Winter in the Blue Ridge

I have lived here for close to half of my life and I am still amazed that I can drive down a road I've traveled many time and see a view that just takes my breath away.

Winter for me is one of the hardest times of year. Not much to do in the garden, lots of grey days, and the wind. The wind may be the worst. Even if it is a beautiful day, like yesterday, the wind just make it impossible (for me anyway) to be out for more then a little while. I find myself standing by the windows looking at my garden and mentally planning what to do this spring. My list is growing ever longer and I am now trying to sort it into some sort of priority.
Make raised beds at the foot of the bank,
have more trees taken out,
plant fruit trees,

rent a chipper,
pray that all the flowers and herbs I planted last year come back..... You get the idea.

One good thing about winter is sitting on the sofa wrapped in a cozy blanket, hot coco beside me, idly flipping pages of my newest seed catalog. My seed and garden catalogs have the place of honor on my coffee table - right next to the gardening books and the tv remote.

There is another side of winter that I like. Watching the dogs play in the snow. Last week we had a nice snow then it sleeted giving us a not so nice layer of ice on top. It took Smokey awhile to figure out that running down hill was not a good idea. He would just keep sliding and sliding! I will admit that I got a good giggle from the look of amazement on his face.