My Crazy Little Rosebud

I discovered this little rosebud growing in my garden on the first of November. "Crazy little rosebud" I thought out loud. "Don't you know it's almost Winter?"  Never has a rose tried to bloom in my zone 5 garden so late in the year. How this little bud escaped my discovery for so long puzzles me.

 November 1st

I thought I might clip the stem and bring her into the house to get warm. Then perhaps she might fulfill the measure of her creation and bloom.  Just five days earlier my gardens were under an eight inch blanket of snow... our first snowstorm of the season. 

November 7th

But the weather warmed up quickly and within a day the snow had melted. "Crazy little bud, she must think it's Spring." With the snow melted and the weather warm again, it felt like Spring! My crazy little rosebud had won a tender place within my heart and I just couldn't set the pruners to her stem. 

November 14

And so my crazy little bud began to open... one petal at a time.

November 21

I soon noticed an interesting little anomaly within her petals. See how they fold inward to form little cheeks? An enchanting little moniker that tells the world "I'm unique!"

I was intrigued with the wide open petals... was this a result of the stiff winds that whipped through gardens the night before? Or some inner defense to capture all the sunlight she could muster to survive.

The winds brought lower temps. Low, low single digit temps... for several days.  And the winds were ferocious!  And more snow fell upon my gardens.

November 28

  And somehow my crazy little rose survived.

This time the snow did not melt... and the freezing cold... yup, it's still here, too.

 December 2

and my crazy little rose....

gathers ice crystals from the dry winter air.

Frozen in Time