Winter Wonderland....

 

Snow That Sticks Around....

We have been having a Somewhat snowy Winter, Dear Readers, mostly because it has been so cold that even the very tiny amounts of snow that have fallen don't melt even on sunny days! And most of those amounts have been what are called "a dusting"..... not really even measurable! But on a couple of occasions we have had a more robust amount collect, five even six inches have piled up. And almost every time the beautiful early morning before the snow is blown off the trees and bushes we have that magical "Winter Wonderland" outside our doors! And so I wanted to remind you of the beauty of this by bringing out the Winter Lilac Shrub and showing the fresh snowfall at The Folly Dollhouse. (Yes, it snowed here in RL a couple of nights ago!) Do you even remember the epic 18 months process of building the Lilac Shrub in four seasonal versions? The entire reason for this idea was so that I could show you The Folly in Winter as well as Spring and Summer! And once this idea had come to pass, it necessitated that all The Folly Garden flora be produced in seasonal variations. Above you can see the Lilac in it's Winter finery. But as some of you are aware, this year I have added the Rhododendron Shrub to this Garden, with the flowering shrub in May and the Summer Green one in July... all I needed to do was make the Winter version, right?

Oh Look! The sun is coming out as we stand here!

Isn't it beautiful?

And if we step back just a little....

 

Wait... is that Snow on the Rhododendron too????

Heavens, what a beautiful sight!

 

Wow!

 

Well, Dear Readers, this is the reason I go to so much trouble!

It just is so darn beautiful!

(And I wouldn't want to have to give up on the May blossoms either!)

And no, I am not quite Super Woman and

 already made the third Rhododendron shrub...

 I took the already "finished" summer leafy one

 and just added the snow to it!

This is partly because I was not satisfied 

with the "end product" of the Summer one... 

the leaves were not quite assembled to make

 the best "dense coverage" possible

 and so it always looked a bit sparse to me.

I was going to need to start over with a different leaf attaching plan.

But rest assured, I have been making leaves!

 

All Fall and well into December

 I continued the daily leaf batch factory.

There are more than 50 batches in the above dish.... 

(each batch is forty leaves)

just waiting for me to get out the glue and start attaching leaves!

And, of course, the sun didn't stick around long.... 

it faded back into the overcast sky...

 

But I don't mind....

 it just means the snow will stick around for a while!

And I can give it the attention it deserves!

Oh, and I see Mr. Gnome is out to have a look as well!

(His home is hidden in the Garden somewhere....!)

 

And in case you wanted to see my RL garden, Dear Readers,

with the snow not melting because of the cold.... 

it has not gone above freezing for days

 and has been down to -9 degrees Fahrenheit the other morning!

(That is nine below zero fahrenheit!)

 

The view from my window!

 

And back in December, the picture perfect snowfall

 coated my RL Rhododendron with 

exactly the evidence I needed 

to complete my Winter Wonderland Rhododendron!

Isn't it gorgeous?

 

And the close up view.... 

just so you know I am not making this up!

It's the Real Winter Wonderland, Dear Readers,

Even if this snow did not stick around

Quite as long as the mini snow will!

Snow....!

 

Just A Touch of Winter....

I Hope you will Understand, Dear Readers, that it has to happen at least once a year, or all the effort would have been wasted! I refer here, to pulling out the "Snowy Lilac Bush" and creating a Winter Wonderland in the yard of The Folly dollhouse! As you can see above, it snowed quite a lot! As some of you remember, this lilac shrub was part of the Epic series of Lilac Shrubs that I created, one for each season of the year (sort of... there is no "Autumn Lilac" because they just drop their leaves overnight at the beginning of Winter), but four Lilac bushes were created and the "Snowy Lilac" was actually the first to be completed, being the easiest one to complete having no leaves or blossoms. I put it ahead of the "Bare Winter Lilac Bush" because I was so eager to see if the snow would look okay on the stems. And if you have ever spent time in the North with Lilac bushes, you will know they spend many months with bare stems, and only a few magical days "dusted" with snow! 

 

Of course, it is Winter, and gloomy so you will have to

 excuse the dark and poorly focused pictures...

 

As you can see, nobody has come out.... 

Nobody is going anywhere in this weather!

Oh, beg your pardon, Mr. Gnome, 

I didn't see you under all that snow!

"Hmmph...!" declared Mr. Gnome, grumpily. 

"Don't know where else I'd be. It's not as if 

anybody was building me a Home or anything... 

Not that I'm complaining mind you," he muttered.

"Ah, yes," I replied.... "about that home thing... 

I still have a few tasks ahead of that in the list...!

 The Tree House isn't quite done and there is a Rhododendron

 or three in the process...you might have to be

 patient a little longer..." I added apologetically.

"Hmmph" replied Mr. Gnome.

 

"I'm sure you could hide in "The Glass House".... 

I added hastily, "I'm sure nobody would mind!"

But he was no longer talking to me, Dear Readers, 

and I have other things to see to....

So I hope you don't mind if I rush off now.... 

the Christmas Card is not quite finished...

But I thought you would like to see just a touch of Winter...

Snow!

And yes, we had a touch of Winter in RL too!

This fell on Sunday, although it is going to pour rain all night tonight.

A Brief touch of Winter!

On A Cloud-e Day......

I've Got Sunshine.....

I am sure that All of you, Dear Readers, will know the Happy anticipation that comes with packages arriving at your house at this time of year! And sometimes when the box is from someone you have received packages from more than once, you can feel special excitement because you know you will Love the contents once they are revealed. And such was the case with the box that arrived from Dear Birgit in Germany, even though I had to wait a couple of extra days and collect it from the Post Office when it was open last Saturday, a Cloudy and rainy day! Imagine my surprise when it was "bulkier" than usual.... and there was an extra specially wrapped box inside.... What could this be....?

Well, perhaps you can imagine my Surprise

 when I opened the box to find this smiling fellow inside!!!

Well, he came with a card explaining his name is "Cloude"

which is a play on the name
"Claude" and the Cloud Palace where

 the Fairy Bears all live over here.

Of course, when I thanked Birgit,

 I forgot to add the "e" to his name... 

and just wrote "Cloud"..... 

(Which got me a little bit in trouble!)

But meanwhile, Cloude was so happy

 to be out of his box, and so eager to go exploring....

 

He dropped by The Folly... 

(it really was a Cloud-y Day!)

But no-one was home so he continued on...

No-one was home at The Tree House either....

but there was plenty of Snow... 

so he felt right at home already!

He Dropped in at the Cloud Palace Tower Garden

 to admire the mini silver tree...

but no-one was here either.

On top of the Cloud Palace Lookout Tower

 he found some tea and cakes...

But no-one was there either!

At last he found his way into The Cloud Palace Living Room

 where All the Fairy Bearys were still admiring

 the perfect Silver Tinsel Tree.....!

"Oh, Hullo" he said.

 "My name is Cloude, with an E" he added, just to be sure.

"I've come from BiWuBarenLand, and I bring greetings!"

And Believe it or not, Dear Readers, 

Just then the sunshine burst through the Clouds

 and filled the room with Light!

Well, really, Dear Readers, 

knowing these BiWuBaren Beings as I do... 

I was not so surprised...

That Cloud-with-an-e brought Sunshine!!

 

Thank you again, Dear Birgit!

I am So touched and Surprised!

 

 

(Now back to work on the Christmas Card!)