It's gonna get wet here, a big storm is moving in by tomorrow night, will last for a couple of days. We had a very pleasant Indian Summer, temps in the low seventies, mild days and chilly nights, now November will get serious.
Rivers and creeks will be running and the salmon will come in to spawn, maybe the reservoirs will have a chance to replenish, though the drought may not be over, but it will eas off some

It is 55 right now in Chicago, and the pond is covered, the filters and pumps are disconnected. Koi are on the bottom but still moving around. The grand re-opening will not be until later march or April.

Flower and vegetable beds are empty and mulched with leaves, roses are under piles of leaves but still blooming. I do need to bring in the Brussels sprouts before the freeze. All garden "toys" and furniture is covered with tarps.

It may sound like I am ready, but I am not. Nope, not ready for the cold and snow.

Out today finishing up the tilling and bed prep for spring. Windows are washed, outdoor furniture brought in, pond shut done, mulch being spread right now.

The snow blower doesn't come back from its tuneup til Thurs, but the snow is supposed to stay north of us.

Brussel sprouts taste best if allowed to endure some freezing temps. The cold causes the plant sugars to concentrate in the sprouts. If your cold spell is predicted to last very long, then you can harvest and store the trees (upside down and sprouts intact) but let them spend a night or two in the cold. They can tolerate a few nights in the teens with ease.

Jim, I was not able to tell how cold it would get, the crazy characters showed up in your post. (-9� C).
Could you please type out the temp in letters. I'm curios.
It does not get really cold here in Silicon Valley, but I start complaining when it gets down to the sixties during daytime, and the first frost makes me worry about my citrus trees.

lilo, I'm curios about where there is a salmon run in your neck of the woods?
I'm familiar with the Russian River salmon run, it is tightly controlled. There are man made ladders and there is a fish and game warden standing at the first ladder.
Is there a natural run in your neck of the woods?

By this time next week, no temperatures (day or night) will be above freezing. The average for us for this time of year is mid-50s during the day and mid-30s at night.

That thing that you could not make out was the conversion to Celsius for any Canadians who read this.

Jim

Thanks Jim, you are right, it's cold.

WG, there used to be salmon runs here, the Eel river and it's tributaries, the Sacramento River, the Ten Mile Creek by Fort Bragg, it joins the Eel, there are so many water-ways, but not so much salmon any more. The industrial type logging in the eighties
changed the environment, no more tree-covers over the rivers, so the young ones never made it back to the ocean, and they always return to their place of birth to spawn.

It's getting cold here tonight, so I do what I have done for the last 3 days - rake leaves. Found out that the city is picking up, starting today. With the many oak leaves, I have to get as many as i can out to the street. It takes about 10 years to compost shredded leaves. My yard would be one big compost heap. At 5 pm yesterday the yard looked clean, this morning it looks as if it has not rakedat all.

I created a section of my back yard with native plants. All I did was turn the soil with my shovel and then put them in. I did get some shredded leaves from the husband of a woman I used to work with. I spread them around the area and that was that. I have done it for two years. I did not do it this year because the plants got to be way too big. Some of them had descriptions that indicted 4 to 5 feet tall and they were taller than 6 feet! I figured that the shredded leaves were the culprit.

I do have a compost bin that I cleared out a couple of weeks ago. I piled it to the side and covered it with some fine wood mulch. That will go into the new veggie garden in the spring. The spot where I have been growing veggies has become too shady from a near-by elm tree.

Yesterday, I emptied both rain barrels and moved them aside and added extra downspout stuff to have the water flow away. Last year, I forgot to do that and one of the rain barrels froze and I had to use an axe to break it open and then break it down. I made some adjustments and both rain barrels will be in the sun this winter.

I don't really mind the cold (although this is a early for this much coldness), but the wind is the thing that will get to me. This weather system has begun to move in (into the mid-20s tonight) and the wind is gusting to 20 mph. No snow in the forecast as yet, just cold.

Okay, I've experienced the cold this winter, so now it can warm back up! I do not like cold weather. It hurts me. It makes me grouchy like an old bear. Monday we dropped 55 degrees in 6 hours - from 82F to 27F. Right now it is 19F and with the wind feels like 5F. Tonight is forecast to be 15F. Weathermen are saying we will not be above freezing at night until at least Nov. 21. DH will be flying in from Peoria, IL this Sunday and we will be in Austin from Nov. 18 through Nov. 22 for DH to have cardiac ablation done and I really hope this cold front doesn't go down that far. Would appreciate your prayers and good thoughts for him.

