Thursday, December 15, 2005

Rhody, it's cold outside

We've had a string of unusually cold weather - for Seattle, that is. The photo of the rhododendrons in the back yard testifies to the hard frost we had overnight. Some of the frost didn't even thaw from yesterday morning where it was protected by shade. Most of you will think of Seattle as the Rain City and we do work hard to maintain our reputation, but we have had a string of cold, clear nights to decorate our greenery with traces and coatings of white crystals. It's not quite as cold here as was typical in Boston. We're barely touching 30 degrees (F). In Boston, I could tell it was below 20 degrees (F) because the rhody leaves started to curl about that point. Our leaves are drooping, but straight.


In fact, let's make today a two-fer. To celebrate the frost I'll provide two photos. I think this next one is very Zen-like. Natural materials in a simple, regular design with a touch of irregularity. No big rocks, no human intervention, but a soothing image that reminds me of the dry gardens of Japan.


This is a simple photo from our back deck that covers a space roughly a foot square (roughly 30 cm by 30 cm). The stone is a natural river stone from Mexico, displaced from its usual place of repose in the garden by forces unknown.

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