Ice Bloom

Echinacea blooms covered in ice during last week's freezing drizzle.  We are very laid back gardeners (lazy?).  Dead-heading we never do, and seldom get around to cleaning up a bed after the season is over.  Dried seeds feed the birds.  They also usually reseed and/or spread the flowering plants.

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Ice Bloom

American Sweetgum balls (Liquidambar styraciflua)

Icy Sweetgum balls.

Last Thursday was a day of freezing rain and drizzle.  We feared the accumulation might be enough to break limbs or bring down power lines, but we lucked out and only received a light coating of ice.

The porch that stretches along the south side of our house was a little icy too.
There was enough wind to blow freezing drizzle most of the way across the porch.  

It's about eight feet to the ground on the high end.

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American Sweetgum balls (Liquidambar styraciflua)

Icy Waterfall

During the extremely cold temperatures earlier this month (down into the low single digits here), the little waterfall behind our house did a lot of freezing.

Inside the overhang looking out.

The waterfall is on a little winter (i.e. drainage) creek.  While it is in our more or less in our "backyard", our house is one the same level as the top of the falls.  One must still climb down into a ravine to get a good look at the falls.

Lots of icicles hanging down from the ceiling of the overhand.

Ice "flowing" over the edge of the falls.

The little winter creek that feeds the falls.

Falls from the top side.

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Icy Waterfall

Dandelion at Gilbert, AR

My first wildflower of 2014. Yeah, I'm easy. I'll take any bit of color I can get during the middle of winter, even a "lowly" dandelion.  This one was blooming in Gilbert, AR.  Jo and I found it while taking our New Year's Day hike along the Buffalo National River.

Dandelion at Gilbert, AR