Did get the stock tank heaters back in yesterday but still need to run the heavy duty cord from the greenhouse for them. Need to go get another round bale ring today to replace the one that the "boys and girls" trashed a couple of weeks ago. Haven't quite figured out how they did it. Looks like some futuristic metal sculpture...LOL. We have a really heavy one that is made out of square tubing that they can scoot around but not bend. I like to keep two big round bales out so if the weather gets really nasty they will have plenty of hay for several days without me having to climb on the tractor and put more out. Will be glad when DH retires next March.

Everyone stay warm and safe and keep repeating - Spring will come......LOL.

All the leaves are blowing inside the doors of the buildings I am entering/leaving. Shouldn't have to rake inside!

At least you would be out of the wind and cold while you raked.....LOL.

Oh my gosh, there seems to be some nasty cold weather around the us. Come visit Silicon Valley for a break, 73 h, 40 l, and sunshine.
gmatx , my best thoughts are with you and your DH.

Stick your tongue on a metal pole to test temp.

Done that, OldFixer , more than once, what was I thinking?

gtmax, my best wishes and an armfull of sunflowers for your husband and you. I light my candle.

gmatx, your DH and you are in my thoughts and prayers. Perhaps knowing that so many of us are hoping for good things for both of you will be comforting.

I'd rake them for you if I could! (((gmatx)))

I used to for my grandparents (about the only time I ever got to, is why I liken it to that). I'd do the whole front yard, and he would give me a quarter. But I didn't do it for that. My younger sister loved to jump in the pile I'd make her. It was close to the house and no car would have ever gone near it. No worries. I'd scoop them up again, and then put them in the firepit in the back yard. Shows how long ago that was. You're not even allowed to burn in Davidson without a permit any more. But we sure had fun doing that. Fond memories.

The morning newspaper indicated that our high yesterday was 33. It must have happened during the night; when I got up at 5:30 it was 29 and never got above that. Fortunately the winds are not strong.

Our paper also notes the soil temperature, both at 4 inches and 8 inches. That's a big deal for the farmers in our area. I watch it for my own gardening chores. 48 degrees. I still have a bit of lettuce out there, but not much else.

Your thoughts, prayers, hugs, sunflowers and candles are greatly appreciated and truly comforting.

Robin, I would take all of the leaves you could rake up! We have mostly locust trees and the leaves are so small that when they fall they just mainly blow away. I would love to have oak leaves and pine needles to add to my compost.

I could be on my way to Texas real soon with bags and bags of leaves (most of them are from a neighbor's tree).

The newest thing...snow. Not in the forecast. Today was supposed to be sunny. Wrong! Snow flurries all day. And still below freezing. I had to bring in the rain gauge, no way it would be able to accurately measure stuff in this weather.

Just saw the first few snowflakes. Did not last more than a few minutes, now the sun comes out, it's 30 and the windchilli is 19 degr. Dug out my gloves.

This is just so not right this early in November - blah. It is 23F and supposed to get down to 10F tonight. We're going to blow the top out of the thermometer Saturday according to the forecast, 57F.....bring it on, quickly!!! Of course we are expecting snow Sunday when DH flies in. Sure hope he doesn't get stuck at DFW.

Hey Jim - I'll make it even easier on you....just get those bags of leaves loaded and drive down to Peoria and put them in DHs garage and we can haul them home when he retires in March. Don't know where we would put the "stuff" such as clothes, TV, etc that would need to come home, but come on, let's get the priorities straight. Oh, by the way, if you haven't dug those hibiscus up you could just add them to the load. See there, good solutions, eh?

We have a few flurries today but at least not enough to accumulate. Of course, I welcome moisture, but would really appreciate it if it would wait until DH gets home and we get the medical issues taken care of.

West_gardener, if we get many long spells like this one I just may have to make a trip to CA. Stay warm everyone.

gmatx , yes, plan a trip to CA, it is a nice place to "thaw out" in winter time.

OK...you got me! A garage in Peoria?

