Photographs taken with a bridge camera journaling nature and everyday life in Central Massachusetts and beyond.
Category: My Yard
In photography, “colorshift” refers to the time at twilight when the sky transforms in minutes through what is sometimes called a “kaleidoscope” of color. Last evening, the skies above my house colorshifted in a dramatic changing show of orange, pink and blue.
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Undaunted by a snow-laden roof after a blizzard, eastern bluebirds continued home furnishing in my yard today.
A pair of Eastern Bluebirds brightened up my snowy yard on a gray morning. The specially designed bluebird house installed for them has an opening of exactly 1.5 inches in diameter to ensure that larger birds cannot nest there. Although bluebirds often visit, and occasionally start to build a nest, they never stay through the whole season. After territorial skirmishes sparrows win out. Fingers crossed for this spring!
Holden, MA
and enjoy the possibilities within a garden.
“Shinshin” is a Japanese term for the deep silence of a fresh snowfall, or the “sound of no sound” as soft snow absorbs sound. It evokes a sense of calm and stillness, and is a favored time for photographers and nature enthusiasts.
Photos from my yard in Holden, Massachusetts
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The nearly 100 year old Mountain Laurel in my yard is still going strong.
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Holden, MA December 2025
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Currier & Ives produced popular lithographs depicting idyllic American winter scenes during the 19th century. These prints featured snow-covered New England towns, with skies of icy-blue or gray enhanced with subtle color shifts. Here are my “updated” Currier and Ives style selections from the most recent snowstorm here in Central Massachusetts.
Holden, Massachusetts
The Arctic Blast last evening delivered extraordinary, if fleeting, sunset colors that swirled around my rooftop. After the vivid colors faded, temperatures sunk to 6° F., the coldest of the season. Wind chills felt as low as -5°F. My blog’s title “From My Window” can be taken quite literally in this case.
Holden, Massachusetts
Holden, Massachusetts
Holden, Massachusetts
My yard was bursting with color against a green backdrop in May.
A long view of the Zen garden.
Rhododendron
Spring Ice Storm, Holden Massachusetts
Holden, Massachusetts
The easy care Tall Phlox in my yard often last until the frost.
Holden, Massachusetts
That’s the weather forecast each day here in Central Massachusetts. As a result, this year’s garden is surely taking its time to grow!
(Short audio included at the end of the post.)
During my recent blogging break, I have been learning to play the folk harp.
This is a Fireside Harp from Backyard Music, made of cardboard.
The shape of the harp reminds me of the wings of a butterfly that visits my garden.
A rain storm came up just after these photos were taken, but I’ve included a short audio with a rainy backdrop, which can be played along with these photos.
Eleanor Plunkett, by Turlough O’Carolan, arranged by harpist and composer Anne Crosby Gaudet, performed by Julie Mankowsky.
Yesterday’s snowstorm has transformed my yard once again.
First Snow
Snow makes whiteness where it falls,
The bushes look like popcorn balls.
The places where I always play,
Look like somewhere else today.
Author: Mary Louise Allen
Monarch Butterflies have recently been classified as endangered. How fortunate to have a number of them visit my yard daily!
During this unusual midsummer heat, a blast of colors animates my yard.
A variety of pollinators enjoyed my Buddleia (Butterfly Bush) in full bloom, as one of the resident rabbits watched the garlic harvest dry.
Visiting woodchucks, rabbits, a racoon and even a bear made gardening more difficult than usual this year. Still, on a sunny July day, it seems worth all the extra effort.
I’m never alone on my “home patch”.
Zen inspired elements enhance my winter garden.
A combination of ice, sleet and snow created a shimmering yard this morning.
After the recent blizzard, shadows cast on my garden were geometric, yet ethereal.
Holden, Massachusestts
This Eastern Gray Squirrel has gone nuts for our apple tree.
From apples to zinnias: visitors can choose from a wide variety of tasty treats in my garden this week.
Statuary from a local yard sale celebrates the recent surprising visit of a Great Blue Heron to our Zen garden.
Glistening Ruby-throated hummingbirds will be heading south for the winter soon.
How fortunate that many of nature’s treasures are edible.
Even though it’s been a summer of extreme weather here in Central Massachusetts, most parts of the garden have thrived. Below, recent pictures are paired with those from late May, when the garden was first planted.
Pink is a-poppin’ in my garden this week.
A mysterious bird disease is affecting the Southern and Mid-Atlantic states.
Doing my part to make my yard pollinator friendly.
It’s marigold time in my garden.
An Eastern Cottontail rabbit has arrived in my garden.
I grew up in a rural town in Western Massachusetts, where a large patch of bee balm featured prominently in our garden each summer. One day an elderly couple, complete strangers, stopped their car to ask my father what the fiery red blooms in the garden were.
“It’s bee balm, a perennial. Would you like some?”
He dug up a clump for the pair to take to their summer home at the edge of town.
A few days later, the couple reappeared with a box of children’s books. They were retired teachers, who had noticed my siblings and me playing in the yard.
“We have collected so many books over the years, and since we are retired, we don’t need them. Would your children like some?” they asked my father.
That summer, and for many summers thereafter, the couple brought boxes of books of a variety of genres. Some were almost new; some were gently worn. Each box was a thoughtful gift.
The sight of bee balm might bring thoughts of insects, bright flower petals in a salad, or perhaps herbal tea to most people.
But me? I simply think of books.
A coat of paint on one small structure can sometimes uplift a whole yard.
Nature decorates the stones in my yard with its own festive gift-wrappings.
A fast-moving snowstorm passed through last night, leaving a thick coating of snow that sparkled with a variety of bluish tints in the early morning shadows.
Baltimore Orioles visit my backyard for a short time each year in early May. This acrobatic guest made the most of my hummingbird feeder, cleverly swinging and balancing so he could take a drink.
Even within the short space of an hour, the Winter light in New England can intensify color dramatically.
I was startled and delighted to spot this red fox kit in my backyard. It didn’t run away until called sharply by its mother, so I had ample time to enjoy its large black twitching ears and black legs, as well as its white-tipped tail, which is a key differentiation between a gray and a red fox.
In mythology, foxes are often described as sly and cunning. This kit, like most young animals, didn’t bring those characterizations to mind. It was completely charming in all its innocence, curiosity and playfulness.
