more winter flowers

in my imaginary winter garden, datura get’s a full winter-flower bed to itself . but if you read the wiki page on datura, it’s a wonder we still plant them at all. the seeds and flowers are highly poisonous. here’s a partial except:

All species of Datura are extremely poisonous and potentially psychoactive, especially their seeds and flowers, which can cause respiratory depression, arrhythmias, fever, delirium, hallucinations, anticholinergic syndrome, psychosis, and even death if taken internally.

yikes. i guess i’ll have to fence it off accordingly, because those seedpods are just too seductive to not have in my winter garden.

datura seed pods in winter

a new nest

today’s the day my son moves into his dorm. making a new nest for himself for the coming year.

stack of songbird bird nests

imaginary winter garden

hydrangeas are one of the most generous winter flowers. sturdily standing up to the snow. holding on to their abundant flowers (florets) all winter. in my imaginary formal winter garden, hydrangea play a key sculptural role. both beautiful from a distance, and even more rewarding on close inspection. my husband once looked at one of my hydrangea photos and said it looked like tethered butterflies. i have never forgotten that.

dried winter hydrangea flowers

searching for food

normally this time of year i would be seeing the wild turkeys out scratching for food under the snow. but this year the snow it too deep. seed-heads like this help. this is a tough time of year for northern critters.  it’s tempting to put our seed. but experts tell us it creates dependency.  any of you have opinions on this? i have mixed feelings.  [also, anyone know what this plant is? i was unable to identify it, but i love it.]

unidentified winter stem with large seed-head

heading to nyc

i am off to nyc for 4 days to drop-off my youngest, joseph, at NYU. i am very excited. i love nyc. i love visiting it, and i love that my joe-joe is headed off on a big adventure. for a kid who grew up in the midwest living on a secluded three acre lot on a lake, nyc is about as different as it can get.  i think i would have really enjoyed living in nyc as a young person. i also love my quiet home on the lake, with coyotes, deer, and owls as neighbors. i think it is possible to love both things, without being contradictory. i suspect joseph will feel the same way in a few years. his northern roots run deep. but he is a young man in search of himself, and nyc just might be the perfect place for him right now. with the right attitude, the anonymity of a place like nyc can be very liberating. yes, it can also be very lonely and isolating. but i am confident he is in the right place to make the most of what’s to come.

i have queued up five days of STILL for you while i travel, so your daily dose of beauty should continue uninterrupted. see you at the end of the week! xo mary jo

sandhill crane feather