First Snowfall

Fall has made its inevitable turn into winter; at least for the time being. This morning we shoveled the heavy snow that accumulated during the night. I would say about 4 inches at the most. Definitely not six inches since at that point the snow removal service takes over. Ann already cleared the sidewalks by the time I bundled up and made my appearance.  I didn't use the snow blower because the snow contained a high level of water.  Plus I am always reluctant to use the Snow Commander, because my clothes smell like an oil refinery afterward. 

I ventured to the Prospect Gardens eager to see the effects of winter. Today UW plays Northwestern. Pictured to the right are loyal fans making their way through the Gardens and to Camp Randall, about two block east. A former colleague, Chad and his brother, two nephews and their Grandfather, are attending the game and parked their vehicle in our driveway. Chad is from Oshkosh and his brother and family are from Kalamazoo, Michigan.

They were all bundled up in warm clothes, well prepared for the cold of Camp Randall stadium. As the family made final preparation Chad and I caught up with the news regarding the UW Extension Center. I worked with Chad and other Center staff.

Here are five pictures revealing how the snow has transformed Gardens into a winter wonderland.

Seed pods of the Purple Cone flowers now have caps of white cotton. The brown stems stand out in sharp contrast to the white snow. 

 The reddish-brown stag horns of the Japanese Sumac crown to what struck me as an abstract Christmas tree.  Anybody recall the 1960's flocked Christmas tree craze?  As teenagers, my sister Angie and I were even swept-up in the frenzy. We attempted to "flock" a tree in the basement of our farm home using an old vacuum cleaner. We plugged the hose in the exhaust, as instructed in the kit, that somehow we convinced our reluctant mother to buy. The end result did not come close to what we imagined or to the picture of the flocked tree on the front of the kit.    

 Here is the forsythia with its own "flocking." Mother nature is much more skilled at flocking than my sister and me.

 Raspberry plants transformed into triangles and cotton balls.

 

This late blooming Black Eyed Susan is frozen into a sculpture of green, yellow and white. The effect almost looked like glass from above.

So winter, at least for the next few days, will be our companion. The forecast calls for slowly rising temperatures with a high of 51 on Thanksgiving.  The winter wonderland of Prospect Gardens will surely disappear.