# Winter at Fox Valley



## tomkalina (Jan 31, 2021)

Six inches fell last night; expecting three more before it's over. I hate Chicago winters!


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## Tom-DE (Jan 31, 2021)

Chicago is famous for wind and snow!  and I still wonder why some of my in-law relatives moved out there.
we got some(2~3") very pretty light snow here in Rehoboth Beach, DE. and I took some photos of my woods too......


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## littlefrog (Jan 31, 2021)

We've had almost no snow all winter... Normally we'd have had a couple feet at least, I think we've had maybe 5" total.


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## abax (Jan 31, 2021)

Snow is beautiful only if you don't have to get out and shovel/plow. Looks great from a window in a warm room.


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## Tom-DE (Feb 1, 2021)

abax said:


> Snow is beautiful only if you don't have to get out and shovel/plow. Looks great from a window in a warm room.


True! Thank god we have a great neighbor who owns a construction company. He will show up and plow our 500ft long driveway with his equipment *for a cup of hot chocolate* if it gets too bad.
Princess Maggie(dog) still wants me to clear a pee spot in the yard for her tho...it can be a PIA if we have a long period of snow.


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## tomkalina (Feb 1, 2021)

Ended up with a foot of snow! Not only that, but a city snow plow left a pile of snow almost 5 feet high in front of my driveway. Took two neighbors and me an hour to clean that up. Thank God for neighbors with strong backs. Tired of winter; nice inside the greenhouse, though.


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## Tom-DE (Feb 1, 2021)

tomkalina said:


> Ended up with a foot of snow! Not only that, but a city snow plow left a pile of snow almost 5 feet high in front of my driveway.



That sucks! Once "flying snow" broke my mailbox(more like totally destroyed) when the state snowplow crew came through at flying speed.


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## Ray (Feb 1, 2021)

I don't miss that white stuff "fer nuthin'".

We've been whining because it's been in the 40's and rainy.


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## abax (Feb 1, 2021)

Interesting Tom DE, our dogs love making little yellow spots in the snow. We have our own tractor with a plow. We haven't had
to use it...yet.


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## PamO (Feb 2, 2021)

littlefrog said:


> We've had almost no snow all winter... Normally we'd have had a couple feet at least, I think we've had maybe 5" total.


Hi Littlefrog: I love your little saying. I'm to give a presentation tonight (2/2) and wanted permission to use it. I know the group of ladies would get a laugh out of it.


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## NYEric (Feb 2, 2021)

abax said:


> Snow is beautiful only if you don't have to get out and shovel/plow.


or even go out in it. I tell that to my girlfriend every time she says how pretty it is.


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## Tom-DE (Feb 2, 2021)

Normally we don't get much snow here...Southern DE is a great place for retirement, not too cold and not too hot, even Joe Biden has a house here(Rehoboth Beach, DE). I definitely would not move further south...
A friend of mine once said, "I would rather bleed than sweat!"


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## orchid527 (Feb 2, 2021)

Tom-DE said:


> Normally we don't get much snow here...Southern DE is a great place for retirement, not too cold and not too hot, even Joe Biden has a house here(Rehoboth Beach, DE). I definitely would not move further south...
> A friend of mine once said, "I would rather bleed than sweat!"


The expression I found amusing is "sweat is the body crying". Mike


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## Ray (Feb 2, 2021)

abax said:


> our dogs love making little yellow spots in the snow.


We have a miniature, longhaired couch potato (dachshund) named “Hobbes”. When we were in PA, the snow was often way too deep for him to go out, so we dug pathways around the yard to his favorite spots. Borrowing from the world of hamsters, we dubbed them a “Hobbitrail”.


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## abax (Feb 2, 2021)

I think this pee preference is funny and interesting. Four dogs and the two smallest (Tzu's) love scampering across
the deepest snow we ever get here. Ro and Jess take offense when we try to clear the snow. The PBGV doesn't
mind any conditions and the spaniel wants carried to her favorite spot. We are critter slaves...oh my!


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## Tom-DE (Feb 3, 2021)

I think it has a lot to do with the size of the dog, sex, and age...
Maggie is a Lhasa Apso. When she was young, she loved to play in the snow...She is almost 12 years old now... she will give me dirty look if I don't clean a spot for her. Well, she basically owns us now.


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## tomkalina (Feb 3, 2021)

And here's Cruise in one of the paths I shovelled in the yard. This weekend is supposed to be sub-zero at night and windy. Glad I'm not growing orchids in Hawaii where it's warm and sunny all the time.


