February's Coffee in April!!!!

No I am not an antihamite and I refuse to apologize to Rev. Al!!

Victor ~ I would like to share the lasanga w/you...but I'd love to be able to just dig the dirt for you. I so want to turn over a shovel of dirt....ahhhh!

Shovelling snow's just not the same, is it Pix??!

No Sir, it is not! I went to a GH last Sat., my DDMIL was good friends w/the owner so they let me wander at will. She found me in an hour later in GH#6 where they mix the soil, compost, ect. for the plants. I was standing there w/my eyes close and she asked what i was doing.."Smelling the dirt." was all I could say. I'm losing it!

I was out digging today. I know how you feel Victor! I planted 29 astilbe, 15 asiatic lilies, 5 phlox, 4 cannas (in pots in the garage waiting for warmer weather) and 2 poppies. I'm beat!

Pixie! You're not losing it! I'll bet the dirt smelled good too! Hang in there babe. It won't be long now...

Harper

I love the smell of dirt. There was a composting place on my way to work at the last job - hmmm did I love that. Yesterday I was so mad with myself - I made plans to go out with my friend and it turned into a perfect gardening day!!!!

Just can't help jumping in. I live in the Dallas,TX area and we are having weather that is setting records also. Because the news has had dire warnings about your area decided to see what the real people had to say so I have been eavesdropping. DG is a place to meet new friends and it is easy to see that as there is in the "Texas Gardening" forum an easy give and take with obvious caring for one another. Gardeners are a special breed of people. When working hand in hand with our maker we become one. We, too are having cold weather that is playing havoc with the plants although nothing to compare with yours.
Last summer we had 45 days of 100+ temps, the rest seldom goes below 95 and everthing goes dormant. Our time to enjoy the garden is also very short......April til 1st of June.....then we go indoors to escape the stifling heat and the mosquitoes that could carry away a small child. Heat doesn't break until after Thanksgiving. We have reports of many elderly dying from heat exhaustion and you probably have from the cold. I have enjoyed coffee with you. Come to "Texas" sometime and check us out.
Chow
LouC

Hi Lou! I have been hearing Texas had a few tornados touch down there yesterday. Hope all is well in your neck of the woods!!
As you are used to the heat...we are use to the cold. Just hate snow storms in April!!!

Hi LouC! well, given a choice, I would rather have cold than heat. You can always add more layers of clothes - but once you get down to your birthday suit, there's nothing more to remove.

It's actually warmer here in the winter in Western Massachusetts than the BC interior where I am from. I find the summers here impossibly warm and humid - but they are nothing compared to what you experience.

I have lived in my home for 40 years (moved here very young when kids were in diapers) not quite as old as dirt yet. Three tornados have been through here, one that did considerable damage to my home and almost wiped out the community just 5 miles from me. We live south of Dallas but Friday night the storms and tornados hit north of Dallas which is about 35 miles from here. All three of the tornados that hit here were in May so the best is yet to come. Very frightening because the systems can be ripe for it and still not happen....it just dips down from the heavens.....have to depend on human reports....the weather stations cannot predict. But even so the snow would be difficult for me. We mainly have ice and no one can drive on it. Something called "black ice" because it is so thin that it is invicible but can wreck a car instantly. Wow! Don't intend to sound so bleak.
Life is good and we will all just wait this out.
LouC

As a grumpy northeasterner looking through for ways to cope, I have a tip for Lou....do what my brother does....save up vacation and come on up for July and August!! Get the best of both worlds!!

We should all have a garden buddy, and work in the southern gardens early and have our buddy up for summer. Now wouldn't that be fun???

Any takers?

PS My brother is in Aledo, haven't heard how they made out in the storms

How right you are about the clothes. I am very warm natured and my husband is cold natured (think that is supposed to be the other way around). I always tell him I can't take enough off to get cool and he will just have to put on some more clothes. HA!HA!

Ya'll are great.

LouC

Very familiar with Black Ice and it is VERY dangerous North or South! It is the one thing that scares the bejeebers out of me!! It can be raining here and then around 4 in the afternoon when the temps start to drop.....wa-la! you have black ice!! This can happen anywhere from Oct. thru to April no problem!

The tornado went through Haltom City and Saginaw in Ft. Worth. I think Aledo is near there but have not heard it mentioned in the news. The storm is usually rather narrow--2-3 miles across so it doesn't necessarily hit everyone. There has been a lot of power outage so maybe he doesn't have electricity yet.

Just did a mapquest and Aledo is 50 miles from me. Your brother most likely got a lot of rain and high winds, possibly hail. He is not that far from the main damage area, maybe 20 miles or less. We also had a lot of straight winds that do almost as much damage. I would guess he is alright.

Cool thanks for the update!

