More weather talk...

Hello, everyone.

My DD in Lubbock sent me a picture of the snow up there, while it was starting out. There were small white drifts next to cars and curbs...

And mention of the S word reminded me of some favorite pictures from the famous Miracle Snow of Christmas Eve, 2004.

We've had this barrel cactus for decades. The snow didn't bother it.

Snow on the lemons!

Happy dog!

It looks like we're going to have a cold winter this year. Oddly enough, however, that may not mean any snow will arrive. The winter of 2004-5 wasn't unusually cold. Our rose blossoms that felt the snowflakes didn't suffer--the snow was gone by 24 hours after it had begun. And I don't remember much in the way of running around putting Christmas lights and old sheets on plants to bring them through.

Speaking of which, how are we supposed to do freeze protection if all of the incandescent tiny-light strings are gone from the market? The old strings won't last forever, after all. Even good ones are basically cheap stuff. And the teensy bit of warmth from the Christmas lights, when confined by an old sheet (weighted down at the edges with rocks) is enough to keep the overnight frost from killing a tomato plant.

Ah, well, the weather will be what it will be, and all we can do is cope with whatever surprises we encounter.