WHERE DID THE TIME GO?

It's been quite a while since I updated my blog - lots of things have happened in and around my little retreat.  One of the more exciting events is that earlier this month a visitor came by for a look at our bird feeder.  I assume he's a runaway from a shooting range, but regardless, we are enjoying seeing him almost daily stop by for a visit.

Florida Summers

Florida summers are to be endured, unless of course you have access to a pool......

                        Where it's quite enough for a mid-afternoon bath  -

                     Where friends can meet to cool off -

           

             
                    Or where the neighborhood guard can dash in for a splash!

FALL- Finally!

FALL-  has finally arrived - and that means cool weather veggies and hours spent binoculars in hand enjoying the feathered visitors to my feeders.  PROJECT Feederwatch and  eBird here I come!

Birding

greengalfl1's photostream on Flickr.

BURRRR...

Summer is finally over! Just yesterday it was 75+ degrees outside, sunny and warm.  Today, on the other hand, windy cold air swooped down and finally brought winter to Central Florida.

Thankfully the flower beds have recently been blanketed with fallen leaves and the garden, such as it is this time of year, has few plants that will be damaged by light frost or a short-lived freeze.  At least that's what I keep telling myself as I look out and decide I just don't want to go out long enough to fully cover the raised bed.

Generally our cold snaps last no more than a couple of days, so by Friday I'll know just what did, and didn't, suffer frostbite.  In the meantime, I can look at the pictures I took over Christmas and think ahead to spring!

IT'S JUST A MATTER OF TIME



Sitting here less than two weeks before Christmas in 80 degree weather makes you wonder, "Where's winter?" Most years we get a really cold spell just around Christmas, and sometimes it even freezes for a couple of days. And usually by that time we have lost summer's flowers to frost and had to break out sweaters; at least in the morning. And usually by that time we are bemoaning the loss of some garden favorite - but not this year. 

Crazy Squirrel

Once the chill arrives flowers will be gone; greens will give way to browns; flocks of birds will show up at the feeders.

Reading indoors will replace balmy hours spent outside reading & watching acrobatic squirrels dangle from trees in death-defying feats.

The fireplace will replace the patio.

Only three weeks remain before the end of the year, and it's just a matter of time!



WHEN FALL ISN'T FALL



Herb Bed



Strawberries & Collards



Fall is waining and winter is well underway, but unlike our northern gardening friends, for us the time between

Halloween and Christmas 

equates to early spring. We've long since cleared last year's dead tomatoes and peppers. All those great cool weather plants are flourishing in the herb bed alongside the last few summer herbs. I love to see the basil plants happy again, even though the first frost will cut them down, leaving only parsley and collard green babies to grow on through the winter. My store-bought strawberry plant is sending out runners between the collards, so I am excited about having a February treat. I may have to install a Plexiglas cage to keep the raccoons out, but in the meantime, I'm daydreaming by my window and can almost taste the berries.

Tarragon and garlic chives are happy again, too. And to top it off, roses and bougainvillea are blooming and enjoying the cool nights and warm days.



Gated Walkway

When it finally frosts, the monarchs will have to leave the milkweed and head south and the humming birds will have to get all their nectar from the feeder instead of coral bells, pentas, flaming red fire bushs and cardinal flowers. I love providing their favorite natural foods but the upside to winter is they are easier to spot.