Cold and Snowy – When is Spring?

The snow and the warm-up alternate.

We wake up to snow some mornings and other days reach the 40s and even 50s . Of course, that is Ohio at this time of year. Falling snow and temperatures are frequently in the below zero range and a few days later we are getting a warm up and running outside with no jacket.

My hypertufa bowls and planters are exposed to the winter elements and off and on are protected by the blanket of snow, but it is best for them if they are not wet under there.

Frozen and dry is fine, frozen and wet is bad.

But most of my outdoor planters are supported on “feet” and quite a few on them are way too big and heavy to bring up on the deck. I tried that one year, but I thought the plants in hypertufa pots and planters did better out in the weather, as opposed to being kept under the deck roof. And it is a lot of work to carry the ones that are portable up under the deck roof.

I have also had issues with squirrels and chipmunks burying nuts or digging for roots. ( Or probably just for fun because they know it gets on my nerves.) This year, I have used plastic bird netting wrapped over the largest hypertufa planters and it seems to have worked. At least I haven’t seen that they have chewed it and been able to enter. I have other hypertufa planters wrapped in groups under the netting. It is just devastating to find one that has been dug up and scattered all over. If you have had it happen to you, you know what I mean.

Meanwhile, we just try and cope with the weather we have, and without a doubt, I will be complaining this summer about how hot and humid it is. That is just human nature, right? Oh, when is spring!

And it is so annoying when my husband “forgets” to put the truck in the garage at night! It is not for me to do, I can’t get that Greyhound Bus through the garage door. It is not like we don’t get weather reports or anything. And even if it is not going to snow, shouldn’t it be kept in the garage anyway? Yes, I win that debate.  Happy wife, happy life….no truer words said, right?