First Snowfall

Snow came!

We hadn't finished our winterizing chores yet. EEK!

Everything was covered up....for a day or two at least.

sumac 

slope grasses

those blooms are still trying, despite the cold! 

You can see how much it has already melted off--this was just a few hours later.

Yes, this also illustrates that we still need to finish winterizing! 

 Oregano and basil

Mockorange loveliness.

Staghorn Sumac

Ever since we moved here, I thought this little shrub on the back slope next to the garden was a mountain ash. For some reason....not sure why, now.

I found one just like it at the nursery and realized that it is actually a staghorn sumac. 

The two are not really very similar, now that I know more about the sumac.

Oops! Oh well. Glad to know the real name.

 It's funny how just knowing for sure what it is has made me like it even that much more. It's like greeting a friend vs. an aquaintance.

Here you can see one of my favorite things about it:

the new growth is so fuzzy!

Other favorites traits:

those strange but cool seed heads

the gorgeous fall leaf colors

the fact that we haven't killed it off yet with all of our wall-building and dirt-moving projects around it

Sumac & guillardia

Mountain ash--flowers?

Not sure if they are considered flowers, but they're pretty cool looking.

And pretty, too.

[10/2012: just discovered this is actually a staghorn sumac. The red parts are seeds]

 

Guillardia on east side. July 23

Guillardia again, not quite a week later. July 27

Aren't these green fuzzballs great?

I didn't realize that's what the blossoms became after they faded.

I need to find a better place for these where they can be properly appreciated.

Mountain Ash

...and Diamond.
This is on the far end of our garden boxes, right at the bottom of the slope.  If it grows to its full height, it will probably shade the garden.  Which means it should come out or be transplanted. But it has such pretty color, I'm thinking now perhaps it would be worth it to transplant it to the East side yard while it's still small enough to handle.

[10/2012: recently found out this is actually a staghorn sumac, so it probably won't grow too much taller.]