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## Tom-DE (Feb 3, 2021)

Did that for Maggies a few years back and she had a great time. 
She used to like snow....


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## Tom-DE (Feb 4, 2021)

Snow scenes from last week's snow:


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## Linus_Cello (Feb 4, 2021)

Tom- where'd you get the asian stone lantern from in the third picture?


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## tomkalina (Feb 4, 2021)

Tom-DE said:


> Snow scenes from last week's snow:


Those are great photos. Looks like sub-zero night temps coming our way tomorrow night.


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## Tom-DE (Feb 4, 2021)

Linus_Cello said:


> Tom- where'd you get the asian stone lantern from in the third picture?


I got that granite lantern ~25 years ago from a local garden center/produce place called "Tomato Sunshine". I don't know the maker or where it is made. It has 4 separate sections including a heavy wide base, which it is not shown in the photo. Mine is about 1m tall also(edited for more comparison info).

You probably can find more info or a source online.(Edit: took a quick look on eBay and other online stores, most of them are made of concrete..., there is one natural stone lantern made in Vietnam, a really nice one, 1m tall, for ~$900, "free shipping", it also comes in sections.


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## abax (Feb 5, 2021)

Linus, try Etsy.


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## Tom-DE (Feb 5, 2021)

Linus, read the detailed descriptions before you buy them online, including Etsy. There are a few granite lanterns listed on Esty for less than $100 but they are miniatures, * ~6"-10" tall. *I am assuming that is not what you are looking for. The large granite lantern will cost a lot more, and unfortunately, there is not a lot available at the moment....


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## Linus_Cello (Feb 5, 2021)

We occasionally go to Rehobeth, so good to know I can check out Tomato Sunshine. (Trying to discover other Asian garden specific vendors is the DC area, e.g., Japanese Landscape Service - Washington D.C. - Lee's Oriental Landscape Art)


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## Tom-DE (Feb 5, 2021)

Linus, Tomato Sunshine is not specialized in Asian garden decors. I have not been to the new location and I don't know what they have now...but I was told they got smaller now.
I like garden ornaments. 18 years ago, I bought my bronze frog( a fountain for my pond) in Palm Deserts, CA. It was still cheaper even with the shipping, so not everything is cheaper locally. My giant granite stone frog has an interesting story too--bought it locally in 2006 for $250(the original price was $1200 then $800) because there was a crack on one of the front legs (They fixed it and it is still good). The boulder where the stone frog is sitting costs me more than the stone frog...


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## Phred (Feb 6, 2021)

Hi Linus
I used to get great carved granite statuary from Northwest Landscape & Stone Supply in British Columbia Canada. They are the North American distributor for the Mt. Fuji Lantern Co.
Northwest Landscape & Stone Supply :: Home
They shipped by truck to the USA. The prices were worth it even with the freight added on. The photo attached is of a couple hand carved (primitive) lanterns from Japan I had shipped to me from Northwest. They were lit by candle at night.


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## Tom-DE (Feb 6, 2021)

Very nice, Phred. The Canadian company has a lot of nice garden ornaments. I wish they have a price list.
I, for one, would love to see some more photos of your garden if not too much trouble.


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## Linus_Cello (Feb 6, 2021)

Thanks Phred. I’d love some more marble stepping stones ( I got some when I drove to Detroit, as shipping was more than the product). 



Aguafina | Nine Dragon Steps



Do you know a vendor (NW landscape and stone doesn’t appear to have it)?


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## Phred (Feb 7, 2021)

Tom-DE said:


> Very nice, Phred. The Canadian company has a lot of nice garden ornaments. I wish they have a price list.
> I, for one, would love to see some more photos of your garden if not too much trouble.


I sold this property but will post some pictures of my landscape/garden design work in a new thread.


Linus_Cello said:


> Thanks Phred. I’d love some more marble stepping stones ( I got some when I drove to Detroit, as shipping was more than the product).
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Linus
Those are great stepping stones. I have never come across them in the past. Do you know what kind of stone they are. You could probably have them cut for you. Try a large headstone company... they’re setup to cut and polish stone.
Here’s another site you could check out:





Home - Oriental Garden Supply LLC


We offer an extensive selection of Japanese maples, dwarf conifers, bamboos, and more with unusual cultivars. Wholesale and retail sales.




www.orientalgardensupply.com


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