winter solstice

at 11:38 tonight, everything aligns, creates the longest night of the year and reverses the shortening of days: yeah! spring will be here before we know it!

winter is over!

winter is o-v-e-r, despite the fact that it is snowing lightly, the ground is frozen and we have had wind gusts over 50 mph today. the fact is, it is 33 degrees: above freezing, and that is this winter's last hooray: yeah! how do i know? i saw daffodils leaves arising from the soil under a tree where the snow has melted. 

united states botanical garden

here is a quick shot while driving past the united states botanical garden earlier this week. the botanical garden is a great place to visit in dc this time of year because it is so warm and very humid inside due to the orchid show: great for soothing winter's dry skin and blistered spirit here on the snowbound east coast. i heart those crazy-huge greenhouses!

seeds for the new year

i was at the hardware store when i saw the rack of seeds: the weather has been so hopeless foul that i actually think i forgot about spring! the snow has finally melted down enough for me to find the seed starting supplies i had left near the back door. now i need to sort my seeds, order new ones, plant the seeds and organize and catalog everything on the master gardener app

my brother and i designed for

the iphone and itouch. 

why i dont totally hate winter

yeah: i am a winter hater! i grew up in the berkeley and when i wanted to see snow, we drove to it...which was never cuz i hated the cold and frankly, we were too poor to go skiing. now, i live in dc and i cant believe i live in a place that has "winter"...its only been 30+ years here. ugh: its just the beginning and i am complaining already: not cool! the good thing about the mid-atlantic is, it is not usually so miserably nasty: january usually has at least one 60+ degree day-sometimes 70-; and flowers will be blooming in february; and then its done. if i didnt have a dog and was not forced to be outside daily, i would be completely miserable here. so, i look for the good parts. like, the leaves are all down, exposing the true beauty of the trees: their structure and composition.