Garden Friday

 

 

 

Welcome to Garden Friday,

where we share what's going on in our

Piedmont garden.

This week's featured guest is SNOW! 

 

I think our magnolia was taken by surprise.

It looked lovely covered in soft snowflakes.

 

 

All of the raised beds have been topped off with snow,

but most crops are tucked underneath row covers,

so they are not affected by the bitter cold.

 

A few days after this photo was taken,

I took some time to tidy up some of the garden equipment.

This bed houses our parsley and garlic.

It'll be curious to see how they fared

once the snow is all gone.

The cattle panel frames worked well

to keep the snow from accumulating.

The broccoli and lettuce inside is insulated and toasty.

 

Each morning I had the task of identifying footprints.

It was fun to see what had been visiting the garden overnight.

The birds have been going bonkers over the birdseed and suet feeders.

Here, we have tracks from bluebirds, cardinals, chickadees, doves, juncos,

 mockingbirds, sparrows, tufted titmice and wrens.

 

The bunnies have been busy scampering about!

 

 

There is no shortage of squirrels in our yard.

 

The chooks were not at all happy with the weather.

They stayed inside the coop for the first two days.

Upon some coaxing from me,

they ventured out and I was able to shovel them out

so that they had a walking path.

 

I also worked on their run area around the coop.

The sun cover that came with our Eglu had worn out,

so I used it as a template and cut up a vinyl tarp

to fit around the top and sides.

This will shield them from the wind and snow all winter long.

I'm working on a better way to attach it,

so that it can be easily removed on sunny or warmer days.

The side pieces will be removed in the summer. 

 

 

After the first of the snow arrived,

the underside of the metal run was full of snow, 

as the wind blew in from the sides.

I added fresh shavings and the new cover.

Doesn't it look cozy in there?

The chooks will be getting a new and improved long run

once the weather warms up a bit.

I'll be using welded wire fencing and conduit 

to improve the look of the run and add security from predators.

 

We've been using our fireplace quite a bit over the last two weeks.

It sure is nice to be bundled up on the couch with the fire going.

And I can channel my inner Laura Ingalls and dry my jeans!

 

 

 

 The snow is melting, but we may get more this weekend.

I can't complain one bit

'cause there's no place I'd rather be.

 

Let It Snow!