The temperature dropped 50 degrees overnight, from 80 to 30! Wow! Talk about a shock to your system! First time in 3 years, we are having a freeze in central Florida. Ice in the birdbaths, plants looking limp and unhappy, possibly expired, even, and a roaring fire in my fireplace. I never turn on the heat, my husband’s philosophy being “I have to pay big bucks to freeze all summer. I’d like to freeze for FREE in the winter!” But I do love a good fire. Cats and dogs are fighting for couch space nearby, and I’m cozy as I pack away the last of the Christmas decorations for another year.
Funnily enough, my best garden pal, Nicki, and I were planning to visit some local nurseries this weekend to get our winter annuals (violas, petunias, pansies, and some herbs), and maybe to look for a new rose or two. However, with a freeze last night, and another one predicted for tonight, it’s unlikely the nursery will have much on display Saturday. So we’ll postpone that for another time.
I hate to see my plants, what few have survived six months of neglect, freeze, but am I complaining? Oh, no. I’ve seen the images on the news, and I know what REAL cold weather looks like. We are SO lucky down here! Well…until hurricane season, of course. But then, no place is perfect!
Stay warm, my friends, wherever you are!
Who's Your Granny? 
Great photo! Is that your tree?
It got down to -3 F here last night. But I hear reports in the negative twenties from further north and feel lucky.
LikeLike
No, afraid not. Just a photo I found online. That’s what the groves look like after a hard freeze. The growers run the sprinklers all night to encase the fruit in ice, to protect it from getting even colder and being lost.
I think I’m fine living some place where -3 doesn’t make me feel “lucky.” Haha. Just stay warm up there. I’ve seen some awful stories about some of the locations where people don’t dare let a piece of skin be exposed for fear of frostbite in seconds. *shiver* I love cold weather, but I don’t need it THAT cold. And we are already headed for warmer temps tomorrow. In another day or two, it will probably be back to 80 again. Me, I prefer it in the mid-60’s to about 72. But it’s always way higher, except for those few days when it’s way lower. š But at least I’m not in danger of frostbite!
Stay warm up there!
LikeLike
Reblogged this on Bookin' It and commented:
Finally got cold down here. But warmer temps are due tomorrow, already. I guess today was winter! š
LikeLike
Oh dear, I think I just heard the price of oranges go way up! It was -21 when I got home for California last night. What a shock!
LikeLike
Yowzer! AS much as I love the cold, I don’t like it quite THAT cold. I’m happier when the numbers are on the plus side of zero. š But then, I don’t even own a jacket. Nor a long-sleeved shirt. So, being in such extreme cold would be pretty grim for me. I’d be forced to CLOTHES SHOP, immediately! š
This isn’t to say that other people don’t wear sweaters or jackets down here, especially on a day like today, but I don’t. I’m pretty happy all the way down to the mid-40’s or so in jeans and a t-shirt. After that, I’m gonna get pretty chilly.
And -21? I’m not sure any amount of clothing would keep me warm at that point. I’d be housebound all winter, I guess. But then I’m housebound all summer down here. Good thing I love my books and my computer, I reckon. š
LikeLike
I remember well living in Florida during a big freeze…we were walking around in light jackets and everyone was bundled up! But then in the summer I was attached to my central air while everyone else was out enjoying the sun – lol We are getting a break with the cold teens to low 20’s…a lot better than what it was -19 a few times with the windchill…brrrrr doesn’t even come close to describing the cold. Soon I will be complaining about the heat…remind me of this past winter ok?!! lol All in all I am glad I am not living in the midwest – wow that was brutal for those folks.
LikeLike
Yeah, believe me, I consider myself lucky to have missed out on that kind of cold. I do love snow and cold weather, but only down to say, the mid-teens. When it gets below that, I’m miserable, like everyone else. In Florida, the hard thing is never know during the winter months. One day it’s 80, and the next, it’s 30. That’s a big adjustment to make. And then it goes right back up again. Today, I have all the windows open and it’s about 67 out. Not back to hot yet, but certainly not cold any more. Mid-60’s are my favorite temps. Good to see you stopping by, Patty!
LikeLike