Frosty and Foggy Days.

 Today is the first time I've seen sun in days.  It's been very cold and very foggy lately.  The sun finally got a chance to break through today and it's so nice to see blue skies.  The sun has tried to come out for days, just breaking through the fog around 4:15 as it was setting.  It did give us some beautiful sunsets though!  And the moon at night was extra bright.
Earlier today I went out to look at the garden and how pretty it looked frosty with the haze of fog around everything.  I've seen so busy I haven't had a chance to enjoy how pretty things look covered in frost.  Even the spider's silk that draped from branch to branch looked like it had been dipped in white paint and made the delicate silk look much thicker than it is.  The winter light, even in the fog, is my favorite.  All the colors seem so much deeper.

 The butterfly garden covered in frost.  There are still two different Erysimums blooming!

 Abelia, to the right, starts blooming late and is mostly evergreen, unless we get many days in a row below freezing.

 In one of the raised beds there is chard, beets and kale growing here.  Since this the first winter growing them I'm not sure if this is the end for them or if they will bounce back.

 The driveway bed that I worked on earlier in fall still has lots of interest.  The Ninebark hasn't lost any leaves yet.  The bright green in front is an evergreen called False Holly (Osmanthus) 'Goshiki'.

 A frosted unknown pink rose.

 Frosty 'Lady Emma Hamilton'.

 We put garland and lights up on the picket fence, something I've always wanted to have.  It looks so pretty all lit up at night.

 The front of the house through the fog.  You can see what a slope our yard is on in this picture.

 The pond had no ice, although the birdbaths all do.  After 8 years of having the pond I came up with a good way to clean the pump when it's cold.  It was quite dirty and needed a final cleaning for the year.  Instead of dealing with cold hose water.  I filled a bucket with warm water from the house and took the filter and pump apart and cleaned them in the warm bucket water.  Cleaner than usual and no numb hands!  Why it took me so long to figure this out I'll never know.

 I haven't adjusted the color in any of these pictures, it's just this vibrant looking right now in the garden.  Maybe it's the cold or maybe it's the fog?  Do you see our neighbor cat on the fence?  He and his brother are friends with Gracie.  They have been sleeping on our back deck the last few days, seems like a cold place to sleep, but I think they are waiting for Gracie to come out and play in the mornings.

 The bright red apples just pop against the bare branches.  They are too high to reach and so the squirrels are mostly enjoying them now.

Down the path you can see how colorful the Oakleaf Hydrangea is.  This has been it's best year ever.

I'll be interested to see how our winter goes.  Typically we've seen a dusting of snow by now, or at least a few flakes.  I've found myself hoping for some, maybe during the school break?

It's been very busy here so far we've had a choir concert, a choir field trip (the kids got to sing in the State Capitol), seen Arthur Christmas with preschool friends (very cute movie), gone Christmas shopping and seen Santa.  We've still got to get our tree, make candy, finish shopping, more basketball games and a Christmas ballet recital.  As busy as it all is, I'm enjoying this Christmas season more than ever.  But, I know that once it's over I'll be impatiently waiting for spring gardening! 

All words and photos in this post are property of A Gardener in Progress.