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Friday, March 3, 2017

Preparing for winter, in March!

Howdy, from our little old log cabin in woods...

As Mama would say, dern-it, I don't know which way to turn this morning!

It's 5:45 am...I've packed Poppy's lunch and seen him off to work, put the dishes away, fed the animals (inside animals), folded a load of clothes, mopped the kitchen floor, and made the bed. 

maybe a little post should be next...
For sure, I won't be out swinging early this morning!

But I will be out later throwing blankets and quilts over all these tender plants! Why, it may look like Halloween out here tonight! A yard full of ghosts!



I dearly love North Carolina, but this has got to be the worst place in the world for warm weather showing up in the middle of winter, tricking plants into blooming prematurely...then winter coming back with a vengeance! 

Sure wish February had stayed freezing cold, like February was supposed to.  The weather report this morning said 33 degrees Fahrenheit. Funny, there was ice in all the water buckets.

So, if I turn on the heater in the little greenhouse and throw a blanket over this peach tree and this side of the greenhouse, that should keep in enough heat to save the little tree.... 

Remember the long-legged tower? Well, don't tell Poppy, but I kinda want it moved, unless I can come up with some kind of wood frame to build around the whole section, like all around all the little playhouse.


see, I still have these two old windows that match the wood in the long-legged tower,  to hang somewhere. So far, my standing and staring has not given me any great ideas.



Yesterday, our neighbor's guineas came to visit...there must have been a dozen of them. That's our four going out to greet them. 



Wish you could have heard the noise, and when the little visitors decided to go home, they ran as fast as their legs would carry them down the path in a single file...guineas are so funny!

Better get busy! Hope to be back real soon...

Mr. Wooster says howdy, too...


Love,
Henny






25 comments:

  1. Good Morning! Oh, how I love seeing the photos of your piece of Heaven here on earth. Our yard is in its "infancy" stage, so there is not much to worry about with colder temps returning, but I hate it for each of you with trees, shrubs etc. and trying to protect them. At our last home, which was one dead end street of homes in a row...one morning I heard an unusual noise to look out and see Guineas (from where I do not know)! They were so precious. Your description of the guineas come-a-calling tickled me and the way they scurried home single file! lol Beautiful photo of Mr. Wooster. God bless your day and weekend. xoxo Mildred

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  2. Funny how they know their own kind

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  3. I can sure understand your frustration with plants blooming too early. It has been a very strange winter. The guineas look so cute. I'll bet they are fun to watch. I hope your plants and blooms fare okay in the cold weather. Have a great day.

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  4. Am amazed at your visiting neighbors. Why do you think they ran home all of a sudden? Hope you will tell us a little more about your ideas for the tower and the windows, I'm intrigued. Don't feel NC is the only place with crazy weather. It is normal for us to have Spring sprung on us in Feb and then it usually snows on Easter. Go figure.

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  5. "Ohhhh bother" as Winnie-the-Pooh says. Blooms, and cold temps returning. -sigh- I know you will do your best.

    Mmmmm, I don't remember what "The Long Legged Tower"... Was built for...

    But best of luck, with fixing it, as you want it. :-)

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  6. I was wondering if your prediction of colder weather in March would come true Henry. You were right! I hope everything survives.
    Your little guineas are adorable!
    Have a good weekend.

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  7. Mercy, my friend! You did a days worth of work before 6:00! We don't get up until 5:30 so I guess you will always be ahead of me. :)

    That peach tree is beautiful. I think this has been a bad winter for everyone as far as having spring start in February instead of staying cold like February is supposed to be. We had a bad storm on Wednesday night and so much wind. It cooled things down to below freezing again and we are hoping that we don't lose any of our fruit.

    Have a wonderful weekend, Henny.

    xx

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  8. Wow, you get up early!! I don't like to get up before daylight really, don't think I'll tell you what time I get up ;-) But then I stay up late..... Hope you are successful at saving all the blossoming plants and trees, what a chore that is, trying to cover them up. Talk of more snow here this weekend, I so hope they are wrong! Spring is late here, but then all of a sudden everything will go crazy and it will be impossible to keep up. You could put a window up on each side of the tower...maybe?

