Around the House: November 2022

The weather was lovely at the beginning of November so I took advantage of the weather and spent as much time outside as possible. Outdoor gardening opportunities have finished for the winter months, but there is still lots to see and hear in the garden.

There was a large murmuration or chattering of starlings in the back trees. Such a lovely sound to hear.

Several days later we had our first wet snowfall of the season. Most of it melted away but it is a taste of what is to come in the coming weeks.

It seemed appropriate to share my pattern for larger plastic canvas snowflakes on that day. The first snow always makes me feel like getting the winter decorations out.

And just two days later we had another snowfall, this time heavier than the first one, so much so that the snowblower got its first workout of the season.

Colder days make me want to cook comfort food, and cottage pie is one of our favourites. I also cooked some gluten free macaroni & cheese.

Winter embroidery happened as well. I’m a tea drinker so enjoyed this pattern of a snowflake teacup. Check the post for the source of the pattern.

Indoors the holiday cactus has started to bloom. The shape of the leaves determines what type of cactus it is. We tend to refer to them all as Christmas cactus, but there are actually three types, the Thanksgiving, the Christmas and the Easter cactus.

Mine is a Thanksgiving cactus, obviously named after the American Thanksgiving which is coming up soon. Here in Canada our Thanksgiving is at the beginning of October. I refer to this as a Christmas cactus, even though the shape of the leaves tells me different.

This site has a good explanation of the types you might have. I have no source for this image but it shows the different shapes of the leaves. If you have a source please let me know so I can give credit.

Even in the winter months the feeders have lots of visitors. The red bellied woodpecker loves the peanut feeders. Other feathered friends during the cold months are chickadees, juncos, nuthatches, doves, bluejays and downy & hairy woodpeckers.

If you use the category feature to search posts, this one is now Around the House and/or Through the Windows. Most photos of the garden are taken through the windows now and I’m including some things that have happened around the house for the winter months.

November 19 saw numerous snow squalls and white out conditions throughout the day. The above photo was taken through the kitchen window.

More from the gardener side: garden areas, bulbs, corms & tubers, plant profiles, seeds & seedpods, veggies & herbs,