I hope your year is starting well, but we’re barely into this one, so we all have an open door before us.

Shep and I continue our morning walks around the yard, but it is a bit chillier now. Sometimes we’re out while it’s still dark, but the sun is beginning to come up a little earlier now. 

Flowers still come and go throughout the Winter, so I’ll share a few things with you to get the year started.

The amethyst azaleas have a touch of frostbite but are still blooming near the patio.

My two potted ferns also are showing some Winter weariness, but I’m not going to bring them in. I don’t want to deal with the shedding. If they survive, they survive. If not, I’ll buy more in the Spring.

The cold weather has changed the red bleeding heart flowers to a nice shade of fuschia. The next freeze may burn the leaves, but it won’t kill the vine. I’ll give it a good pruning in a few months, and we’ll be good to go.

Just because it’s Winter doesn’t mean the leaves have quit falling. Our water oaks will continue to shed until March. We keep tracking leaves into the house, so it’s a constant effort to keep them swept up inside and blown off the deck outside.

The front camellia is doing well this year. I almost gave up on it last year, but a good pruning has made it very happy. It has been years since I had this many blooms.

Oh, and I wanted to show you a gift from a friend down the street. I love yard art, and this hummingbird glass piece goes well with my nighttime hummingbird LED lights. Anything for a little more color.

One of my forsythias began to bloom in December. I really should cut some stems and bring them inside to force a nice yellow bouquet.

So, you see, Winter in South Alabama may not have the beauty of snowy landscapes, but we have plenty of color. Not only from the flowers but also from some spectacular sunsets recently.

From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the LORD is to be praised! -Psalm 113:3

Shalom, Dottie