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A Closer Look at Winter Damage

But first, take a look at this gorgeous rainbow that we had on Friday! The five-day stretch of warm temperatures last week really jump-started the garden. Now that plants are putting out new growth, it is easier to see what kind of damage the winter left. Back in mid-January, we experienced five straight days of below-freezing temperatures. This caused much damage in Portland and areas where frigid winds were a factor. Here, we were fortunate to not get the wind and the cold temperatures were dampened by a blanket of snow. That said, it was a tough time for the garden and there are noticeable casualties but no outright deaths that I have seen. The bottlebrush ( Callistemon 'Woodlander's Red') did not like the cold at all. It was planted six years ago, in the north-facing garden no less, and I've not experienced die-back on it until now. A local expert said to cut it all the way back so that is what I did. If it doesn't make it, I won't be too distraught. It is

Experimenting with night photography

We are still snowed in and I'm not complaining. The hardest part is trying to decide what to do - do I want to work on a website, bake, watch a movie or read? Decisions, decisions. I love being cooped up like this. The light inside the house from the bright snow reflecting from outside is so wonderful. It gives me such a comforting and peaceful feeling.

Last night, I took some photos out the window using really long exposures. Here are the results.

This photo was taken from the dining room window. I think this Japanese Maple (Booskoop Glory) is one of the most beautiful trees in the garden when covered with snow.



Looking out another dining room window, this one facing north, is the little garden underneath a Yoshino Cherry tree where I have an urn fountain. That is a dentist's office across the street from us.



Another window, another room, still looking north. Our little vegetable garden is to the left and the urn fountain garden is to the right.



Below, this photo was taken looking out the front glass storm door. The vine hanging from above is Jackson Vine (Smilax smallii) and the conifer directly ahead is Colorado Blue Spruce. The lumps on each side, in front of the mailbox, are the lion statues. The shadows are from a street light.



I had to step out on the front stoop to get this shot, looking across the front garden toward the street light. The tree on the right is a Heritage River Birch and the tree to the left is an October Glory Maple.



I really appreciate the comments about my photography but of course, I'm never satisfied. I have a question for people who use Blogger. I find that after I make my postings, my photos are not as crisp and sharp as they are beforehand. Does anyone know why this is and what to do about it? I don't upload my photos from Blogger but put them on my server and link to them that way. If you have any suggestions, please let me know!

Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy

Comments

  1. I love these pictures. The plays of shadow and light are so interesting.

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  2. Everything looks so magical! Have you tried uploading your photos from blogger?

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  3. Just beautiful. And you say that they're even clearer than this? Gorgeous.

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  4. Darla, I've tried uploading them directly from Blogger and they don't look as good.

    Thanks LKT and Jennifer!

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  5. Well it was just a thought and seriously I don't know how they could look any better!

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  6. I had the same problem with my photos. I have increased the photo size to TIFF or just below (I wish I knew what this is called - novice with the terminology) and the photos come out much cleaner on upload.

    I love your night time photos. It looks like almost daytime.

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  7. What beautiful photos. Love the way the light plays against the snow and the shadows.

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  8. Dem bones look delicious all heaped up with snow sugar. Excuse me, I don't know what came over me. It must be that I have been cooped up all day watching it snow some more. Ha.. Love your photos. I have no idea what is with Blogger. It is a mystery to me.

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  9. I wish I had an answer for you Phillip. Nonetheless, the photos are beautiful! there is a glow, a wonderful "warmth" about them.

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  10. I've ridden around Tuscumbia the last couple of afternoons after getting off at ECM taking pictures of historical places. Ivy Green was locked yesterday and I forgot to check today. Can't wait to download my picture of Locust Hill. I hope I still had permission from the owners to trespass. Mary

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  11. Great night photographs! I especially like the one out the front storm door...the lighting and shadows make it even more magical. We are stuck at home too and enjoying every minute of it!

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  12. Nice! I love taking snow pics at night...though the opportunities here are few and far between ;-) Glad you're enjoying your snow days...there's nothing like that "forced relaxation"!

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  13. Really nice (and you must have very clean windows)! I can't believe how much snow you all got! We got mostly ice but it is COLD! I have no idea about the photos. I guess I always expect the photos to look worse when posted anyway. If you find out how to fix it, do let me know.

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  14. Great Pictures! The snow is so beautiful. You captured your garden in a perfect winter light.

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  15. I cannot believe all of the snow you have. It does look lovely in the light.
    You might want to download Windows Live to post your postings. The pictures Do not get distorted from using it.It is easy to use and you can do all sorts of things to your pictures with it.

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  16. how beautiful! I'm a small time amateur and really appreciate good art. I only hope I can be as good some day.

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  17. I cannot believe how much snow ya'll got this time around. I am a tinge on the jealous side.......but knowing what havoc it would play on the locals here in Charleston, best to enjoy it from afar!!!

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  18. These are wonderful! Love 'em, love 'em, love 'em.

    But I'm afraid I can't agree with you on the joys of being cooped up...

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  19. the photos are beautiful! I love the last two, the light is very cool.

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  20. It does look so pretty still all covered in snow. I upload mine from blogger and they never look as crisp as they do when I look at them in i photo. If you figure out how to do it I'd love to know, but I think yours look beautiful.

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  21. Hi...thought I'd respond to your question on posting photos here as well as my blog:
    I believe it is Blogger, if you upload pics directly into it, it scales them and leads to some nasty artifacts. I also use Flickr to upload and organize my photos. You can just grab the HTML address for the images and paste them into your blog posts (you can even specify the exact size if you want). I believe you can try it out for free, as long as you keep your total uploads under a certain amount, beyond that, I think it's $25/year for a membership...I could be off on that, however. Hope that helps!

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  22. Phillip, you've actually made snow look appealling! I'm not a winter fan, but I live in the north so I have to deal with it every year. The light is lovely in these shots, thanks for sharing them.

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  23. With Wordpress I can upload pictures directly into my posts, so I'm not of any help. Wish I didn't go to work in the dark so I could have gotten some day shots early Monday. I got a lot of the historical homes in Tuscumbia after work, but I didn't have much time left before it got dark. I'll post those later. Mary

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  24. Lovely, lovely photos Phillip! Thank you for posting/sharing! Snow has always held a magical quality for me and your pictures are confirmation!

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  25. Fun photos Phillip and oh so pretty! I enjoyed the snow and I am thrilled that it has melted! gail

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  26. Beautiful Phillip!

    We were without internet service for several days. Good to catch up with you. I love being cooped up, too.

    Take Care!

    Rebecca

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  27. Perhaps, and I'm really not sure, but assuming you shoot RAW I don't know if blogger accepts them,big file so coverts to JPEG, or something like that.

    Your night shots are spot on. I've tried some this winter simply on Intelligent Auto but they're not great. I think the 'bitty' quality is called 'noise'.

    Anyway, enjoy your artic blast.

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  28. Phillip, I had that problem once with blogger too. I made my photos extra large and then they come out better. I email my photos to myself then save them to a folder and then upload them with the blogger tools. Lovely night photos here!

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