Welcome to JOYFUL REFLECTIONS. Also welcome to MARCH!!!! My header picture this month is a photo I took of the pretty Crocus blooms in our yard... The Crocuses and Daffodils are the first signs of spring here in Tennessee. I am definitely ready for SPRING...

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Baby, It's Cold Outside!!!!


When I got up at dawn yesterday morning to feed my birdies, the thermometer on our deck registered at 2 degrees above zero. (NOTE picture above.) But--according to the 'official' almanac, our low yesterday here in Crossville, Tennessee was ZERO degrees!!!! That is 'plum' cold for us southerners!!!!! (Two more pictures below)



Above, our beautiful rhododendron is shriveled up ---and it almost seemed to shiver!!! It doesn't even look like a rhododendron, does it???? Poor thing! I heard it say, "I want Spring."



This picture above of our sunrise was taken yesterday morning about 6:30 a.m. from our deck. It was so cold that the boards on the deck 'popped' very loudly, and scared me to death!!!! The good news is that I gave the birdies plenty of food. George and I went to Hendersonville all day yesterday to see his elderly parents (who incidentally are doing well). SO---I don't know whether the Starlings came back or not... I'll watch for them tomorrow. Hopefully, they have moved on to greener pastures!!

38 comments:

Anonymous said...

You have some lovely but cold photos there Betsy. We have -14 yesterday and it is just 1 here today or right now.

Lloyd Irving Bradbury said...

You think its cold,you are so spolied!

Jayne said...

It was 8 degrees here yesterday Betsy. Pretty darn cold for north Georgia! Hope you all had a good day with George's parents.

SmilingSally said...

I've visited Hendersonville before! Stay warm.

Kim said...

Those pictures do indeed look cold! Hopefully it will let up soon for all of use. Right now 20 degrees would be a heat wave!

Tina said...

Your post made me feel cold just reading it! The dog is dancing all around me as I type as we ALWAYS walk after breakfast..and it is only 18 degrees with wind! I try and walk three miles everyday..but these past few days have been brutal..but off we go! Keep warm!!

Anonymous said...

Glad your in-laws are doing well. I, too, am ready for Spring and warmer temps Betsy.

Shelley said...

Wow Betsy - do you have any snow yet to go with that cold?! If not, I imagine soon! Zero sounds like a heat wave to me right now! LOL! Last night we were -8! Glad George's parents are doing well and hope you have a lovely visit! I am going crazy w/ this dial up service at the cabin so I'm going to hit a coffee shot later for high speed!

Busy Bee Suz said...

Love the sunrise. SO pretty.
The weather is really intense for you guys right now...stay warm.

Oh, I gave you the letter R for the alphabet meme. have fun.

Michele said...

Gosh Betsy... it is a tad chilly, isn't it for your area, I am sure!
You must stay warm. Hot chocolate and marshmallows are in order, I think!
For me that is normal everyday weather and I welcome those temps... our latest cold snap had our temps down to -42 C (-44 F) for over 2 weeks which made for some spectacular ice fog... and then to top it off we later added wind chills so I hope you don't get much colder than you are now!
Take care!
~Michele~
Mountain Retreat

Anonymous said...

Me again....I think you & George would love to look at Zaroga's Nook blog on my sidebar this a.m. - beautiful bald eagle photos. Take a look.

Mary said...

I hate when the rhododendrons look like that because I know it means that it is really cold out there! Mine look pretty shriveled, too. Like the sky shot.

Susie said...

Betsy that is so cold. I am so glad it didn't get as cold here as they originally predicted.

I hope you stay warm and have a great weekend.

ShabbyInTheCity said...

Whew! Do you know I thought that was your bathroom scales and I was gonna say "BETSY...YOU HAVE GOT TO EAT." I was gonna put my foot down!

Dianne said...

Hey Betsey! Sorry you're freezing. Been there-done that and didn't like it one bit. It's supposed to be 79 degrees here today.

To answer your question it is the study and science of skin so I can do facials, extractions, peels, waxing and I've also been trained in lasers. Just not sure this is the salon for me. I need younger people to keep me going.

Anonymous said...

Well, cold is all relative to what we're used too, isn't it. So stay warm and snuggy and keep your eye on the calendar - this too shall pass!

Cicero Sings said...

Glad that all was well in Hendersonville and that you had safe journeys. Your rhody will be fine, will perk right up again. We have lots of rhodes in Vancouver and temperatures go lower than that there. With temps like that, maybe you'll get your coveted snow!

Penny from Enjoying The Simple Things said...

