nature – Lauri Hawley

Rhododendron Insights: Adapting to Life’s Seasons

I was worried earlier this winter when all of my smaller-leafed rhododendrons had turned burgandy and curled up tightly. Had I killed them by pruning them too deeply after they flowered last year?

Rhododendron leaves curled up and brown against a backdrop of snow

I’ve written before about senescence, in which the rhodies’ older leaves turn yellow and fall off in the autumn. Even the evergreens lose their leaves and needles sometimes!

My Winter Forest Discovery

When I look out my kitchen window, I can see a little tree in the distance still holding onto its golden leaves deep into the winter cold.

Discovering Life’s Unexpected Joys in 2025

This is our first winter in our new home in the mountains, and we’ve moved far enough away from the ocean that it no longer softens the winter chill. Temperatures have regularly dropped below freezing, and watching what happens in the perennial garden has been fun!

Discovering Holiday Joy: Nature’s Ice Needles

What I saw last week is in my top ten list of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. It was a few days after my last foggy post, when we had almost three and a half inches of rain. The temperature had dropped to highs below freezing over the next several days, with lows in the teens. Look at what I discovered in the ground!

Fruity Wishes

We passed a few patches of viburnum on our hike up South Moat Mountain last week. We didn’t snack on the bright red fruits, preferring the known apples we carried with us to the unknown effects of unidentified berries growing in the woods.

Wet Feet

I hate wet feet.