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| Live from Springdale, 6 AM, everything is closed today. |
Yesterday was warm and sunny. The best temperature gauge is counting the kids playing outside. On Sunday, we had kids biking on the street and doing gymnastics in the grass.
We now have a thick blanket of snow and ice on the ground and cars. From the nearby college, posted yesterday, - "You have never heard a more sincere prayer than the prayer of a college student for tomorrow to be a snow day."
I added, "Doubtless the faculty are joining you." Snow days in college are a double-blessing: no classes and none to make up.
Our helper and I will work on the snow early, because that will facilitate melting later. We have three driveways - the Gardeners, the Wrights, and mine, to clear. I scoffed at the rock salt I saw at Walmart on Saturday. Now I am thinking it would have been a good idea to buy some - though I have two bags left.
Our neighbors should not be shoveling, so it will be fun to help out. How quickly the time flies, from playing in the snow to worrying about falling on ice or having a cardio event.
Naturally I will clear a spot on the filing cabinet outside to feed the birds. The hanging suet bags defy the weather, so they will be swinging with bird activity. The feeder by the window will bring some chickadees to feast on sunflowers.
I almost planted carrots Saturday and Sunday, and that would have been a good plan. The seed underground would have been sheltered from the cold by the warmth and insulation of the mulch, then by the insulating effect of snow. besides that, snow melt is a great jump-start for hardy seeds.
I was looking out the front window as the day got colder on Sunday. No one notices that the English ivy is unaffected by the weather. It may not grow much in the winter, but it remains green and leafy. Many plants are cold hardy and even favor the cold for best results. I had beets and other seed sewn several weeks ago. I will be most interested in the sunflowers planted weeks ago. If they pop out of the mulch early and take off in growth, I will be emboldened next year to do more of the same.
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| Ornamental kale is just as not-yummy as common kale. |
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| Kale is the most winter hardy plant I know. It is green under the snow. |