Greetings and salutations, everyone; yes, once again it is I, Mani the purebred border collie, filling in for the guy I live with, and here to bring you up to date on the latest news from our garden. You may remember me from such posts as “Before The Deep Freeze”, among so many, many others.
Here I am in a characteristic pose. 
The other day, the guy I live with said the weather forecast called for very cold weather, and snow. Like say eight below zero this coming Tuesday. He was getting all depressed and feeling claustrophobic, the way he does, about the coming of cold weather, but it turned out that the forecast was revised to be not very cold at all.
You can see that it snowed. About half an inch.
I guess we’re the only ones going on walks at this time of year.
He said that one thing about this time of year, which he noticed when he worked outside, and maybe noticed it much earlier than that, was how quiet and peaceful it was. With everybody on vacation or out shopping, things seemed very calm. That was one of the nicest things about the end of the year.
Just a little while later, this cloud appeared. Maybe you can see how it’s being blown by the wind, from the Continental Divide. (The highest part of that is just thirty miles to the west of us.)
Then it changed into something else.
Almost the first thing after we get up, the heater in the bird bath is plugged in. The guy I live with said this water was bird water and that I shouldn’t drink it. He doesn’t know anything, of course.
The water does get changed from time to time.
Things have certainly slowed down in the garden.
The studio downstairs is even quieter. It used to be full of life. The room is unheated (no register), so it’s always cool in the winter. Quiet, smelling like old books and incense. The guy I live with likes this view. It’s the same as the one above. 
The only place where anything is happening is in the Snowdrop Frame, which you can see in the picture above. The frame doesn’t prevent the snowdrops from freezing; just keeps them at a slightly warmer temperature than outside.
You can see one flowering here; not quite open. That’s ‘Daphne’s Scissors’. It has a scissors mark on it, on the inside. There are some snowdrops in the actual garden but they’re a little chillier and so aren’t nearly as open. The frame is in full sun all winter, and shade in the summer. 
He did order some seeds, from Alplains, and when they arrive we’ll talk about them a bit more. He said that not ordering seeds would eventually make him unhappy. You know, the way you think you’re not going to do something this one time, and then when you look back, you regret not doing it.
And, even though I prefer not talking about this at all, there will be a seasonal picture of yours truly in a couple of days. One was posted on Facebook but this is different. I don’t know why we have to go through this. The guy I live with says “Because”. He doesn’t say that very often.
So, that’s it for today. It didn’t get as cold as they said it would. Not that it mattered anyway. The Pottery Barn sheets are very soft, and this room is really cozy.
Until next time, then.
the miserable gardener 
Extreeeemely cozy. May the quiet continue for a bit, before you have to take on your new responsibilities. Happy holidays to you and TGYLW!
Thanks; same to you. It turns out that my responsibilities are just to be three until I turn four. I was worried for a minute there. The upstairs bedroom is really cozy. It’s not very big, and I guess was originally built as a second bedroom.
Is there something special about ‘bird water’? Does it taste like chicken soup?
The guy I live with says it’s icky.
Perhaps he just does not want to share.
It’s like bath water, that birds also poop in. Which is why it gets changed all the time, and is “icky”, according to him.
Hmmm . . . . ‘according to him’? Doesn’t it sort of make you wonder? Maybe he is hoarding it somewhere.
No, he says it’s a sanitation thing. He’s not totally obsessed with cleanliness, only just kind of.
Don’t worry Mani the skunk and the raccoons also like bird water. Duck water to be exact. It is fresh everyday so I guess it isn’t that bad.
I am glad you got to go outdoors and it was not to cold. I bet the nice warm bed looked very inviting for sure.
There are daffodil bulbs growing here. The weather has been weird. Freezing one night then 70 the next day. I think they are confused. It is suppose to get cold next week here and snow in the mountains. Finally.
Hope you have a great weekend!
Thanks; same to you. The neighbors have duck water. At this time of year it’s mostly frozen, though the ice is broken up for the ducks, who normally swim in the canal except in winter. Plenty of lakes around here for them, though. We have raccoons, and skunks, though the guy I live with boarded up the place in the fence where the skunks get in. The raccoons just climb over the fence, of course.
Winter is visiting your garden, whether in the very cold or just cold. Garden views still manage to look good, and interesting in the snow. “Leave that water alone,” I say to our dogs all the time, when they sample water from the backyard bird fountain. They don’t listen to me, of course, because the water tastes particularly delicious. A nurseryman I know says the lure is especially juicy bacteria. Hmm. I have the feeling you know the secret. You are a handsome-looking dog in winter, whether in characteristic pose or cozied up in sheets. Aren’t people silly to avoid walking in a half-inch of snow? Particularly when clouds form over the mountains and the world is quiet and peaceful. Best wishes on staying three until you turn four.
Thanks, I plan to stay three for almost a whole year now. Get this: the guy I live with told me he remembers being three, when all the other kids on the block were four, and how inferior he felt. That would have been about April of 1955. He has a visual image of that, in his mind. (Not his earliest memory.) His best friend, who has dogs too, said that her vet told her that dogs need to consume things which humans find totally gross, because they’re good for our digestion. Even so, I often get told not to eat stuff I find on the ground, on my walks. Particularly rabbit poop. Which is all over the place. He constantly reminds me I could get clostridium and not be able to go to Day Care, which would be very depressing for me. (Consider this a Public Service message.) He knows a lot about clostridium because Chess got it, a lot. He says he could tell stories, which are not really fit for this blog. Both of my walks today were quite nice, though there was some wind in the evening.
That first picture of you is really good Mani. Being three obviously suits you.
Thanks. It takes no effort at all. Unlike having to smile for my seasonal photograph….