by Marja-Leena 
The Christmas snows have melted away. Now on New Year’s Eve Day the world is whitening again. We are safe at home, playing very old games, some so old that we are having to relearn them to teach the younger family members. All good fun! Eldest daughter has had to stay longer for the highways are not safe, especially through the mountain passes.
May your celebrations be safe and joyful! Happy New Year, everyone! May it be a better year than 2016 has been for so many.
by Marja-Leena 
Jack Frost’s art on the skylights December 6th, 2016
Sunrise through the wreath, December 6th
the back garden on Snow Day, December 18th, 2016
O Christmas Tree…. December 2016
After a very wet October and November with long dark days, the three snow storms of December cheered us greatly with brightness and beauty, even at night with the Supermoon and Christmas lights coming up in the neighbourhood. Most of it has melted or washed away by some rain except for patches here and there. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve which we Finns and Germans traditionally celebrate with a feast and gift exchanges.
My dear readers may be as delighted as I am by this: Doe, A Deer, A Female Deer: The Spirit of Mother Christmas. Thanks to daughter Erika for passing it on.
I send my warmest wishes of the season to all my readers with a huge thank you for your friendship.
by Marja-Leena 
A few weeks ago I picked these lovely hydrangeas from our garden. They have aged slowly to rich dusky tones and crispiness and are still gracing our table at a time of few fresh garden flowers.
What a rainy fall we have had and still it continues. Out of the month of October, we had only three days without rain, something of a record. That is more typical for November so we are all hoping for less liquid, more sun this month! Between showers yesterday, I managed to quickly gather lots of geranium cuttings to root over the winter indoors. Lots of work still to be done tidying and preparing the garden for winter if we could have some dry days, please.
by Marja-Leena 
Hauskaa Pääsiäistä, Joyeuses Pâques, Frohes Ostern, Happy Easter and Happy Spring!
This year I’ve decided to repost one of my favourite images of hand coloured eggs as held in my hand, from my series of scans of hands with objects. Should you be interested, you may view other Easter posts via this search.
We will be having a quiet weekend with our youngest daughter. We are looking forward to a FaceTime visit with the other daughters and our granddaughters on Sunday! How about you?
by Marja-Leena 
This rare sunny morning, while I was sleeping in, my husband took several photos of the rare gorgeous frost fractals on the sloping skylights in our solarium. What a lovely gift to ring in the holiday season after weeks of extreme rain and windstorms. Even the mountain tops are capped with white icing. We are to expect more of these storms in this El Niño year.
Fortunately so far our neighbourhood has not had the severe flooding nor power outages that are sadly happening in many areas of the Pacific Northwest, despite a warning flicker now and then. The storms are of course stronger over open coastal regions often forcing cancellations of ferries and small plane flights. This happened to dear friends from Victoria visiting us last weekend which meant they had to spend the night with us, and a pleasure it was.
I wish all friends and readers a happy and safe pre-holiday period! We hope that no storms affect your holiday plans. More later….
by Marja-Leena 
Already the eleventh month of the year and the colours of fall continue to change daily. Leaves fall, the winds blow, sometimes gently sometimes stormy. Lovely days, rainy days, and everything in between. Some snow on the mountains on the Halloween weekend but no frost yet down here near the sea. The sun is lower in the sky, the shadows lengthen, the march of the seasons mark the passage of time.
by Marja-Leena 
a colourful sign of the coming change of season
by Marja-Leena 
Colchicum autumnale or fall crocus now blooming in my garden
A massive windstorm at the end of August seemed like a signal that summer is over. Powerful winds all over southwest BC created havoc with trees blown over and power outages to over 500,OOO homes. We nervously watched our two very tall evergreens shaking wildly but, other than a lot of dry needles, small branches and shredded green bits blown everywhere, they and our house survived. Our own neighbourhood got off lightly except for the internet being down for a day or so. Greatest damage seemed to have been in areas with predominantly very tall leafy trees. The tops acted like giant sails to catch the powerful wind and with dry roots from our summer’s drought, were ripped right out of the ground and onto houses, cars and powerlines. The Hydro workers were out there for several days and nights cleaning up and restoring power – they deserve our deepest thanks.
Lots of rain followed – a blessing! And it’s back to summery weather, with some days like Indian summer. We’ve enjoyed having our almost 15-year-old granddaughter visiting. I continue to be a lazy blogger, and am now also down with a bit of flu, so I continue to enjoy reading books and ignoring housework and studio! Used to be, at the beginning of September I would be going back to the print studio at our nearby university – I still miss that. Fall gardening now beckons as soon as I’m better.
by Marja-Leena 
a withered and crisply dried phalaenopsis orchid flower, still so beautiful
Can you believe it is almost the end of August? The days are noticeably shorter. Our record breaking hot and smoky summer is finally cooling a bit especially at night and with rain forecast for the coming weekend, we all hope our gardens will get a much-needed deep drink. Last fall’s new plantings did not survive this drought which means replacing them later on.
It’s been a summer of celebrations too: a nephew’s marriage in a beautiful wedding in a lovely setting, and a dear friend’s 75th birthday garden party on lovely Bowen Island with many artist friends present…both heartwarming occasions of reunions with family and friends.
by Marja-Leena 
capturing the end of these roses cut from my garden
spring came very early after a mild winter
the garden has never been more beautiful
a record drought in May and now the first heat wave of summer
local berries are also early and now in the stores
how does your garden grow?