Posts Tagged ‘freeze warning’
Chilly Spring
Alright, homeowners, can you identify what you are looking at in this image?
I did not have this bathroom under-sink repair on my bingo card of small projects two days ago. As soon as I successfully pulled off one thing, another popped up to remind me that nothing lasts indefinitely. I think I was bragging to Cyndie about finishing one of my recent fixes when she reported that the stopper in the bathroom sink pulled out, revealing the pivot rod supporting it had rusted to the point of disintegration.
I’m really hoping under-sink issues do not come in threes. I’ve had enough of that unpleasant contortioning for the year.
On the bright side, it gave me an excuse to work indoors while the weather outside is uncomfortably cold. For the umpteenth time in the last two weeks, Cyndie needed to cover her flowers to protect them from freezing.
A cardboard box over one of the planters was a quick and easy method. There are bags and blankets and plastic pails scattered over growing things all around the property, and no sign of a warmup visible in the 10-day forecast.
Having lived through 67 years of changing seasons, I still find myself surprised by how much our sensitivities to temperatures vary at different times. In March, air temps in the 40s (F) feel warm, but in May, the same temperature can chill to the core. Yesterday, I struggled to get my body to warm up after morning chores, and I felt uncomfortably cold for the rest of the day.
I suppose my reluctance to change back into winter wear could explain a lot of my problem. It’s May, dagnabbit! I don’t want to go back to insulated layers again. Relying on the high sunshine to nudge things up to a tolerable level was a failure yesterday because we only enjoyed a few moments of sun before a blanket of clouds took over for the rest of the day.
There is hope for a small improvement today. If the predictions hold, we might see a little more sunlight, and the air could warm into the mid-50s (F).
I should probably dress in layers –several of them.
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Taking Precautions
A few steps forward, and one giant leap back from spring. It is interesting how different 36° (F) can feel depending on whether arriving to it from above or below. When it has been below freezing for months, a day that reaches 36° can feel dramatically warm.
When it has recently been 70° outside, a dip down to 36° feels despicably cold. Same temperature, different perspective.
This morning feels despicable.
Up until now, I have been purposefully avoiding paying attention to the status of the tree we transplanted to the center of the labyrinth last fall. We’ve failed enough times before –three to be exact– that I’m attempting to avoid getting excited too soon.
A couple of days ago, Cyndie texted a picture of the many new leaves that have emerged. Time for my denial to end. With the threat of sub-freezing temperatures predicted, we felt it necessary to cover the sapling for protection from the cold.
It was a challenge, because the sprouts are so delicate that some dropped simply from the abuse of my clumsy attempt to get the sheet up and over the top.
Regardless, I feel better to have tried protecting it, than if we’d done nothing. I’ve watched too many of our other small trees with delicate early growth wither and die in the past two years when warm spring days were followed by hard freezes.
I’m hoping this tree turns out to be as robust as the ten chicks we ordered through the mail have proved to be.
I may be trying to protect myself from disappointment, but I won’t give up without doing everything I can to improve the odds of success. With the cold temperatures, the saturated wetness now, and the likely dry spells to come, we have our work cut out for us for many months ahead.
Here’s hope that our precautions pay off in every way.
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Relative Something 