Flowers in the Snow

For years, my mother and I have each bought at least one amaryllis bulb to plant in early winter - and hoped it bloomed before Christmas. I didn't do extremely well with the tradition this year because I couldn't find an amaryllis bulb until a little later (at Four Seasons Nursery for those of you who live around here - go visit my cousin Adam! There may not be any bulbs left now, but there's always something fun to look at. As in, did you know that Carhartt makes pretty scarves? For women? I got one for my birthday, thank you very much.)

Anyway, since I planted it a little later, the amaryllis bloomed a little later. As in, it's in almost full bloom today. It's superbly gorgeous! And it's got another bud coming up also.

It snowed here last night - it was already covering the ground pretty well when we went to bed around 11:00. And we woke up to even more snow (3-4 inches total) this morning! Really, really beautiful.

I had this silly notion to tote the amaryllis out into the snow for a photo shoot. I was a bit nervous because I also had this vision of tumbling down the slick porch stairs, snapping the amaryllis stem in half and shattering our camera and my tailbone.

Thankfully, this vision did not come to pass. We all made it back inside, safe and sound. Whew! I just loved seeing the red flowers against the background of the pure snow. I suppose it was worth the mental anxiety. =)