7.9°F (-13.4°C) is not the norm here, but I guess the temperature gods wanted to remind us that we're really still in zone 7, despite the updated hardiness map.
We are in a valley, so it's usually a bit colder here. The local tv station is saying that it's 16°F; (-9°C) in Birmingham.
This is the display for the fancy weather observation system we got for Christmas. I cropped out the bottom of the picture -- it also shows the atmospheric pressure.
-----
I could swear that it reached -12°F (-24°C) when I was a kid, but nobody else seems to remember this. We lived a little further north at the time, in Gadsden. According to this site, the lowest recorded temperature in Alabama was -27°, on January 30, 1966 in New Market. Now, that location is practically in Tennessee, but that could be the weather event I'm recalling.
reBlogged
to weather
Posted by Rurality Reblogged by Old Roses to weather on 2008-01-04, 00:30:55
I’ll admit it: The thought of clearing a fresh blanket of snow from my driveway used to make me want to hibernate for the rest of winter—I’d rather just make some snow angels, throw a few snowballs, and call it a day. But these surefire methods take the hassle out of removing snow. . .
I saw my first one on the 26th, on the way to the movies: the discarded christmas tree, tossed onto the windy pavement to await its fate, after faithfully serving up good cheer for the holiday. This is all the thanks it gets? Can't the cold-hearted tree tosser wait for the citywide recycling days, or lop off the branches for mulching, or simply keep their tree up and decorated for a while longer? I am a big fan of keeping the tree up as long as possible. It takes a lot of effort to get it up and dressed, and more effort again to take the ornaments and lights down, carefully pack them away, and then re-use or recycle the tree itself. So I enjoy my tree and put off the chore as long as possible. It's only January 2, people! Don't turn your backs on your trees, like some Dickensian villan! And please, when you do take yours gently out of the house, don't put it into a stupid plastic bag as if it's an old ham sandwich. If you want to protect rugs or floors as you take the tree out, grab a bedsheet and lay it down on that to carry it away. You can wash any sap out, and you've saved a glob of petrochemical product into the bargain. But I, for one, plan to keep my tree up, and to sit by it nightly, as I am doing now, for as long as the needles hold on. Can't help lovin' this tree of mine.
Why is it that some people just detest gardening? I don't mean the ones who have never really given it a go and are ignorant of the joy of gardening but for those who have - and still hate it. . . .
reBlogged
to gardening
on Jan 2, 2008, 8:45PM
Posted by Stuart Reblogged by Old Roses to Gardening on 2008-01-04, 00:28:37
When we held the carnival last year, several people said they'd like another one - including a few who never got round to participating last time. One of the suggestions was that we hold it in the "real" carnival week, which I've just realised is really early this year - the first week in February. So we need to get on with it. . ..
reBlogged
to blogs
Posted by Sue Swift Reblogged by Old Roses to blogs on 2008-01-04, 00:28:14
Well, the temperature has turned for the worse. It's only getting up to around the freezing mark during the day and there's significant windchill on top of that. I've broken out the heavy gloves and pined over my missing hat. The replacement is nowhere near warm enough. But the hood of my new coat is awesome.
Yesterday, for the first work day of the new year, there were a few dry, powdery snow flakes flying around. A couple even piled up on my car before I braved the weather. Brrr. Even seed catalogs don't help when I have to go out in that.
reBlogged
to weather
Posted by millionbells Reblogged by Old Roses to weather on 2008-01-04, 00:27:39
Many people write to me asking about how I grow my orchids. Unfortunately most of them are from the US, Canada and Europe and I live in Caracas, in the tropics, where it is much simpler and easier to grow orchids. But here is my version of how I grow orchids for those that may be interested.
reBlogged
to orchids
on Jan 1, 2008, 7:21PM
Posted by Reblogged by Old Roses to orchids on 2008-01-04, 00:27:28
OK. So it’s winter. This post was sparked by a few gardeners who’ve started a New Year’s Day flower count. Yup - counting flowers on that day and it was quite amazing how many of their outdoor plants were in bloom. . .
reBlogged
to winter
on Jan 2, 2008, 8:30AM
Posted by Doug Reblogged by Old Roses to winter on 2008-01-04, 00:26:53
When I first photographed the hobby farm near our house, it was days before our first (late) frost. Fall extended so late, the leaves never did fall from the trees before the snow descended. Still today, the leaves are hanging in there, perhaps only willing to be coaxed off by the spring buds months from now. . ..
