Melting! – The Further Adventures of Lion-San

Hi, everyone!

We had a week of cold weather, but not much snow. Then we got more snow, but it didn’t stay around very long!

One of the very cold nights, I helped Grandma and Grandpa defrost the freezer! We always do that when we can put all the food in the garage and it will stay frozen! Grandpa puts a hair dryer in the freezer and puts a bowl over it. That way, the hair dryer is protected from melting ice! It takes about two hours to get the freezer clean and dry. After that, we turn it back on and put all the food back. Grandma says she always finds some food she forgot was in there!

For Christmas, Uncle David’s family gave Grandma a jigsaw puzzle of the night sky over the Grand Canyon. That was a hard puzzle to put together, because there was so much sky! I helped Grandma work on it. When it was finished, we flipped it over and numbered all the pieces!

When I got up on Friday last week, Grandma said the conditions were perfect for me to have a snow bath! The temperature was in the mid-20s degrees F. and there was a little bit of fluffy new snow overnight. I made sure to roll around and get covered all over. Grandma had a big towel and the hair dryer all ready to get me dry. There wasn’t any sun to lie in to finish drying, so I lay in front of a heat register, instead!

The snow was just dry enough to stick without getting me too wet!

Last weekend, we did have more snow! It was light and fluffy and I was excited to see it! But then it warmed up and the snow started to melt. By Thursday it was pretty much gone!

Today was another cloudy, drippy day! Grandma took me to Lamberton Conservatory in Highland Park to see some brightness! We weren’t the only ones who thought that was a good way to spend the day! This time of year is in between the big displays of flowers for Christmas and Easter. There are cyclamen and primroses in the welcome room. Somebody has been nibbling on the primroses, and I think I know who!

With fewer flowers in bloom, it’s easier to appreciate all the green plants! I paid more attention to the tall trees and the low planters. All the turtles in the main room were huddled together under the heat lamp. It’s hard to keep the greenhouse warm when it’s been so cold outside!

The orchids that were blooming were pretty!

The cactus room was cooler and more humid than it usually is, but the cacti didn’t seem to mind. I made some new friends and said hello to my friends from other visits.

Some plants in the Poets Garden bloom very early, but not this early! There were lots of branches down. When we got home from Highland Park, Grandma took me for a walk around our yard. We have lots of branches down, too! I was excited to see all the flower buds on our rhododendron! We don’t have a fence to put around this one, but Grandma sprayed it with deer repellant. I hope I get to see it bloom in the spring!

There were branches down in the Poets Garden!

Now the snow has even melted off the lawn! The television weather person says we’re going to get rain and slush, but not nice snow. I’m glad I got my snow bath when I did!