Cat's Garden in Austin, TX

It sounds like an ice machine out there. We have icicles hanging from the bird feeders, from railings, and from all sorts of items. Earlier we got up to 33 (low was 30), had some rain, and it sounded like an ice making machine here on the front porch. You could hear ice melting then cracking, then running down the drain pipes outside. It was almost funny. But with any luck we should hit 55 tomorrow.  I'll believe it when I see it.

Yes, we hit cold - the low last night was 20.8 here at the house.  THAT'S JUST PLAIN COLD!! And it looks like we will be cold the next couple of days. Like just above freezing cold. And they say possible rain. I hope we don't get the rain even if we are cold.

Weird weather the past few days.  How weird, you ask. Sunday night hit a low of 27. Today, Tuesday we had a high of 75, and tomorrow night, Wednesday night we are due for a low of 22.  Definite swings in temperatures. Pat came over last weekend and help with some yard work. He worked on the trees some more and turned over a couple of the veggie beds. Since all the tomatoes are finally dead and pulled out of the ground, I figured we should turn the soil over. That take a good back, strong arms, and a pitch fork. I don't have that strong of a back, nor that strong of arms, we do have the pitch fork. I worked the small corner where the basil was (should be for salad lettuce), and worked the beds around what is still growing (some lettuce, onions, asparagus). Today I did a little more work in those beds and put some lettuce seeds in the area around the other lettuce. I figured now is as good as any, especially since the lettuce is growing still. I also transplanted a few lettuce...

Merry Xmas, Happy New Year and all that jazz.  Yes, I know its been a while. But we were gone on a trip and got back just before Christmas. And we got back to strange weather. It was warm - low 70's warm. But this week, between Christmas and New Year, its cooling down. Our highs are in the low to mid 40's. We haven't had much rain, just little dribs and drabs. For example today we've gotten 0.25 inches of rain, mainly in the form of a heavy mist, and at 2pm its 41 degrees.  So cool, and damp, but not wet enough to call it rain. The weather said we should have gotten rain the other day, but that didn't happen. They also said this would be a colder than usual winter. That hasn't really happened either. We had a cold snap before Thanksgiving, but that was really it. Its so warm some of the plants are trying to set out new buds. Not the best timing. This is Texas. We could still get cold in January and February. We'll see what happens.

I was gone the past few day. Spent some time in San Antonio visiting. While I was gone we had our first freeze. Mid November but we've got a good cold front sitting here.  And here is what my plants look like: The basil is dying.   The watermelon died. Even the beans froze. Well, can't expect them to live forever. Everything else is covered now. The first freezing night was Thursday, Nov. 13. Last night, Nov 14 it was cold, but not freezing. Tonight, Nov 15 should be cold but not freezing. Sunday, Monday and Tuesday nights will be in the freezing or below freezing range. We're talking 35-28 degree nights. Then the days and nights should warm back up.  If you want bad weather Wisconsin had about 50" of snow from this front. And with more cold on the way, not sure how much more they will get.

Its the end of October, 2014. How does your garden grow?  Well, this is how mine is growing. Anaheim peppers Ancho peppers      Basil and kale that won't die  Tomatoes  Yellow Squash Tomatoes   Yes I do have watermelon still growing.

It was a rainy night last night.  We got 3" by the automatic meter system, except the manual rain gauge says we got 4.25".  And we just got about another inch in the last hour. And more rain is on its way. The Weather Channel says we have between 80% and 40% rain over the next 5 days. So it looks like we've hit a wet patch. Its been lightning and thunder, hard to sleep at night. So far all the rain has been either late in the day or at night. Its the night rain that makes it so hard to sleep. But the plants are getting a good watering.  That's the good news. And the temperatures are below 90, so its humid during the day, but at least its not as bad as it could be.