Welcome and good luck with your weather, Lou. Very nice sentiments in your first post. As much as I complain about our weather, I could not take either extreme and you are certainly extreme! And I am a mosquito magnet. I get welts from the bites. Have you guys down there tried any of those fancy CO2 gadgets for the skeeters?? Do they really work? Thanks and drop by any time. Our doors are always open.

Regards,
Victor

You are welcome any time Lou! I was in Dallas for a conference once - it was hot enough to fry an egg on the pavement - you can have it!!! I'm an ocean lover and I don't think I could be more than a 20 minute drive from the sounds and smells of salt water!

I, too, am a mosquito magnet. Have tried everything that comes on the market. 100% deet is the best....there have never, ever been a report of cancer or any other such thing from deet despite all the hype. Better than being sick from bites. I have a severe reaction and they don't go away for weeks and I always look like I have the measles. Even tried a straw hat with mosquito netting which came down from the brim and hugged my shoulders, long sleeves, long pants.....thought I would die it was so hot. I have a swing with netting around it, a screen house, a special netting that fits over the umbrella at the table. Not alone in this apparent overkill. These products are in many of the ads in the paper today.
However, today is supposed to be 70, sunny, and calm. Yesterday was 40, 25-35 wind and overcast. Always extremes from day to another. On my way out to enjoy it while it lasts.
God is good EVERYDAY.
LouC

Agreeing with you there, Lou! Amen!

I lived in El Paso many years ago, from October until April. I dcouldn't believe the apartment complex closed the pool for the "winter"! It was in the 80's and 90's most days! I thoought "What's wrong with these people!?"

But El Paso was nice. I'm just glad I wasn't there in the summer though.

Hi Lou. Thanks for visiting with us! You sound like a great addition to any forum!

Nancy, Welcome back! Where've you been?
Dave

Nancy - you gave up your snowbird ways?

Thank you. Worried about all of you. The weather forecast for your area is not good.

God Bless each of you and may His hand keep you safe.

LouC

Your right Lou....it's not good, but living here in Maine I have copped the attitude "it could be worst" and believe me it has been. I think the Ice Storm of 97(?) had to be the worst! 6 days w/out power and 5 kids in the house! Aye ve!!!

Thanks, Lou. We can handle it. We're used to it. But Western New York isn't getting socked this time. (Not like the LAST Friday the 13th, which was in October and left us withouout power almost a week and ruined so many of our trees) Right now the grass is showing, and only a couple inches of snow is expected here tonight.

Hello, Dave. Finally missed me, huh? It took me coming back to realize I've been gone. I could make up a cool answer, like I was on a yacht in the Pacific for a few months, or I paid 20 million to go into Space on a Russian Spaceship and got lost. But in truth, I just haven't been spending as much time on the computer as I'd like. I haven't been to the Pets Forum, or Photos either. I'd really like to get my life back though.

Al, I really miss the photo-editing thread too. Along with less time, I seem to have no imagination anymore either.

So I don't know how often I'll post, but I miss feeling like part of the family.

Nancy

Glad you're back Nancy!

Thanks, Anita! Hi, Pixie! Gosh, I feel like I'm home!

You were gone! I hadn't noticed ;)~

Al, I'm currently looking up Menasha on Mapquest, so mind your manners! I'm a lot closer to Wisconsin than the other NE'ers and I know where you live.

Hi, Lou. My mom grew up in San Antonio and always said she'd never go back to live, only to visit. she hated the tornado watches. every part of the country has their weather to deal with.

my granddaughter got stuck in Philadelphia on her way back from Spain. I just heard they finally got a flight to Toronto, so they're going to get a bus from Toronto to Buffalo. They'll probably get home around 2-3am. these kids have got to be exhausted. for those of you who don't know, she was on a trip with her senior honors class...London, Paris, Madrid.

everybody stay safe & warm tonight. hope your power holds out, Pixie.

Hey, Nancy, missed you :0)

Yeah, gram, thanks. And I still hope we can do the Botanical Gardens together someday. Know what I'd really like to do? I've never been to the butterfly place in Canada. Have you?

I'm right off of highway 41 - that should narrow it down.

Glad you're back - they need to let you out of the germatorium for gardening season.

Hi Nancy, Welcome back home!!

Power is hanging on this morning but the wind are really whipping!! It's been raining pretty hard here, on the bright side...I can see the ground!!! My snow is melting!

Springfield report: heavy rain, but no serious problems.

Hi Nancy. We got quite a drenching - 5+ inches - but we're doing okay.

Regards,
Victor

We lost power for an hour or two. My basement, which we thought we thought we finally had fixed, took in some water. But storm of the century? Not even decade or year.

Nancy, we have a lot of new friends over the winter. You will like them.

Storm of the week??

Don't know how many of you got the brochure, but H.G. Wild & Son is having a clearence sale. Particularly good for daylilies, but some lilies, hosta, and reblooming Iris too. They don't have the best rating on watchdog, but far from the worst. I'll take my chances.