baby, it's cold outside

...

Our part of California doesn't really get that cold, but yesterday it snowed at what's called the "lower elevations." The Bay Area had snow at 1,000 feet above sea level. Our little house is probably about forty feet above sea level, so we saw no snow.

Most blog readers will laugh that I'm even mentioning this tiny dusting of snow, but around here, that's a once-ever-five-years event.

Over the course of the afternoon, the cloud cover lifted, which meant that it was going to be a cold night. I brought all of my outdoor plants into our (unheated, but protected) laundry room. Robb hung a 100 watt lightbulb in our citrus tree, which was supposed to generate enough heat to keep the tree from freezing. We worried about the outdoor kitties.

I told Robb that I felt more like a new parent, than a new home owner. I knew that I was being a being a big worrier and taking what were probably unnecessary precautions, but I also didn't care. I didn't want anything bad to happen to my babies.

(All you cold-climate blog readers can please stop rolling your eyes. The lack of cold weather is really important to Robb. Since his accident, he's way more sensitive to the cold, and I can't imagine how he would handle icy sidewalks.)

Comments

Mel said…
Of course you worry about your babies! I was out last spring putting sheets and paper bags over my baby beans and sunflowers and tomato plants. Today, with melting snow on the ground, we planted 25 apple trees (only about 4' tall each, and as big around as a fat thumb!) I'm worrying about them, but word is they should make it - if the deer don't eat them. I hope all your plants were fine!
Anonymous said…
The cats will be ok, they have fur- they will find a nice place to warm up and cuddle in-

You may feel compelled to let them into a back porch of yours- but don't let them mingle with your kitty. A clean cardboard box with an old towel in it is usually sufficient for the cats, shove it under your back porch and give them awhile to get used to it, make sure other vermin are not nesting in there for the winter-

Annalisa
Lisa said…
Honestly, I was more worried about the lemon tree than the cats.

Cats have brains, and can take care of themselves.
LunaSea said…
A smidge off topic, but... I'm loving your theme of posts titled with song lyrics. And living in Cali too (23* out this morning when I took the boy to school), I had "Baby, it's cold outside" running through my head all day.
Anonymous said…
When we lived in Michigan, the thin sunlight of winter would reflect off the snow and really raise the temps of the plants there. I read up about it and discovered that, yes indeedy, you can wrap plants (like apple, peach and pear trees) not so much to keep them protected from the cold, cause the bark itself sort of shrinks up in the cold. When the warmer air and sun finally makes a come back, a rapid increase in the temps sometimes makes the sap start flowing too quickly thru the tree bark, and the bark itself will crack, thus damaging and sometimes killing the tree. A slow warm up is better than a quick one- for all plants involved. For local plants in the ground I just throw a sheet or toss a bunch of leaves on top. If this were after xmas, I'd say toss your xmas tree branches on your outdoor ground-trapped plants and sleep worry free. We are supposed to get 2 inches of snow here topped with 1/2 inch of snow. Tonight. Tell Robb that ice is no fun for anyone, mobility-issues or not! Time to get out the ice scraper from the car for good, now.

Annalisa
Marcy Marchello said…
Hi Lisa and Robb! You might feel a little warmer reading a new blog from your warm abode (and hopefully climate!). www.everyoneoutdoors.blogspot.com
It is actually a year round accessible recreation blog -perhaps you will find some interesting topics in there, especially if you are ever visiting the east coast!

You may remember me by my letterboxing trail name, Curious Crow, though I have no boxes in the west, yet!

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