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Good thing about winter
Rev Nick - dead man walking (mostly) Posted Jan 3, 2012
The monday nearest to May 24th (the birthday of Queen Victoria) is celebrated here as our first 'long week-end' of the seasons. And generally expected to be frost-free enough for all plantings.
Good thing about winter
Hypatia Posted Jan 3, 2012
BG, I do miss winters in Texas. But I like having 4 seasons, all the same.
So the planting season begins about a month sooner than in Ontario. That makes sense.
Good thing about winter
There is only one thing worse than being Gosho, and that is not being Gosho Posted Jan 3, 2012
There's an earliest and latest freeze date for Austin, but they don't call it a 'frost' here, not like we do in the UK. As a matter of fact I was talking to someone at work a few days ago about how I miss those cold, frosty days I remember from when I was a kid, when there's a clear blue sky and everything, including the trees, is covered in sparkling white crystals
Good thing about winter
Hypatia Posted Jan 3, 2012
I remember my mom making the disinction between a frost and a killing frost. In a gardening context.
Good thing about winter
Rev Nick - dead man walking (mostly) Posted Jan 3, 2012
I grew up in Ontario, southern parts of it. As a plumber's son, I quickly learned what was referred to as the frost-line ... The typical depth that soil will be frozen solid in a common winter. In that area, it was considered to be about 16 to 20 inches. In northern Ontario, where I lived for 6 years, it was more like 30 inches deep. All plumbing, outdoor wiring, etc, had to be well below that to avoid serious damages. I would imagine the depths for construction purposes in anhaga's zone to be perhaps even more than that.
Good thing about winter
Baron Grim Posted Jan 3, 2012
Any frost could kill my pencil plant. This is the first year my ficus lost its leaves, but I'm not worried about it. Normally I bring them in when it freezes but we haven't had a freeze yet. My dad is still getting carrots out of his garden and plenty of spinach.
Good thing about winter
Rev Nick - dead man walking (mostly) Posted Jan 3, 2012
Indeed, even our carpenter's pencils are short and stubby to begin with. They just don't have the growing season, you know?
Good thing about winter
Titania (gone for lunch) Posted Jan 3, 2012
There's such a thing as too much winter. The winter 2010/2011 was too much. The *real snow (that didn't melt away within a few days) came in the end of November and kept piling up for 4 months solid. Yup, it never melted even once for 4 months. Towards the end, the snow was thigh deep. Even the most die-hard snowlovers got fed up with it. When it finally started melting at the every end of March, people almost didn't mind the slush and the ice (freezing, melting, freezing, melting).
And this winter, quite the opposite - hardly any snow at all, and only for a few days before it melted away completely. And just for typing that, I bet the approaching storm warning will bring snow. After all, wee had frost both this morning and yesterday.
Good thing about winter
Websailor Posted Jan 3, 2012
Hypatia, it does seem to get more difficult as we get older. I used to love a White Christmas but now we have to travel as a family rather than stay at home I get nervous.
Come October I look forward to open fires and quiet nights, but now all the fuss is over I just want to see some signs of Spring. We haven't really had any winter here as yet, though today was stormy. Sitting in the middle of the UK we tend not to get the worst of the weather but it wasn't nice, and very gloomy.
Increasingly as I get older I feel I am affected by SAD though it has not been diagnosed as such, and I long for the light nights and mornings. Getting up in the dark definitely does not appeal.
There are compensations - lots of bird life and the badgers still come, since no-one appears to have told them they are supposed to stay below ground to give Websailor a few weeks respite from feeding and cleaning up! They used to stay away from Christmas till March but of late years they come whatever the weather
I hope you get through the rest of the winter without too much hassle.
Take care,
Websailor
Good thing about winter
Hypatia Posted Jan 3, 2012
Feeding birds in winter is a great hobby. I must be more dilligent. I've let my feeders fall into disrepair. Must get them spruced up and filled. I used to make feeder trees, as well. I haven't done that for several years.
Good thing about winter
Researcher 198131 Posted Jan 4, 2012
It's a lovely 21C (69F) here in melb. Doors are open to let the breeze in, can hear nothing but birds and summer insects. We woke up to a loud thunder storm this morning that had broken a heat wave consisting of 40C (104F) days.
Enjoy all those good things about winter you were talking about and when it gets too much think of our horrid 40 degree days.
Good thing about winter
frenchbean Posted Jan 4, 2012
I loved reaching NZ and back to four seasons again (from Queensland where it's two at best).
Winter treats:
Big cosy jumpers
Warm scarves round and round and round your neck
Curling up in my armchair in front of the log fire reading a really good book
Diving into a bed warmed by the electric blanket
Waiting for spring - because everything is better for some anticipation.
Stay warm... and remember it's spring next for you in the northern hemisphere. Here we're enjoying summer and trying not to think about the fact that the longest day is behind us
Fb
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Good thing about winter
- 21: Rev Nick - dead man walking (mostly) (Jan 3, 2012)
- 22: Hypatia (Jan 3, 2012)
- 23: There is only one thing worse than being Gosho, and that is not being Gosho (Jan 3, 2012)
- 24: Hypatia (Jan 3, 2012)
- 25: Hypatia (Jan 3, 2012)
- 26: Rev Nick - dead man walking (mostly) (Jan 3, 2012)
- 27: Baron Grim (Jan 3, 2012)
- 28: Rev Nick - dead man walking (mostly) (Jan 3, 2012)
- 29: Hypatia (Jan 3, 2012)
- 30: Rev Nick - dead man walking (mostly) (Jan 3, 2012)
- 31: Dmitri Gheorgheni, Post Editor (Jan 3, 2012)
- 32: Titania (gone for lunch) (Jan 3, 2012)
- 33: Websailor (Jan 3, 2012)
- 34: Hypatia (Jan 3, 2012)
- 35: Researcher 198131 (Jan 4, 2012)
- 36: frenchbean (Jan 4, 2012)
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