Winter Weather 2010-11

Many of you know that I love studying and talking about the weather...I think I must have been a Weather Girl in another life!!!!!!   Anyhow,   my favorite way to study the weather is by the signs of nature...  People call this "Weather Lore"----but since I have followed the signs of nature for many years,  I have found that this is actually a better way of predicting the weather than the fancy ways the professionals try to do it!!!

I love the Farmers'  Almanac---and find it quite accurate (at least more accurate than other sources).   There is a lady (Melinda Hedgecoth) from Crab Orchard, TN who has predicted the weather in our area every year since her mother (Helen Lane) died.   Helen predicted our winter weather for years and years---and I remember reading Helen's predictions when I was in college (in the '60's).

This year,  due to nature's signs,  Melinda's headline in our newspaper said:  "Bundle Up! Winter Could Be a Humdinger!"   I laughed at my good friend Neal's comment on yesterday's blog when I asked:  "When is Spring?"   Neal knows me too well... He knows how much I LOVE SNOW.  I must admit that I do love snow ---and get excited when thinking about the possibilities...

Here is what nature showed us about this coming winter's weather:
-the wooly worms around here were black on both ends and brown in the middle;  That showed us that we will have cold weather at the beginning and ending of winter --with a warm spell in the middle;
-the wooly worms were seen this year earlier (June/July) than usual (Sept/Oct)--and that is  a sign of a cold winter
-six early-morning fogs in August  (1 heavy,  1 moderate, and 4 patchy);  This means 1 big snow,  1 moderate one,  and 4 'blue darters' which give no measurable accumulation.
-lots of spider webs grown at ground level --which means a hard winter;
-large mast crop (AMEN to that --since we picked up a zillion nuts/acorns in our yard);
-hornets' nests built near ground level denotes a harsh winter;
-a cold, hard winter always follows a VERY hot summer (which we definitely had);

So ---- will we have another cold and snowy winter here on the Cumberland Plateau????   IF we can believe the signs of nature,  YES  we will...  And yes, Neal!!!!   I am very happy about that!!!!!   "Let it SNOW!"  ----ha

Hugs,

Getting Ready for Winter

On Thursday,  George and I spent the day getting ready for a FRIGID weekend on the Cumberland Plateau....  This will be our FIRST freeze--and you know what that means.  Our 2010 Roses are gone for the year!!!! Sigh!  But--that will just give me something to look forward to in the spring!!!!!

Here are some pictures showing what we have done to prepare for winter on the Cumberland Plateau.  Above is a picture showing some of my 10 potted plants and hanging baskets that I de-bugged and brought inside for the winter.  This area is in the Dining Room next to one of the sliding glass doors...  They will stay warm --and yet get some sun in winter... (I tried keeping some of my plants in the garage last year,  but it was too cold for them there.)  Below are more!!!!

How many women out there have about 40 gorgeous rose blooms or buds in their home at the same time?????   I DO!!!!!!   George cut and brought in all of the Roses from the yard on Thursday...  The picture above shows ALL of them ---but I now have them spread around the home in several locations... SO BEAUTIFUL!!!!  (I will miss them when they are gone!)  NOTE:  You can see some of the hanging baskets to the left in the photo.

Here is a photo of one of our 3 Reblooming Irises ---which are so pretty right now... Aren't they just gorgeous?   I hate to see them get frozen... SO--you'll have to look at the next picture to see what we did.

We are trying to save these 3 Irises --at least for awhile longer (until winter sets in permanently)... SO--we have bagged them in hopes of saving them --through these next 3 cold nights... I'll keep you posted as to whether this works or not.. I've never had Irises blooming this late in Fall--so this is a new one for me.

You have seen alot of pictures of our home recently --looking at all of the big trees in the back yard.  Here's one more (above) taken this past Thursday --showing that most of the leaves are either down --or ready to come down.. Winter is coming to the Glade!!!

Here is my HERO.... George is doing his husbandly duty at our woodpile --splitting wood and then bringing several stacks to the garage... Those warm fires in our fireplace in this kind of weather don't just happen!!!!!   I am a fortunate woman to have a man who takes care of that for us...   He knows how much I love those roaring fires.

Here's a picture of the maple tree in our front yard... The Maples in our area have shown their colors off and on all Fall. Some have turned late--like OURS.  There is not much color left around Fairfield Glade.

Finally,   this last picture was taken on Friday afternoon....    We knew that frigid weather was coming  and they predicted some rain and snow....  But--guess what this was???? SLEET....   And this was only Friday... The REALLY cold weather hadn't gotten here at that time....

I'll close asking one final question:  "When is SPRING?"   ha ha ha

Hugs,

UPDATE:  Low here on Friday night was 26;  Low on Saturday night was 25; Low last night was 28... BUT--they say that warmer weather is now on the way!!!