at first light...

it was fun to see what yesterday's storm made the winter garden look like, snow clinged at all sorts of weird angles on everything after being whipped around by the wind for 24 hours. This morning it was -13F with windchills of -35F and now at 10 am the sun is shining brightly but it is still -10F out. I took all these photos at first light through the warmth of my windows because that is when I see the most wildlife activity so the photo quality is not the best. First off, my morning view of the cabin on candy cane lane.The snow piled high on one of the trellis bird houses.
The back of the garden...
where the wind whipped upside down snow cones on the top of the arbor.
The path to the gazebo where you can see the garden flag whipped up and frozen in place...
and the pineapple top of the birdfeeder pole retaining it's shape in snow.
Remember yesterday morning's photo of the chickadee feeding at the feeder pole wreath? I managed to capture another one feeding this morning...
while a house sparrow was trying to dig out seeds from the cabin feeder.
Near the gazebo, the shovel cranes looked like they had snow shovels on their heads.And it didn't take long for a hen pheasant to show up for breakfast...
soon she was joined by two companions.

It was fun to watch this little goldfinch this morning. His feet must have been cold and he rotated perching with one leg while he fed.
As you can see our snowfall amounts weren't more than a couple of inches, it was the wind that caused all of yesterday's chaos.

birds in the snow...

At times during the storm today we could only see about 50-100 ft out the front windows but the backyard is more protected from the wind by the evergreens and grove so it was fun to watch all the birds in the snow. A white breasted nuthatch watches me stand at the window...and the wind was rustling quite a few little feathers as this goldfinch grabbed a bite to eat.
These guys came to the feeder with the snow stuck around their heads & faces...
this one looks cold!
The following photos are not very clear but show the highlight of my day. Joseph is alive and well and has survived the hunting season so far! I have seen him occasionally this fall but it took the snow for him to come searching out the corn buffet.
He scratched out the pile at the treeline before...
inviting a lady friend to join him.
I can't wait for more and more sightings of him - wouldn't it be great if he got brave enough to come to the pile under the Christmas tree? Now that would make my week, month, year!

a snowy day

My area of MN is in a blizzard warning today so it is a good day to stay warm inside.
This weekend, the darling bakers held another challenge and our assignment was to bake cookies and show a few of our holiday decorations.
For all of my central MN readers who are familiar with the Cold Spring bakery's chocolate topped macaroons, I made my own version this weekend. I just have to tell you, these are so much better - I won't have to stop on my shopping exursions to pick them up anymore! The recipe and my darling baker post can be found here at wfd and more.
If you have been following wfd and more you have seen that my friend, Barb (Foley) is baking 16 different kinds of cookies/candies in the 16 days leading up to Christmas. Chocolate Mint Puddles were her #2 of 16 and I knew they would be a must try for me. I made her original recipe with andes mints on top but also created this variation with candy cane kisses melted on top. Those and one more cookie are also on the link to yesterday's post.
The snow is already starting to fall here and the feeders are filling up with snow. This poor junco...
got just as much snow as seeds in each mouth full!
The feeders are busy as all the birds are stocking up before the high winds strike. This downy was even brave enough to come to the window feeder...see the red fur in the background?
The birds aren't the only ones filling up for the storm.
I walked to to the other room and saw there was another one on the feeders in the backyard. I opened the window to take his photo and off to the grove he ran...
he thought he was hiding but I could still see him :-)
If you are having storms in your area, stay warm and cozy. At our house during snowstorms anything goes (no work, just fun) so I've already had a macaroon for breakfast (these will never last until Christmas) :-)

Christmas coming on...

It's nice with Christmas coming on...
The harvest safe in barn and shed;
The windows battened snug and tight;
The bulbs and seedlings put to bed
Under a layer of leaves and hay
Beneath a wide old spreading tree.

With Christmas coming cold and white,
How good a fire feels at night.
(Edna Jaques)
It's beginning to look and feel like Christmas here on Candy Cane Lane.
The night time bunnies are not the only creatures that like the corn buffet under their own Christmas tree...

The smells of Christmas were also in the house as I baked a couple of Advent Cranberry Cakes yesterday...so tart and sweet at the same time with the rich & buttery carmel sauce.
More details and the recipe posted here at my post on wfd and more.

December...

"Love awoke one winter's night
And wander'd through the snowbound land,
And calling to beasts and birds
Bid them his message understand.

And from the forest all wild things
That crept or flew obeyed love's call,
And learned from him the golden words
Of brotherhood for one and all."
(Author Unknown)



Scenes from last night and this morning. I have a busy day but wanted to post some of the beauty around me before I get back to work. Enjoy!

more about me...

I think everyone that reads my blog knows that I am a bird and nature lover...but did you know that I am also a "darling baker"?
When the long MN winter hits, I sometimes need something to occupy my time and about 2 years ago I found a cooking forum and became great cyber friends with an AMAZING bunch of women. We would discuss WFD (what's for dinner) and take photos of our food to show the others. We would have "themed" cook off's where we all made the same thing on the same night and showed fun series of photos of the cyber dinner party with each other. Sounds weird, I know...but what fun it is! They have inspired two MN farm kids who grew up on meat/potatoes/plain veggies (usually corn, peas, beans & carrots) to develop a taste for a new wonderful world of food. I'm glad I married a man who is game to try anything once. Anyways, about a month ago we started a group blog where we can each post and keep the comments together rather then scrolling back and forth on the forum. Our first challenge as the group of "darling bakers" was to make Homemade Marshmallows.
I used the Martha Stewart recipe which my friend, Carol, also used so you can find the recipe HERE. You make them one day and they need to dry for 12 hours before you can cut them. I made squares, snowflakes, holly leaves and bell shapes. The squares were so I could create my own version of a smore person to pose with the rest of my figurines.
Add in a delicious cup of hot cocoa and
watch a snowflake melt into ooey, gooey deliciousness!
As Martha would say...homemade marshmallows or in this case...homemade marsha-mallows
it's a good thing!
So from now on the Marsha's Garden of Life blog will occasionally show my other side as well :-) My marshmallows are nothing compared to the fruit & chocolate flavored ones, dipped in chocolate ones and amazing presentations of the rest of this talented group. I'm late with my posting because I was gone for the weekend but check them out here at wfd and more and scroll down to see everyone's efforts. Like I said, Amazing...Enjoy!

a busy time...

Where have I been? Well, it certainly wasn't washing my windows as you can see! We are really busy with business year end stuff so I have "forced myself" to stay off blogs and get my work done. I put a window feeder up right above my computer screen and I have frequent visitors that give me small breaks.
As soon as I get this week's projects done I am going to start decorating the house for the Christmas season and hopefully get a tree over the weekend, so I will be back to blogging next week.