Winter Garden

Winter Comes

This year we had a Freak Snowstorm on October 30 with thirteen inches of snow falling before the trees had even dropped all their leaves! It was Devastating to so many trees, and made a Huge mess of my back yard.... but Fortunately, my Garden itself was not damaged by any of the falling tree limbs. The snow melted within a week or so.... leaving a great deal of clean-up to be done after it! So there was little time to do many of the Fall Garden chores.... and I almost didn't have the emotional energy to even go out there and take pictures!
But fortunately, there were a few days that called me into the garden..... to say goodbye to the Last rose blossoms.....

The Roses that bloom til there is no more sun

and the frosts wither the blossoms before they open.......

And to see the exotic seed heads of the Clematis by the door.......

Those last misty gray days of November......

as the sun is weakening day by day......

And my back yard is a pile of tree limbs needing to be cleared away........

But Winter Comes quietly after all.......

I Decorate the Garden with Christmas Lights.....

because the Dark is Taking Over.....

And the morning light is Late and Rare......

But sneaks in anyway.... as we wait for snow.....

But all we see is Frost.......

Glittering and twinkling in the sun.......

Which leaves so early that by Four o'clock the lights are glowing in the Garden.

But still no snow......

Christmas comes and goes......

And then Finally a tiny dusting of snow.....

Coating all the branches in white.......

How completely Different the Garden seems!

This twilight snow......

Turns to ice by Morn.....

And ice is so much harder than snow......

Harder to touch......

Harder to Shovel......

Glittery and brittle, it coats everything....

Until even the weak rays of wintry sun melt it's armored crust.........

Winter is HERE...

And the lights still come on at dusk....

Because I cannot bear to turn them off when the Winter nights are still so LONG.....

They are flowers of a different sort......

Like night blooming Jasmine....

only glowing for those dark winter hours....

Magical in their own way.....

Forgive me while I walk you through the twilight.......

It could take a while.....

But I never seem to grow tired of watching....

As Night takes over the Garden....!

But WAIT, I cannot leave you there.....

Because every now and then we get a Perfect Snow!

Not too much.... no sleet... no rain.......
Cold enough for perfect flakes......

It adorns my Faithful Hound......

Sits gently on the fence......

Balances on all the leaves still clinging to the Rose......

But most importantly.... it Glitters like a Million Diamonds in the sun....!

Come, look closer and you will see......

SOME moments are worth waiting for!

Winter Garden

The Nativity

You will not believe me when I say I am not Religious...... Spiritual, but not Religious..... Especially when I show you around the Nativities that Adorn my SMALL house at this time of year! I consider myself a Pantheist.... a Believer in ALL Religions and ALL Gods..... Please forgive me if this offends your Beliefs. Nevertheless, I have always ADORED Nativities and the Medieval Art of the Christian world... and at Christmas.... that Darkest Time of the Year...... my House fills up with the Celebrations both Pagan and Christian...... Trees, Lights, and the Celebration of Birth. And over the years I have accumulated.... very NON-intentionally...... quite a collection of Nativities.

This first one is a Pop-up or Fold out Nativity..... when it is closed it is a Book......

The World within a Book has ALWAYS intrigued me..... so here it is........

The above picture shows all four sections......
The one below shows only three of them.......

Here is a closer view of the Nativity with the Baby Jesus......

And the right hand panel with the Three Kings....

The background sky is the inside Cover of the Book
The figures are printed on the paper and fold up into position when you open the panel of the book..... (the ceramic bird is holding the flap in place...)

The left central section shows the Angels appearing to the Shepherds.....

And the far left panel shows the Angels appearing to the Town Folk........

I found this Book Nativity in a used book store.... was I ever surprised and DELIGHTED when I realized it was a pop-up Nativity...... I had never seen one so Beautiful and I snapped it up!
It takes over a Whole shelf of one of my Bookcases...... it fits So Perfectly!

Here is another Fold out or pop-up Nativity I found much later, and is of a Quite different Style... being more Medieval rather than Baroque.......
It moves to the Hall table... which is actually my sewing machine which has to move here to make room for the Christmas tree..... and the Hall Table.... moves to the Kitchen Hall.....
So here it sits in front of some of the Christmas Cards I have drawn over the years.... but that is the subject of another post......

It, too, is a Book when closed.....

and Voila it is a Nativity in one smooth Opening!

Here you can see a little closer...
the Characters are all images from Medieval Art......

And while we are on the subject of Paper Nativities..... here is a view of the Paper Mache Nativity I have made.... I was inspired by one my In-laws acquired in Sicily Many years ago....
I started this when my first son was one....... and finished it a few years ago.... the painting of the figures took a great deal of time each...... The figures are between 8 or nine inches tall....so it is larger than dollhouse scale.....

The angels flying overhead stay up all year.....

actually the whole Nativity does in this house... there is nowhere to store it!

And a closer view of the Stable....made of cardboard boxes!......

With the Holy Family, the Ox and Ass and the Midwife and the Innkeeper.....

the shepherds are to the right..... and the Kings to the left......

And of course, the Nativity I drew in the Christmas Card for last year......

How many versions have I drawn over the years?

I even have stray pieces of Nativities.....

like this manger with the Baby Jesus and no-one to watch over him.....

so I always place him beside my Buddha on my Coffee table.....

under the Christmas cactus......

And a very traditional ceramic version.....

which Happens to be a good dollhouse scale......

and will someday figure in some creation of my dollhouse world......

Then there are a few tiny ceramic boxes with Nativity scenes on top........

And another one....
Who could resist a Tiny Box and Nativity together?.... NOT I!

One of my Favorite little Nativities is this Resin one which opens up........

Here you can see into the interior of the Stable past the Wise Men......

to glimpse the Baby Jesus...

And here you can see it opened.....

And a closer view of the Holy Family.....

the whole thing is not more than three inches tall.....

And of course, the Nativity I set up inside one of my Snowball ornaments.....

to hang on the Christmas Tree..... it is very hard to photograph this one......

And another Nativity within a Globe ornament.....

this one is Mexican .... inside a gourd.....

Given to me by my ex-husband's Niece..... Long ago.......

And a closer view of the Holy Family......

I have ALWAYS LOVED those Worlds inside a little shell....

Like this one.... again Mexican..... and inside an Eggshell!!!

And if we are going to count the Tiny Nativities....

then surely you MUST see the ones in my Dollhouses.....
On the Mantle of the "Folly"......

On the sideboard in the "Lovely Old Dollhouse"........

And in the Chapel of the Castle Dollhouse........

So you can see, I have an Enduring LOVE for the Nativity......
But I don't Collect them...... Truly, I Don't!

The Nativity