looks like the end of my Chinese lantern

I think my Chinese lantern plant is on its last legs ...
oh well ... winter is almost here, have already had some snow flurries ...
really like the blossoms .. so unique
Do you have a special plant in your yard that makes you smile?

Holly

Icy fruits ..

Yesterday's snowfall was light enough to just make things pretty ... not like the three or four or eight feet of snow falling in the US Northeast region as part of Storm Juno 2015.

It's our lava table (a fond reminder of our life in Sicily) shows off the dusting ... it really does seem like granulated sugar has been sprinkled over it ...

Love the granada (pomegranate) ~   

Holly

Spring is coming ....

It may be snowy here ... but my tulips are starting to peek out of the ground ... Spring is on its way!

Do you see any signs of the coming season in your corner of the world?

Holly

It's snowy ... it's not ... it's .. winter in Germany

 Started snowing a few days ago ...

 

Then it cleared up and the snow all melted away ... but ....

Yesterday ... it snowed again... a little

Well .. since it was only a little, it looked pretty and didn't take long to clear the walkways in compliance with German law ...

Our sun from Thailand sports a new hair style in his place under the tree....

A light dusting on one of our potted plants on the terrace ..... while the needles of our rosemary bush on the slope caught some flakes as well...

Definitely winter in southern Germany!

What is it like in your corner of the world?

Holly

Yesterday ...

the colorful leaves are gone ... and ice crystals are the norm.    Have even had a few light snow flurries .. 


One of our neighbors has two puppies, Leo and Lilly, who just don't know what to make of the falling snowflakes.  They dance and bark and chase the flakes .... quite fun to see.

how the road looked at lunchtime .... yup, the weather is changing ....

A month ago ....

everywhere you look, 
     colorful trees and plants ....

how does your garden grow?

Part of Giovanni and Carmela's winter garden for this year....
 it just never stops.
One thing gets finished  ... pull it out and put in the next item.
They can .. and do ... grow just about everything!

What a way to wake up...

I woke up this morning to DH calling me to check out the balcony... it was snowing!!

Weeding the roof

Results of birds and prickly pears ....

DH was able to remove most of the cacti from the rain gutters... but not all.

And out like a lamb ....

Now the wildflowers are beginning to pop out ....

In like a lion ....

We had a freak storm last week ... flooding, roads washed out, power outages, stores closed the next day to recover from wind damages ...
this is our balony about 20 minutes after the storm hit Belpasso.

Hello Birdie!

Magpie (bird) looking (and finding) bugs ... lots of bugs.
Magpies are super common  here and in southern Spain ...
Indy hates them ... they like to dive bomb her

Sunrise on Groundhog Day

woke up really early this morning ... watched the sunrise while Indy drank bird-flavo​red water (from the bird bath)

Etna erupts again

Etna has been erupting off and on all year long ...

This was taken from the end of our street last Friday.

We live about a third of the way up the side of Etna....

the few lava overflows there are go down the other side of the mountain.

Carmela's flowers

Not a clue what this plant is ....but Carmela grows several on the front steps of our building. 

The pods are about two inches long and the entire stalk is about two feet long.  There are a bunch of the stalks on each plant and soon all of them will be covered with these pods.

Spring's slowly coming ....

Almond blossoms ... guess Spring really is coming to the island this year

Spring is starting to arrive ...

Saw this cactus flowering on our way home from work on Saturday ... Spring is slowing coming to the island

Sunny Sicily isn't

This was taken around noon on Friday ...

ROSE IN THE RAIN

One of Carmela's (our landlady) roses after a rainshower the other day.   She has more than a green thumb ... her whole body is green.  She could make a dead stick come back to life.

INDY IN HER KITTY-GRASS

Indy napping in her kitty-grass.

She's a Spanish Siamese and not the normal sleek, aloof Siamese one normally thinks of.  She likes people (after she gets to know you).