We you in Hendersonville NC? It is cold here too! Our power was out for about 24 hours yesterday. A transformer blew out.

You asked about my rooster collection. I just really have a few and I like them because they fit into my French Country decorating style.

Stay warm!

Small City Scenes said...

Brrrr.....that is cold. It rarely get THAT cold here but it can. Right now it is all frosty but only 30degrees. I see you love waterfalls. I even have a small waterfall at my pond. I'll post it for you. MB

Unknown said...

That is cold, for you. Your birdies are lucky the get extra treats from you.

We are so thankful that it's 21 above today. That's 45 degrees warmer than it was early yesterday morning. The worst of our winter cold is over!


We'll send some of this warm air over to you. :-)

Stay warm and have a safe trip.

Jen said...

I sure wish you could have some snow with all that cold, then you would enjoy it I know. :)
Pretty sunrise!

-6 here yesterday morn. ugh!

Anonymous said...

It's only 6 degrees here..You and George might want to do the Five Things I Love About Nature tag that I just posted..it was fun..

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

Betsy: We had two cold nights at
-10F. We are going to 21F today and the snow is coming back.
I had originally tagged you and George to do the 5's photos and then I saw George had already done it.

Karin said...

Even the cold weather doesn't seem to stop you from enjoying each new day as it comes!! Sorry to see the rhododendrons shivering so! I love when they are all in bloom! Soon, let's hope!

Ruth's Photo Blog said...

Hey,Betsy just think of us poor northerners and you won't feel so cold.
Blessings,Ruth

Rosa said...

Yes! It's cold!!! Lordy me. I had starlings (like you, I think) last summer and I had to quit putting food out. They were a mess! And quite greedy and quite an abundance of them. Yuk. I did see a flock of Robins the other day but I'm sure they've headed back south by now! tehe. Too early for those babies up here!! Stay warm my friend and I am happy to hear your inlaws are doing dandy. xo

dot said...

That's just toooooooo cold!

Rose said...

Glad to hear George's parents are doing well...we got down to -11 the other night. Even though we are farther north than you are by several miles, 0 and below seems really cold to us, too.

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Abe--- I know that there are so many other areas in the country which have lower temperatures... BUT--we just don't usually have temps down to ZERO here.

Lloyd---Well, I don't think that spoiled is the right word here... We chose to live in the south---so that our temperatures wouldn't be this cold. But--they are, which makes yours even colder!!!! Oh Well---tis life.

Jayne---That's pretty darn cold for GA also, isn't it Jayne??? Thanks--we found George's parents in good spirits and quite healthy... Amazing two people!!!

Sally---You have been to Hendersonville???? This one is in Tennessee. There's also a Hendersonville, NC... Our Hendersonville is north of Nashville, and the other Hendersonville is south of Asheville... Confused???? ha

Tina--Ohhhh---- bundle up if you are out there walking. I like hiking in winter --but this week is a little too cold even for me.

Mildred---Thanks---George's parents are amazing.. Both are healthy and happy right now!!! Yes, Spring will come--but I'm impatient!!!! ha... Cannot believe you had snow flurries tonight... We had RAIN (28 degrees)... Gads!!!!

Shelley--NO snow yet. You are going to have to bring it down I guess since we just aren't getting anything. As I told Mildred, we had rain tonight --and it is 28 degrees. What's up with that???? Thanks for asking about my inlaws. They are remarkable. Still happy and healthy and doing fine... Amazing!!!! Can you get something at the log cabin besides dial-up???

Suzanne---I had fun today working on my meme... It was so much fun!!!! It will be published in the morning. How's your weather??? Hope you don't get any of this cold stuff down there.

Michele-- I like hot chocolate --but George and I also drink hot tea. I love your area---but have never lived in the north. SO---I could never get used to your frigid temperatures. These temps here in TN this week are cold enough for me!!!! Yipes!!!!

Mildred---Thanks... I'll check it out. I love bald eagles.

Mary-- It's amazing how the rhodies shrivel up like that. Then--when it warms up, they open back up as if nothing ever happened. I can't wait til Spring since this big rhody really blooms--and is so gorgeous!!!!

Susie, Yes--this is cold for US.. How's your weather? Did you get any of these cold temps down there? I hope you have a wonderful weekend also.

Heck Phyllis---I'd take that weight... Then I could eat all of the peanut butter that I wanted!!!! ha ha... How funny!!!!

Dianne--79 Degrees??? So---you missed the Arctic freeze out there in 'Zona, huh???? Well--the job possibility sounds good, but if you have your choices of salons, you can be picky where you go...

