Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Corylopsis sinensis: Winterhazel..... look at those curious fruits!



Hey I'm a sucker for dehiscent dry fruits. This one isn't quite so geometrical as the Trochedendron I posted a week ago but its curved bilateral symmetry has almost a more organic feel. Of course I might not notice them at all surrounded by the floral bounty of spring or among the glorious colors of fall, or even in the heat of summer, but that's okay because they're here now. And we need to find things in the winter garden to provide the delight that comes so easily in other seasons.

It snowed a bit today, maybe an inch and a half. After a hiatus of a few hours it is supposed to come back with snow, sleet, and freezing rain. Oh boy. The days are getting longer though. This is the last day for months when we will only add 1 minute. From now on out we gain either 2 or occasionally 3 minutes a day until sometime in late May. The sun is slowly moving higher in the sky and on Groundhog day (next week!) the average daily low temperature will rise from 27 to 28F degrees and the average daily high will go from 43 to 44F. These are, of course, baby steps but on cold snowy days I need something to grasp at!

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