Tonight is going to be the coldest night in several years. Some weather sites are saying 38* here, others are saying mild freeze of 31*. Not too good for those of us in
who push climate zones and grow tropicals and ultra tropicals. In West Palm, a mere 50 miles or less, they are expecting worse, probably high 20's in some areas. Chris and JC
went out to Little Slough to put out a digital thermometer so they could find out how cold it gets there. The ghost orchids' big demise was when a nasty cold spell came through
about 30 years ago and killed a bunch of them. Hopefully it won't get cold enough for that tonight. . ..
reBlogged
to weather
on Jan 2, 2008, 10:25PM
Posted by Reblogged by Old Roses to weather on 2008-01-04, 00:25:42
Sometimes when you pull a can of soup out of the pantry or squirt ketchup on your hamburger (or mac and cheese, like my cousins do *blech*) it can be a little difficult to remember that the ingredients had to be grown somewhere in the first place. We don’t live in a world of Soylent. . .
reBlogged
to vegetables
on Jan 2, 2008, 8:14PM
Posted by Hanna Reblogged by Old Roses to vegetables on 2008-01-04, 00:25:12
As I noted, the little primrose shown below in my note about Primula juliae is almost surely a hybrid of juliae, probably crossed with vulgaris; the leaves are too large and crinkled and not round enough for pure juliae, among other things. The above picture from our garden is much closer to the mark: a very tiny little creeper, with quite small, roundish leaves, deeply cleft at the petioles...
reBlogged
to primroses
Posted by IBOY Reblogged by Old Roses to primroses on 2008-01-04, 00:24:52
I met fellow blogger Sharon, of the Chutney Garden in November and we visited two gardens in Santa Cruz, Trinidad, including that of Chancy and Peter Moll at San Antonio farms. My camera battery ran out then, so I didn't get any shots at the second garden, but Sharon has posted her unbelievably beautiful pictures, a few of which I have re blogged here. . . .
reBlogged
to flowers
Posted by Nicole Reblogged by Old Roses to flowers on 2008-01-04, 00:24:41
It's a beautiful late afternoon winter day here at Vermont Flower Farm. The beauty I must admit, is best "viewed, when not bundled" .......kind of like when James Bond calls for a vodka martini, "shaken, not stirred." It is furiously cold this afternoon despite the bright sun and the only way you will get me back out there is if I bundled in layers. Tonight's low is predicted to reach minus 15 degrees. 'Nuf said. . . .
reBlogged
to books
Posted by George Africa Reblogged by Old Roses to books on 2008-01-04, 00:24:16
There is something about browsing seed and plant catalogs that doesn’t feel like work to me and without Gail here to say “it’s ok!” and “we need to get the orders in by the end of the month!” I’m inclined to put it off until the “real” work is done. (That only gets more complicated when I enjoy the “real” work so much that I put it off too.) It’s like waiting to have dessert until after dinner. Eat dessert first; browse catalogs now! Or first thing when Gail is back. For me it’s less productive to shop alone and a lot less enjoyable. . . .
reBlogged
to catalogs
on Jan 2, 2008, 12:44PM
Posted by Kris Reblogged by Old Roses to catalogs on 2008-01-04, 00:23:13
Liz wrote: "Hi Melissa, I live in Worcestershire, U.K thought I would send you pics of my shed, bought second hand 25 years ago, then used as a tack and rubbish store till last year when I tore it down all by myself, swung the base round, repositioned it so it faced the sun and rebuilt all the bits and put a corrugated roof on. I call it Tyddyn Uchaf, which is Welsh for upper small holding, its name plaque taken from the now tumble down ruin where I lived 40 years ago on the Isle of Anglesey, now I use it to sit and spin in."