Deb from Canada---I'm sure it's funny to you hearing me gripe about OUR temps when yours are so much lower. Oh Well--like you said, this too shall pass!!! BUT--it's hard to be patient.

Cicero--Thanks. We found George's parents quite healthy and happy this time. Those two amaze me!!! I know the rhody will be fine---but it just looks so horrible right now. OH--I'm not sure about getting any snow. It seems to just go all around us.... Sigh!

Penny---NO--we were in Hendersonville, TN (north of Nashville). I've heard about people getting confused about the two Hendersonville's. Hendersonville, TN is north of Nashville. Hendersonville, NC is south of Asheville. Crazy, huh???? I do love your rooster collection!!!! SO gorgeous--with your other 'pretties.'

Hi MB, This weather is unusual for us thank goodness. Our weather is just crazy this year. Right now, it's 28 degrees and RAINY... What's up with that???? ha
Yes---post the waterfall sometime. You know how happy I'll be to see that!!!!

Fiona--Yes, I am making sure the birdies get alot of extra treats on these kind of days. AND--we had plenty of birds at the feeders all day. Maybe we'll be 21 degrees warmer soon also!!! Thanks for sending it to us!!!!

Jen--- Well, I love snow---but i''m picky. I really like a good, wet snow (one that clings to everything) when it's about 37 degrees. I don't want much, do I???? ha

Michelle--Thanks!!! I have read some great posts on the Five Things I Love about Nature. Sounds like fun. I may do it sometime. It would be hard to choose only FIVE. ha

Tom---We both have been tagged for that one, Tom. In fact I got tagged twice--and the second time, I had to go to Folder 4, Picture 4.. Fun!!!!

Karin--I told you on your blog--but I will tell you again how much I appreciated that award. I put it on my sidebar. Thanks Again!!! WELL--weather THIS cold does slow us down some.. We did have to go to Hendersonville yesterday to check on George's parents. BUT--today, we've been inside most of the day. The Rhody will come back like it always does, but it looks so horrible when it gets this cold.

Ruth--I know that it's hard for me to complain about our temps when yours are so much lower. I cannot imagine living up north with those horrible temps. I guess we all adapt --depending upon where we are. Me??? I prefer warmer temps!!!!

Rosa--I've heard that if you do have alot of startlings, the best thing to do is to take away all of the food for awhile. Hopefully, they'll move on. Let's hope that neither of us have many of those birds! Thanks. The inlaws are doing fine right now.

Barb--Yes, it's supposed to be warmer than THIS... HA HA.... I don't mind cold weather. We do need some to kill all of the mosquitos, etc. ---But ZERO degrees??? That's pushing the 'cold' a little too far for us!!!! We're just not used to these temps... I'm sure your sister is cold also. Brrrrr.... The Rhody will come back. It always does--but it sure looks bad right now!!!

Dot--You are right... Toooooooooooooo Cold!!!

Thanks Rose. Those two elderly people amaze me. They are both doing fine right now. I heard that Neal and Patty headed to Florida to get away from the cold..Smart, huh????

Grammy said...

Burr. Hope you are staying warm. I went and put warm seed out for the bids today as all of it was froze together. It was fun to watch them line up and watch me.

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Yes Grammy, We all need to take good care of our birdies during this kind of weather.

Anonymous said...

Betsy, first what are you doing awake and posting at 4am...toooo early. The thermometer on back porch read -16 and my pipes were frozen for most of the day yesterday.
All is well on the pondoroso now though.....I like your I'M SORRY BLOG...

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Gill - That British Woman said...

wait till I tell dh, as we were just talking about your neck of the woods at supper tonight. We are a bit warmer at around -8 oC today which is around 18 oF, which is positively balmy after the temps we had earlier in the week,

Gill in Canada

Anonymous said...

It's in single digits here, too.
Those trees with the sunrise peering through show off the day's glow!

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Mary Lee-- I'm definitely not up at 4:00. I use a 'timer' to post my blogs each morning at that time. I used to be a night owl--but no longer!!!!

Hey Gill---Well send some of that 'balmy' weather this way. Okay???? I must admit though that it has warmed up some here today also. It got up to about 43 degrees (f)--so that is truly a heat wave. HA!!

Thanks for stopping by, Gel. I checked out your blog and left a message. However, I'm not sure it 'took.' Come back anytime!!!

Connie said...

Hope you are staying warm! :D

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Yes Daisy---It's warmed up here today. We had an ice storm last night--but today, the temp got up to about 43 (heat wave)... ha ha