I suppose many of you have heard of the icy weather that has much of northern and eastern Europe in its grip. First of all a cold front from Russia stretched across to Germany, then a hurricane brought snow and icy rain (and took down our old pussy willow too), and now another cold front from Norway is rushing down our way.
This Monday, as I join Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for her lovely meme, I briefly considered filling a vase with snow, but that’s a bit boring and I couldn’t bring it indoors. So once again my vase this week contains materials from my garden that were collected and saved in the summer months…
Cones from our fir trees: pine, larch and spruce.
Also on my windowsill a beautiful red amaryllis is teasing me, opening so very very slowly. I am hoping it will be fully open for next Monday. I wonder if you have any flowers on your windowsills?
Have a good week, and stay warm and dry!
Words and Herbs 
I love your selection of cones Cathy – so interesting to see them side by side and compare the size and arrangement of the scales on them. Thank you for sharing them and hope your icy weather is not making life too difficult for you at the moment. How are the roads in your part of the country?
Hi Cathy. As you can imagine, Germany is pretty geared up to the bad weather in winter so the roads near us were mostly fine. I have ‘winter tyres’ too, which certainly make a difference in snow! In fact, walking is harder than driving at the moment, so doggie walks have been temporarily shifted to a flatter route!
Oh dear, I hope things will warm up soon. I love your study in brown.
I don’t mind the cold as long as we get some sunshine occasionally, which seems to be the case today! 🙂
A nice collection of cones Cathy, we have some huge ones that came from a tree in my Great Aunts garden. They sit in the fire place giving it a seasonal look.
Thanks Brian. I will certainly collect some more from walks this summer, as they really do look nice close up.
This is great. I love the wooden tray. Various cones make me stop and think of each tree. No flowers needed.
🙂 I like to be reminded of the larch, which is possibly my favourite tree, along with birch, willow, oak….. 😉
[D] It’s so good that you can gather these lovely cones from trees in your own garden! I love the feel and smell of pine cones!
These have been hanging around for some timw now so don’t have that lovely scent any more, but I know what you mean. My sister gave me a lovely candle that smells of pine forests and log fires, so that is second best. 🙂
Sounds like Mother Nature is batting you around these days! Stay warm.
I keep baskets and bowls of pinecones as decorations, too. They are so beautiful to look at, each species unique. I even have a few giant (8-12″) Ponderosa pinecones my son brought me from California, whose shape is reminiscent of mini-Christmas trees.
They do make lovely accessories at any time of year. I shall have to extend this collection this year!
There’s such a warm and cheery glow about your cones, Cathy. I keep a bowl on a sunny window sill with huge cones collected on Lantau island, the sight of them glowing in the winter sunshine always lifts my spirits.
How exotic! It is the bits and pieces from my garden, dotted around the house, that make me smile in winter too. 🙂
Your pinecones make a fine display Cathy. I too have bulbs I am patiently waiting on; some Hyacinths. I considered sharing them for this week’s post but although the flower spikes are showing, they are still very green. Like you, I am hoping they will be ready for next Monday, though no doubt by then they will be flopping all over the place as they tend to do. I hope the weather isn’t too cruel to you this week!
I am so tempted to buy some hyacinths for my front doorstep, but it might be wiser to wait another week or so until our big freeze is over. My Amaryllis has partly opened this morning and looks beautiful even now!
Hooray for the Amaryllis! I hope it will be looking at its best come Monday. Yes I imagine the Hyacinths wouldn’t appreciate the weather you’re having at the moment!
Oh I hope that you are managing to stay warm and snug Cathy. A good chance to catch up on all those indoor jobs and maybe to read the odd book or two. How wonderful it must be to have your own supply of pine cones on your doorstep. I bought a big bag of cones home with me from our last holiday and used them as part of a seasonal pot pourri. Such a variation in size and that tray is the perfect setting for them.
It is warm inside Anna, and I have indeed rediscovered the pleasure of reading over the last few weeks! 🙂 (Any book tips welcome!)
I love the cones, I have a collection myself – from much further north. I hope you have a lovely hearth and a warm cup of something to drink while you read under a cozy blanket.
Oh yes, we are keeping nice and cosy indoors Amy, and I have finally read a couple of books on my list too!
Quite the opposite here, living on my screen porch!
Cold here too. Trying to ride it out and wait for Spring. I like your pine cones; they remind me of a warm Autumn afternoon which would be almost a s nice as Spring.
That’s true, autumn can be just as pleasant as spring. Hope you are keeping warm too Nancy!
The right time of the year to show off the beauty of cones!
They make a nice focus point in winter! 🙂
Very creative thinking…a grand display. Stay warm!
Thank you John!
Those warm tones are welcome with the world frozen outside.
And they look particularly pretty next to the fireplace. 😉
A snowy hurricane – yikes!!! The pine cones have a comforting presence about them. Stay warm and safe, Cathy!
Thanks Kris. Our weather has calmed down now and is just very frosty but sunny!
I’m sorry about the willow, Cathy. The cold has arrived here too yesterday evening, I hate it. Your arrangement made me smile as I’ve done a very similar thing pn our windowsill after putting the xmassy stuff away, the only difference is that I added some star-shaped fairy lights. Bon courage, my dear, we’ll get over it, keep snug and warm 🙂
We had tried to save the willow last spring as it had been badly damaged and the woodpeckers had moved in on it. A lot was chopped off, which at least meant it didn’t hit our roof when it came down! Hope you are staying warm too Annette!
Your fir cones are just as lovely and interesting as any flowers could be and perhaps the lack of flowers now make us all appreciate them when they do appear. I can remember being a bit bored with picking all the Zinnias by the end of summer. Your choice of try is perfect too. We’re getting the tail end of all the cold weather here. No more snow but the icy winds just don’t stop blowing.
You are right. I am sure I will be jumping up and down when I see my first hellebore or crocus, or even a solitary snowdrop! Yes, that cold wind is nasty. But the sun has made an appearance today! 🙂
Ooh lovely. I can never resist collecting cones (and conkers and leaves…)
I’m like that too! 🙂
Cathy, I had to smile at the idea of a vase of snow. Maybe you could fill it with snow and tip it over in homage to the hurricane? Okay, enough silliness. I hope you get a bit of a reprieve from the bitter cold. The pine cones looks warm and inviting in there lovely brown hues.
LOL! I think we will need a big fire in the fireplace tonight or tomorrow as the heating can’t manage to keep us warm on its own! 😉
Oh dear, it really is cold when your heater can’t do an adequate job. That said, there is nothing quite like the warmth and light from a fire. That sounds lovely, Cathy. Enjoy!
I certainly have heard about the freezing temperatures you’ve been experiencing. What a difference just a few short weeks can make! Your frozen landscape is beautiful in its own way, but I can understand why it wouldn’t be enjoyable to stand outside and try to capture photographs! Your small collection this week is very lovely and just perfect for the season, Cathy. Stay warm indoors. 🙂
Thank you Debra. The sun is just going down below the hill on the opposite side of the valley (3.30pm) but we have noticed the days getting longer, and it is light till about 5.30 pm now, so it should warm up soon. 🙂
Another pine cone collector! They look so good on that nice tray too. I like the idea of a snow cone too 😉
Maybe next week – the snow is hanging around for a while yet!