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  9. What a great post...loved visiting around your neck of the woods! There's something about that long-legged tower that appeals to me...maybe I need one, too!

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  10. Your old wooden swing brought back many memories, Henny. Isn't it so nice to swing on one. My grandmother had one here for her grandkids in around the sumacs. I will eventually find a place for one here for mine. (and me)Love the little guinea. Aren't they funny. Hope your tree survives. It's such a beauty.

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  11. Here in MN we are having rather spring-like weather, too. I love your flowering trees and they look so good to us here in the North. I don't know anything about guineas but they sure are cute.

    Shirley H.

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  12. I've hung some old windows outside using hooks and eye bolts. We did have to stabilize the ones in the wind by running a wire to a nearby post.
    Have you heard of smudge pots to prevent plants from late frosts?
    Guinea hens are hilarious. They take a notion and away they scramble as fast as they can as if the devil himself is after them. Have a great weekend.

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  13. Guineas are entertaining. When we lived on the mountain in NC our neighbor's below us had guineas. We always knew when someone would soon be coming up our road as Diane's guineas would sound the warning. Once in awhile they would decide to come all the way up and see us and our goats would go nuts over the intruders, and then the guineas would go nuts Over the goats and run as fast as they could back down the road. It was a circus. Hope your trees and my lemon and lime trees make it through the next two nights. Fingers crossed!

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  14. Mr. Wooster is handsome!
    Isn't it confusing having winter weather mixed with spring weather? It upsets my hibernation plans! LOL!

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  15. Hope you are able to save the blooms on the peach tree....I just hate it when it warms up too quickly in February. I always think we are not safe until Easter. My apple trees have bloomed and I even have tomatoes and peppers set out in the garden. Hope we don't get a frost again.

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  16. Risk of frost always worries me when I have plants out. Right now, who cares. It's below freezing day and night.

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  17. How funny the guineas came visiting. : )
    We got a bunch of snow today, but we don't have any flowers coming up yet.
    It sure has been a crazy winter.

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  18. Those guineas must be very social birds.
    I hope you escape frost damage.

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  19. Hello,
    I do love guineas. I grew up with them.
    Our weather is silly around here too. We had 60 degrees two weeks ago. Never heard of in February in Northern Wisconsin. Today we are back to waking up to 4 degrees!!!
    I hope all turns out for you and your plants. I know it is hard to see them freeze.
    Carla

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  20. I love that you live in a cabin in the woods...that is a dream of mine :)

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  21. The weather here has been much the same, everything from strong sun shine to snow with the odd blast of Arctic wind. My fruit trees have wisely not opened any flower buds yet.

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  22. I'm so sorry to hear about your cold spell . . . it's never good news after fruit trees start to bloom. When I see your rooster and your guineas I have to say that I get a little bit jealous. Our daughter lives in an urban neighborhood and has four laying hens . . . I've yet to talk Steve into letting me build a coop and getting a few chickens. I just think having fresh eggs would be wonderful. I've never raised chickens and he has (his father had an egg business for a few years with about 1,500 chickens, so it doesn't sound fun to him) I only want three or four :) Maybe after he retired, he'll get more into the small hobby farm state of mind. I hope so :)

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  23. I don't know what to tell you about the windows..I am not creative that way.

    We used to stop at a Hardee's in a nearby town and there was a guinea that greeted us several times. One single guinea...I have no idea where it came from. People gave it handouts...and I saved part of a biscuit for it.

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  24. I didn't know if I should reply to your comment on my blog but I'm never sure if anyone goes back to check. So I'll reply here. I am so sorry your sweet little Penny had a baby and it died. Do you know why it didn't live? Poor you and poor Penny. I wonder if animals grieve and if they do, for how long. Unanswered questions that I can't help thinking about.

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  25. You live in a beautiful place - I hope you managed to save your plants and that pretty little tree. I love early mornings although perhaps not quite as early as yours must have been. Our trees and plants are all saying that Spring is on the way, I hope they are right, we've had a wet and muddy winter - not fun in our area of heavy clay soil as I am aware that at any moment I could turn base over apex! Hello to handsome Mr Wooster.

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