Waking up to six inches? So much for keeping body parts crossed...

Happy Valentine's Day :)

Sol

Here is a photo of some ice plants in my front yard - I took this picture this afternoon when they were in shade, as they are too blinding when in full sun. They can be grown in zones 5-9 and bloom for you in the summer and fall, but in my zone, they bloom in the winter. The main blue-green leaves are from a different sedum (also cold hardy), and they have kind of grown together.

The flowers are not red, but I thought they would be appropriate for Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Lars

74 and gorgeous here. However, my plants are confused as we had a sugar dusting of frost this morning, and ice earlier this week. The Great Pyrenees isn't sure whether he should be shedding or not, either. My favorite version of ice plant. Lars.

I think nearly everyone has spent quality time with their shovels this year. We've gotten 35 inches in December along with that ice storm that cut power to 600,000 people for a week, 42 inches in January and so far 14 inches in February and it hasn't warmed up above freezing for weeks. Now they're predicting flooding if we actually get that 40F weather the end of next week. Makes me glad I can't afford the taxes on riverfront property!

And of course, everyone I know has been up on the roof with Ice Melt, the ice dams are crazy this year here, I'm assuming they are everywhere.

And I was just thinking I needed to get those ghost pepper seeds started, they have a long germination period and an exceptionally long growing period before fruit ripens. I'm not sure they're totally happy in Michigan, LOL.

Annie

I believe those are called "mesembryanthemums", Lars :-) Very pretty. We used to have some in a different house; ours were orange.

Here are

The African Tulip trees are blooming now (even before getting their leaves), but the real sign of spring is when the Jacarandas start blooming.

February is half over, and so spring can't be far away.

Lars

Gorgeous lars. I've got some beauty under all that snow. I think they mentioned we've had 50+ inches so far this winter. Double normal.
If i stare long enough at my 3x5 inch kitchen garden,
i see spring on its way...

Nice snowfall, sleevendog!

Beautiful ice plant photos, Lars!

Annie, that's too funny about "quality time" with shovels. :)

Spring is so far away here that I haven't even thought about 'fun' outdoor activities or gardening in months. We've had a very cold winter, but that means the Great Lakes freeze and we don't get as much 'lake effect' snow. yay! According to the local weather history, we've had just over 90" of snow so far, and were very lucky to have two days above freezing at critical times in January that allowed it to compress and thaw the snow a bit.

More than anything, I want to see some sun!!!

This post was edited by party_music50 on Sat, Feb 15, 14 at 9:01

Lol Sol!

Six inches over night and still snowing in southern Ohio.

Di

We got about 12 inches Wed into Thursday, then it rained and refroze and snowed again. Supposed to get a few more inches today... we shall see.

I really do love winter, but I won't be sorry to see Spring arrive either. Supposed to be in the low 60's by this weekend, if the snow/ice melt off the grill by then we may have burgers or steaks outside!

Alexa

We've had a lot of snowfall and super cold weather this winter. We've also had lots of sunshine! I love winter when it's cold and sunny.

Sleevendog, I've tried growing green onions but all they did was rot. Do you really just plunk them in water and they will sprout new growth, and we can keep using it?

They are growing like weeds. A couple celery ends. The green onion bunch still has the
store rubber band. The leek is about 8 inches now. I should probably plant them in a pot and start some more. Just nice to have a little green on the counter.
I do rinse and change the water every other day.
I grew them as a lure. I'm having a stink bug attack at the moment. Just one or two a day appear out of nowhere. (but they do not stink). I was hoping for the variety that eats other bugs and does not destroy crops but not so lucky.
Try just a little bit of water and changing it often. In a glass container you can keep an eye on it. Water just needs to be 1/2 inch. So far only the lemon grass has not sprouted.
Yup, you can keep using it, or plant them in a pot and start some more.

ps
(Sol, just three inches this morning...bummer)

Many reports of roof collapses in the NY area.

dcarch

Oh those flowers are a treat for my winter weary eyes. I am just so sick of this mess. My weather is the same as Alexa's. Looking out the window at gray, gray, gray skies and sleety stuff coming down. I have several snow mountains in my yard from shoveling. I may put a white flag of surrender on top of one, although no one could see it since everything is white.

I had five days without power during frigid weather. Thank heavens the power stayed on during this last go round.

Annie, I cannot even fathom snow in those amounts. I have already run out of places to throw the snow. Where do you ever put it and how?

I am enjoying watching the birds at the feeder. They stand out so well against the snow plus the trees have no leaves, so it is easy to see them. They love to hang out in a quince bush next to my feeder, but that dropped its leaves, too. I see them huddled in there.

On the other hand the stray cat has been around and I discovered that its been using my front garden bed as a litter box again. I've been throwing snow back there to deter it but I swear if it finds a patch of dirt one inch square, it uses it. The bird feeder has huge mounds of snow around it so the cat cannot get to it. I feel a little bad for the cat, out in this miserable weather. It seems to be living behind a house across the street from me.

Anyway, that's what's going on in my corner of winter. LFTS.

dedtired, they are moving snow with heavy equipment, loading it into dump trucks and dumping it in open fields or empty lots. Many of the road signs have just been buried by the plows.

Still nothing compared to the Buttersville Peninsula, just south of Ludington. There's a spot where there are bluffs on each side of the road and when the wind blows it drifts in. The days we've had 25 or 30 mph winds, that bluff filled in completely. 17 feet of snow. Yup, 17 feet, according to the Ludington newspaper. It took days of work and various pieces of equipment to get those poor people plowed out and connected with the rest of the world.

It's supposed to be 40 by Wednesday, but not above freezing at night any time soon. That's good, the maple sap will run and hopefully we'll have a good "run" this year.

I actually like winter, and the sun shone today, although it was 24F. Elery is ready to grill something now that the temps are above zero.

DCarch, a couple of roofs have collapsed here, but we tend to shovel our roofs. The companies that clean chimneys also clear roofs, so they're having a booming business this year. I was on the roof today with a shovel, it gets heavier as it gets warmer and "settles", so I want to shovel while it's still light and fluffy!

Annie

Edited to remove duplicate post.

Annie

This post was edited by annie1992 on Sun, Feb 16, 14 at 0:18

Lars,

Ice plant fruits are edible. Great in salads.

dcarch