Deer in the Snow.

I was pleasantly surprised to see these beauties right across the street from my house when driving home the other day. I parked, grabbed the camera, and ran outside. I kept a good distance (which is unfortuante for my little point & shoot), but they were still a little suspicious, so slowly moved on. Aren't they lovely?































And here are the permanent residents.

These recent photographs of birds & deer have made me long for the relative ease of photographing plants, they allow you to approach and stay reasonably still.

Oh The Weather Outside is Frightful....

...but the birds were so delightful.

(I apologize in advance for the quality of the photos, they were taken from indoors and through a not so clean window)

It has been very cold here lately, the poor little birds were freezing yesterday, but are so incredibly cute when puffed up to stay warm.

Growing up in Eastern Canada, I still find magpies beautiful and eye-catching, even though they are considered a nuisance.

Here is one in flight, doesn't really show the markings but I still like the picture.

I have always been crazy about blue jays, when I was a child I considered them to bring good luck. I love when they visit.

I don't know very much about bird identification, and am not sure what this little fellow is. It made me think of a finch, but could be something else. Can anyone help out?

These little ones were all over the birch...

There was lots of activity at the birdfeeder...

..and below.

I could sit and watch them all day.

One late addition, a flock of starlings arrived today, it was like a scene out of the movie 'The Birds'.

(Wordless) Wednesday: Proud as a Peacock

Here are a few pictures taken in the Dorothy Harvie Gardens of the Calgary Zoo. I think of the peacock as HRH, he emerged onto the rock 'platform' through the foliage like a King stepping onto a balcony through velvet drapes to address his subjects.

Let it Snow! (aka The Blizzard vs The Bus)

It's official, winter is here. We have been under a weather warning for the last 24+ hours, and it isn't going to be ending any time soon.

I thought this was a very pretty, snow laden bough.



Bits of snow are stuck all over the house and windows. It reminded me of the faux snow painted store fronts.




The snow was blowing in from the NE, and produced this odd drift, usually snow blows away from this shed, but now it is piling up high.



Even Mister Golden Sun was unable to shine today.



My Garden Frog is hardly visible, and may disappear soon. There was no sign of the turtle.



As I was watching the blowing snow in front of my house, I saw a city bus slowly sliding sideways, trying to get out of a drift. It was unsuccessful, and required a tow truck to come to the rescue. I think the blizzard won.



But always remeber to Have a Nice Day!

My Plant Obsession, Hydrangea paniculata 'Kyushu'

I am completely obsessed. I first saw this beautiful and interesting Hydrangea in the book 'Lois Hole's Favorite Trees and Shrubs'. I started browsing the Hydrangea aisles more carefully, but never came across one.









During a quick trip through the garden centre of a hardware store, I spotted 2, in amongst some Limelight and Little Lamb. I bought one for myself, and one for a friend (well I couldn't just leave it there, could I?).





Since planting it mid-summer, I've been crazy about it. It is my first Hydrangea, and I have since added 2 Uniques. I'm also considering a Limelight, and possibly an Endless Summer, if I can manage to keep the soil acidified enought to maintain the beautiful blue colour.







'Kyushu' is hardy to zone 3, when grown in a sheltered location, and grows to 8-10ft tall and wide, It is often trained (or grafted?) to a treeform, and then makes a wonderful focal point in a formal setting. There are lots of images of the treeform variety online if anyone is interested in seeing one.







The panicles are around 8 inches long, and have only 10% showy sterile florets. This gives them a very open and airy shape, and they are easily held up by the branches.





This beautiful plant is named after the Japanese island where it comes from. For those of you who love Hydrangeas, there is a wealth of information (& photos) on many varieties in the Royal Horticultural Society 'Hydrangea paniculata Trials Bulletin', available here.







What is your plant obsession?