December in Seattle 2007

December Snow in Seattle fell hard on the tender Christmas Cyclamen. Each night I lift small tender cyclamen setting them in a protected area next to the door to the balcony. The red cyclamen add great color to the winter view out our windows but I know they shiver when the temperaature dips below forty degrees. The larger cyclamen are hardier. I have some white ones that survived from last year but they are not blooming so well this year despite my efforts to fertilize, water them carefully and give them new potting mix. Today I snow has turned to heavy rain and the temperatures are in the fifties! Compared to the snow the view is grey and cheerless but the cyclamen blossoms stand tall to brighten the day.
Hummingbird update: Anna bird comes every morning at dawn to drink and sit despite wind, rain, snow or sleet. Occassionally the weather was so bad in the day that Anna took refuge on the rungs under the seat of a wicker deck chair. At dusk Anna disappears for the night.