I've made a few circles around the garden, there are quite a few roses that have red canes in winter-but that was before this morning's 9F. I'll have to check later on any color changes, but for now I've noted a few of the ones with green canes (very few), and of those, a few still have their leaves-also still green after all this cold weather.

Need to do a formal walkabout and make some real notes. the red canes are striking in the frosty tans, and sage greens of the cold garden. This is just a quick list.

Green leaves, and green canes:
Marie Daly, Princess..., Francis Lynn, Sympathie, Super Sparkle (Henfels), Mosel, Thalia Remontant

Red canes: Mothersday, Lisette de B., Rosa mich., and quite a few others.

Red-Brown Canes: Paris Childhood

Just a bit of sleet, and graupel, about an inch total, but very cold and windy last night starting about 3:00 in the afternoon. I missed going out for a walk yesterday after all days we've had before this dip in the jet stream from Western Canada. They say the temperatures will stay down for a few days, and then warm up quite a bit. we really do need some more rain, and probably a lot more snow. We have only had about 2 inches of rain and two inches of snow all winter long.

It started snowing this morning about 5:30; we'll see about how much we receive, but there are fluffy medium sized flakes falling, and an overly hopeful cat wants in. It's St. Knut's Day...either Jan 7/Jan 13; I'll take the Christmas decorations down today, the stollen is gone, a nice memory. It's nice to find an older custom that makes Christmas a season rather than just a few rushed days. St. Thomas Day Dec. 21 "brings Christmas" (a good time to help stock local food banks). The Christmas lights give the mornings and evenings a nice warm glow in constrast to the time of year.

It was less than 1/2 inch, it's much prettier now-we still see the tips of the brown grass so it's still a warm Christmas for us. More rose and plant lists, and to find a lotion recipe for the rose water I found on the back shelf fo the pantry a few days ago. Just in time for all the cold wind, it smelled like early summer when I opened the bottle, and made by the Shakers in Poland Spring Maine.

For the past few days I've been looking over plants, and roses, and making notes on what will take hot dry weather, and shallow rocky soil. No matter what I add near the surface, it will still be a "rock pile". Focus, and change, I certainly hope our garden can really look like it belongs here. The challenge will be to bring enough of the traditional so that it looks like a garden and not a bit of native landscape.

We have had some cold weather for the past few days, it starts with 11 to 12F and maybe warms up to 22F; even though the sumn might come out, it is still cold, and usually windy. But today and part of yesterday, were a bit different, we had some real sunshine and it got up to 40F by noon. Mr. Grntrz and I got out for a nice long walk late this afternoon.