If you look closely, you can see that Liz literally means 'sit and spin' as there is a spinning wheel inside:
Happy spinning, Liz. Your shed is lovely.
reBlogged
to sheds
Posted by ~~ Melissa Reblogged by Old Roses to sheds on 2008-01-04, 00:22:50
I went out to the kitchen garden last week to have a look around and took a few photos. The one of the dead zinnia 'profusion' plants was an interesting monochromatic study, I thought. It's a color photo but looks to be a black & white one. Then I walked around outside of the kitchen garden and found a bunch of bittersweet berries in among the wildlife thickets that I've kept uncultivated. I don't know if this is the native bittersweet (good) or the non-native, probably invasive Japanese type (bad). Well, which ever one they are, they are a bit of welcome color in the winter-dead landscape.
reBlogged
to winter
on Jan 2, 2008, 11:10AM
Posted by jdolangreen Reblogged by Old Roses to winter on 2008-01-04, 00:22:41
The 2008 Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena California includes floats decorated with flowers and other organic plant material. But where are all the roses!
reBlogged
to flowers
on Jan 1, 2008, 3:00AM
Posted by Reblogged by Old Roses to flowers on 2008-01-04, 00:22:08
I came across a site through a gardening message group I am a member of. This site has information on winter sowing. For the price of an envelope and two stamps, you can get six packets of seeds. It's random I am sure. But it would make a great project for the kids to get these seeds. They can address the envelope and all that and get back free seeds.
Reviewing my iphoto library often gives me ideas for posts. I was scrolling through recently, looking for a particular image, when I noticed lots of beautiful—and unfamiliar—plants. Had I owned these plants? If so what happened to them? Thus was I prompted to briefly review the cycles of life, death, and replacement in and around the GWI property. . . .
reBlogged
to gardens
Posted by EAL Reblogged by Old Roses to Gardens on 2008-01-04, 00:21:35
To gardeners going tropical this winter, There is a permaculture design intensive in Hawaii February 08 with Penny Livingston-Stark. For links & more details go to Earthcare Gardeners Worldwide tribe at: tribes.tribe.net/earthcaregardeners or go to Bellinhams’s Earthcare Gardens at: tribes.tribe.net/earthcare
If Google had a black screen, taking into account the huge number of times this search engine is used, 750 mega watts/hour of energy per year would be saved. In recognition of this fact, Google has created a black version of its search engine, called Blackle, with the exact same functions as the white version, but with lower energy consumption.
The Natal Mahogany is a plant you can use in lots of different places. The Natal Mahogany has been around for a few years but used mainly by the professional plantscaper. . .
reBlogged
to houseplants
on Jan 2, 2008, 4:25PM
Posted by Plant Pro Reblogged by Old Roses to houseplants on 2008-01-04, 00:20:24
I had the pleasure of seeing several plants bloom for the first time last month - most of which were ones I had grown from seed. While I don't seem to have yet figured out the conditions needed for lush and multiple blooms, I am satisfied with my progress, and the fact that I can tell people that my plants have bloomed, especially my babies. . . .
reBlogged
to cacti
Posted by Jade Reblogged by Old Roses to cacti on 2008-01-04, 00:19:57
The first Pink Pearl Hyacinth that I brought from the old flat has flowered. There are five more bulbs nearly flowering through various stages of development. It smells lovely.... No more bird watching today.Its cold and dark now.One more night to go!
reBlogged
to bulbs
Posted by snappy Reblogged by Old Roses to bulbs on 2008-01-04, 00:19:38
I found some great sales going on right now at online garden retailers. Start the New Year off right with more tools in your shed and more money in your pocket. Check these out. . .
reBlogged
to tools
Posted by Jessica Damiano Reblogged by Old Roses to tools on 2008-01-04, 00:19:07
How can one small box hold so many delights for me ? First of all because it's from my friend Pat in County Cork, Ireland. Second, its handmade chocolates . Handmade. Third, it's approved for vegetarians. Fourth, it appears that the painting of a garden is also done by hand. You can actually feel and see the brushstrokes ! That of course appeals to me as an artist, plus the painting is very simple and charming, just like the Irish. . . .
reBlogged
to whimsy
Posted by Carolyn gail Reblogged by Old Roses to whimsy on 2008-01-04, 00:18:12
via Skippy's Vegetable Garden on 1969-12-31, 19:00:00
~ 'Old Man Winter
