Porch Pot

Yesterday's activity was making a porch pot for winter.  In the Northwoods it's a pretty easy thing to do. 

• Wait until  the temps are below freezing.
• Get a pot that can withstand frozen water (that usually means a metal of some sort)
• Fill it to the brim w/ dirt
• Water the dirt down well
• Stick in stuff you picked up from the countryside.

Once your artistically arranged stems freeze in place, nothing is going to move around until spring.  The day before the beginning of Gun Deer Season, Whip and I cut balsam, spruce, pine branches, and I specifically went looking for red willow or dogwood branches.  Found a clump in the swamp.  Unfortunately, the brilliant red winter berries were already gone: eaten or victims to the constant freeze/thaw cycle this fall.   I cut some tag alder w/ their reddish catkins.  Once home, I found old Christmas decorations of red berries, some white leafy things, and a couple of silver sprays to supplement my natural gleanings from the woods.   Yesterday afternoon while Whip kept guard, I put everything together.  The red willow and the silver sprays didn't do anything for the display so removed them.  Pushed things around a bit until I thought it looked festive.  I don't like this arrangement as much as I did last year's - that year I had lots of winter berry to stick in..  I have enough elements left over, so today I may make a smaller second porch pot for Mjolnir.  Practice makes perfect ... well ... better anyway.