More Snow! What is this - Buffalo? Snowing again today!

Worst blizzards that we have seen in this area, since 1960s. Well, I arrived here in the 80s so it's the worst that I have ever seen here. Workplace was in emergency mode last friday, and again mon through wed. I took the bus to work mon and tues, more hassle than I let people know, but I was not able to get the car out of the drive.

Front yard - The palm leaves are fully folded from snow. Which is better - leave it on (as insulation) or knock it off (to protect leaves from breakage). Nature decided for me - this happened while I was at work.

I've never seen it this deep in my yard before.

Ning is ambitious today, shoveliong the driveway.

It's snowing now as I type this! Back yard.

Better view of palm with snow covered leaves. We'll see how it looks this Spring!

Bamboo was flat to the ground, now springing back up again.

It's snowing and snowing and snowing! Dark-eyed Junco

The city is near stand-still. Amazing, for this area. We found some bird seed to feed the hungry finches. Feeding the birds now helps the garden later.

I'm going out on a limb here, because they are not too clear. But I'll tentatively identify these as :Dark Eyed Junco". A photo can be found here. Dark-eyed juncos eat seeds in the winter, and insects in the summer, according to this site.

Climate Data Nov 2008

Recent weather left me wondering about weather the fruit trees, especially the figs, have survived the same extremes in the past. It's time to save climate data for future comparisons. Here are the #s for November 2008. Click on the graph for better detail.

Precipitation: 5.36 inches, rain, ranging from 0 inches to 0.84 inches per day.
High for the month: 64 degrees, Nov 7.
Low for the month: 32 degrees, Nov 24.

Winter. Schlumbergera. Homework.

The rest of today will be a homework day. This is made tolerable by the cold & snow outside, and my furry companion and some bright flowers inside.

Back yard. Later I'll publish a summary of the temperatures if I get a chance. Currently 27F on my thermometer in the grape arbor. The "zone denial' banana never made it into the house this year. Looks like it's a bit late, huh? Or was this "denial" of my frustration with the fact that it has never looked good, and since I DID manage to bring in the cannas, maybe I just didn't want to admit that leaving the banana outside was a passive-aggressive way to deal with it. Looks like a nice container for the cannas, or maybe potting up a fig next year?

Maybe the rhodie leaves should have been treated with antidessicant. We'll see this spring whether they perk up again.


Outside for a picture of the "big snow" December 19 2008

Possibly a bit obsessed with the Schlumbergera, but they allow the illusion of tropical lushness indoors. This pink one was added this year.

Also this mix. I'm not crazy about the two together, so used a sharpie to label the stems "W" and "R". The goal will be to pot up the white separately.

Strange, I've been thinking of starting a pot with all of the colors mixed together. Meanwhile not happy with the one combination that I do have.

Since they are no trouble to over-summer, a couple more should not be a burden.

Charlie is keeping me company while doing homework. He makes it all tolerable.

Cold weather, indoor flowers, weatherizing, bulbs

Schlumbergera are blooming profusely. Most are from previous years, but the red/white mix and the pink are new this year. By growing several varieties (all store bought or cuttings, unnamed), bloom span has been almost 2 months (see Oct 25th photo). When they are at peak, I take them to work. Then they fall over in the car, which isn't good for the flower quality. I'll need to come up with a better way. They bring brightness indoors when outdoors is gloomy. Given my huge volume of homework this winter, this is one of the few bright spots.

Predicted temperatures have been is all over the place. This week may there may be a low down to 13 - each time that I looked it is different. Today is 32 and snowed, minimal. Due to concern about predicted lows, I sprayed the fig trees with "Wilt-Stop" which is derived from pine resin - probably the same as Wilt-Pruf. Not sure if it will help - but it helped me feel better. Since it was cloudy and there were occasional drizzles, I don't know if the process will work even if it would have during ideal spray conditions. This stuff is expensive. The concentrates give more for the buck, so it's what I bought. Made me think, maybe I should spray some in the summer too - this is supposed to reduce transpiration and reduce need for watering. May help with certain insects or black spot, not clear to me, and I understand that there are no cure-alls, just good gardening practices. The stuff has a nice 'piney' scent

While at the nursery getting wilt-stop, I saw some half-price narcissus, small varieties. Too late by most gardning standards, but I bought the 3 straggly packages and planted them in flower boxes. If they don't grow, it's OK. If they do, it will be nice to think that I 'saved' them.