I tossed the hibiscus plants more than a month ago. I let them dry a bit and they went onto the burn pile. That pile is now ashes.

Today, I loaded up the back of my truck and went around to several florists in the area, seeking a customer for some wonderful pee gee hydrangeas (about 60 heads) and yarrow (about 100 flowers) that came from my yard. They all said the same thing...we don't do dried flowers anymore. So...all that will go onto the burn pile.

The forecast shows that we might get up to 33 on Sunday. I doubt it. Next Wednesday we might get up to 37, but that is a long range lie.

Jim, DH is in Peoria, IL on the ADM plant. Darn, I hate it that you really did burn those hibiscus. Have you thought about making arrangements for some of the nursing homes with the hydrangeas and yarrow? It would be a shame to just have to throw them away. List them on Craigslist for free if nothing else. Surely someone would like to have some of them. I see you feel the same about weather forecasting as I do. That is probably the only job I know of that you can be wrong 50% of the time and still keep your job!

West_gardener, are you close of Hollister? Our youngest son's in-laws just moved out here from there the last of September. I called her this morning and told her "welcome to the Texas Panhandle winter weather"! She said that our dry cold doesn't bother her like the moist cold did.

Hollister, CA. Ah. More fond memories. Artichokes are my absolute favorite. I can make a meal out of them.

:)

Snow came and went yesterday. Just flurried. We're at 21 this morning. Wind chill? In the teens. I like it like this when it's close to Thanksgiving/Christmas. But I work outside all day next Monday. I hope it's going to be warmer! Monday football, parking cars (marching band's fund raiser). Go Titans!

Went and looked it up. I guess it's all relative. It's supposed to be warmER. Still. 40s in sunlight, 20s that evening. Brr

My volunteer service for the community is taking care of most of the landscaping at the county-owned nursing home. The county will mow the property (controlled weeds, not grass) and that is all. I have done all the planting of trees, shrubs, bulbs, etc on this 4 acre, 5-year old facility.

I do have some hydrangea and yarrow there and new things that I plant (some of the money comes from the auxiliary) are mostly divisions from my yard. However, I have to be more careful now, as I cannot do as much and thus need lower maintenance plants. I have tried unsuccessfully to get someone to assist (and then take over when I cannot do it anymore) to no avail. This is mostly for the enjoyment of the 200+ residents, however I have been criticized for not making the first view of the entrance not as nice as what the residents see out their windows.

Nothing above freezing here for the past couple of days. Next opportunity for above freezing for both highs and lows will not happen until the 22nd.

gmatx , we live 45 miles south of SF, and we are near the bay, this area is called "The Bay Area". Hollister is about 60 miles south of us, and it is inland, so the weather is probably different than ours.
We have a Farmers Market here, and most of the lushes veggies/fruits come from Hollister/Gilroy farms. Fantastic agriculture areas.

AND Gilroy?! You have a foodie's dream right there. Mmm garlic.

YES on the garlic. It's probably a good thing we don't live there because I can eat more than my share of good garlic. There's very few things that DH and I don't think that adding garlic to makes them taste better! We visited Gilroy several years ago before the DS and DIL moved out here. They took us to Gilroy to see the "Garlic Capital" and I thought the town was quite a nice place.

If you are in San Francisco and want to taste some garlic, go to the Stinking Rose on Columbus Ave. Everything has garlic. After one meal there, my pores oozed garlic for several days. O, so good.

Monday morning at 7:00 a.m. it was 17 degrees with a forecast low for tonight of 9 degrees. Average high/low for today is 51/34; last year it was 71/44 with a tornado less than 10 miles from my house.

Jim, my DH reads his hometown paper on line, every day, and this morning, it was four degrees in Mitchell, South Dakota! Makes him glad he joined the Navy at 18 and never got back there to stay!! :>)

Woke up this morning to snow and we still have some flurries.

Why do so many foods which taste good, smell to high heaven?

Mitchell - been there one time, saw that special feature there and have no big desire to return.

anneliese - you mean, like Lima Beans?

Cabbage? I like the smell, but DH can't stand it.

It's a three dog night here, but of course my one cat who insistet on sleeping pressed against my shoulder all summer long, deserted me for the second night and slept in front of the heating vent.