![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOyg8ahl5-xm3BCkaBfzNHuM0HbO1F2hdllv8Hh98ec8C1fI6lh-Y0ajplv3Hq-W1U0boJBw8vRNRiv-DXkV4YihB2XwmaN1Ay0O2TO2UT8w3zWgB9QjNmIuxxh7M3bag6wiKGzLL1y7SQ/s400/DSC04960-001.JPG) |
The Meiji shinto shrine in Tokyo |
At the end of October Greg and I flew to Japan for our honeymoon. We had one full perfect day in Tokyo under our belts when I got a call that my brother had passed away unexpectedly in his sleep. He was 42 and an exceptionally good human being. We are completely devastated by the loss of him. I think almost everyone knows this already (and you've all been so nice, thank you for that) but I'm posting it here for those last far-flung friends of mine who don't have a Facebook account. (Which is so annoying, guys. Everyone is on there; please get an account already.) In-person social interactions are exhausting and I can't handle talking on the phone, so I find myself very grateful for social media, which has allowed me to interact with the living without getting out of sweatpants or this fort I've made from used kleenex.
I am also grateful for my mahonias, which are bright, cheery beacons in the winter.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjawPL7WNffTNLozFsCqCA5RIYOotiYGChdSUtGCplzOgruxtkwNUM5NSe0jxPOYE3jgNX94YwbaiYTvjnGwCz3Jh3k7YDtklWZ18A7lxPzksJxjhKSfAoo7OghLKM4Fec5YaB5ht6bxA_f/s640/DSC04970-001.JPG) |
Mahonia x media 'Arthur Menzies' |
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Mahonia x media 'Charity', which bloomed for the first time! |
And this clematis, which I put in the ground in July, forgot to water, and thought I killed. It defied me by blooming through a hard frost and some of the heaviest rain we've had in ten years. Thank you Xera, for growing bullet-proof plants. This one is evergreen, turns bronze in the winter, and blooms November through February. I planted it outside my kitchen window where I can appreciate the hummingbirds covering it.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFQc1c9lAjpsCkLBrJbBGCk5JFQiNgaJ9O5JnWCHhALbkZWGhFIB3RSvbOM7CwCUMNn1UL06kJTj6V9_LYqyHISBRJn6ss7uh6t58OFU14tV_V_Oio9ZmgCbW6QYKuYFt3fhsWHCPuYxad/s640/DSC04966-001.JPG) |
Clematis cirrhosa 'Wisley Cream' |
Thank you to our host Carol at May Dreams Gardens. We really can have flowers almost any month of the year.
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