reserved.

New Years Day Walk on the Beach, Part 1

Pin It

Waves of sand

On New Years Day, Mr CC and I took a long walk on Clam Beach at low tide.  I took so many photos that it has been difficult to narrow down my choices for a post.  So I've simply decided to break the posts into parts.

This is part one.  Enjoy.



Sky and clouds reflected in the watery sand





Driftwood that doesn't drift; anymore



© Copyright 2006-2011, Raven Ridge Gardens. All rights reserved.

Shadow Shot Sunday - Art Shadows

Pin It
A departure from my usual plants, critters and landscapes, the shadow cast by the frame around this painting captured my fancy at a December art show so I captured it with my camera.

More shadow shots may be seen at Tracy's Shadow Shot Sunday.  While you're there, give a hello to all the fine photographers who put their shadow shots up each week for the world to see.

© Copyright 2006-2010, Raven Ridge Gardens. All rights reserved.

Winter in my Garden - In the Greenhouse and Out

Pin It

An impossibly large Meyer lemon in the greenhouse



Susan's orchid getting ready to bloom in the greenhouse (the bathtub will be explained in a future post)



Gertrude Jekyll blooms year-round in the garden albeit a bit worse for the wear after a hailstorm



The passion flower blooms year-round also, up against a south facing window



Sarcococca is in fine form this time of year





Sally Holmes puts out blooms even when it hails. Her delicate pink coloring is enhanced by the winter cold 

I'd love to know what's blooming in your garden this time of year.

© Copyright 2006-2010, Raven Ridge Gardens. All rights reserved.

It's a New Year - Welcome to 2011

Pin It

This, I am told, is an icebow:  a rainbow in a cloudless and rainless but none-the-less moisture-filled sky made possible by the sun refracting off ice crystals high in the troposphere.

The icebow sat over our area of northern California (and maybe auspiciously over the Trinidad Bay Bed & Breakfast) for more than 2 hours on Dec. 30th. It didn't move and it was mostly a rather ghostly white except for the few moments when the sun broke through a thin veil of clouds and lit the halo in a beautiful spectrum of colors.

I look for auspicious signs in nature. I delight in them.  Call me silly, I don't care, but even knowing the science of how rainbows occur, I think they're magical. And I think they portend good things to come.

Yesterday the clouds that have been hanging over our collective heads, raining buckets for several weeks, began to part, showing delicious patches of blue.

Today the the clouds are gone, the sky is blue as can be, the sun is bright, water droplets are glistening, making little rainbows everywhere I look.

And the Buddha who graces the pathway to our house is smiling in the sunshine.

All is right in my world.

I hope it is in yours.  Happy New Year.

© Copyright 2006-2011, Raven Ridge Gardens. All rights reserved.