0It’s February and for the first time since we moved in, it’s been snowing!

It’s about -5 C here. The ornamental artichokes in the garden that managed to survive December and January are finally succumbing to the cold. Everything is brown or about to be and one morning we greeted this bizarre scene.

Yes, that’s the moon hanging over our old Christmas tree, heading to bed at 8:00 AM!

The newly planted trees are hopefully cozy in their green Kälteschütz tape wrapped around the stems. The ground is mostly snow covered, which also provides protection for the new roots against the drying cold.

Happily we have seen the sun peek above the horizon on a few days and have seen many migrating birds — though they seem to be heading south, having been surprised by sudden winter.