Venturing Out

Mornings here continue icy and I find myself donning coat, scarf and gloves to get to the gym to do my mile on the treadmill at nine. The first morning without my Kodi companion, the frozen water in a pot on the deck looked like this...  I tried to make something magical and uplifting of it but only got images of bugs flying. Tears fell on the ice but did not change the pattern.  

Speaking of bugs, the question of what to do with my rather narrow and colorless back yard is beginning to bug me so last week I googled an old friend, Jennifer Chandler, who once was a landscape architect in Napa. "Yes", she replied, at first failing to tell me she was currently working in Bhutan, and we would do it long distance.  

So I skipped the gym today and drove to town, admiring the thick frost on the grasses and vineyards and trying to see which plants seem to thrive in this climate.  I miss my camellias which must be in grand color in Oakland.  I haven't settled on any yet, but I did see some Mexican ceramics to grace the garden that made me smile