13 degrees at 5 am. Not as cold as the storm after Thanksgiving, but pretty cold. This time the snow stayed in place on the veggie garden, so probably less damage to the spinach/chard/onions, etc. And not as much dessicating wind this time. On the down side, the heavy snow broke the netting on the blueberry screen house.

20 degrees on our deck here in Oregon City. All fountains and bird baths frozen solid. The birds sure appreciate fresh dry warm seed scattered and tubes filled for them now!

I you don't happen to know there are electric heaters you can get to keep small fountains and bird baths thawed.

22° in Poulsbo and no real snow. Lucked out this time - in November we dropped to 13°. Actually, the snow has accumulated to about 1/4 at least three times and the first two times it melted.

The snowplow/sanding truck just drove by.........this is not the usual occurrence in Shoreline :-(( And to be honest, I'm a bit tired of its frequency this winter.

My outdoor thermometer was yet another fatality of the housepainters so I have no idea how cold it's been here. Suffice it to say I'm tired of nuking the bunnies' waterbottle each morning, chipping out the birdbath and hauling the hummingbird feeder inside at night and back out each morning.

I've given up on the plants entirely......those that survive the rigors of winter in my garden do so on their own without assistance from me. Those that don't, well it's just another reason to go plant shopping later :-)

Maybe next time you have the house painted, have it done by something other than apes.

Gardengal, I'm with you all the way. Whatever doesn't survive the winter creates an opportunity to try something new in the vacated spot.

... Don

Ron, perhaps you'd like to chip in? I'll certainly keep you in mind the next time I paint :-) FWIW, they did a decent job painting......they were just not as attentive to the surroundings as I would have hoped.

You've mentioned collateral damage from this same project before. Somehow I don't see the need for utter disregard. I've driven by a site in time to see a can of extra(?) paint emptied onto a willowleaf cotoneaster. Instant variegation.

We hit 16 degrees last night. I've been worried about all my new plants, but I'll try to adopt Pam's attitude: we'll get to buy more. :)

Lows for the last three nights near Poulsbo.... 22°F, 20°F, 25°F. Some Poulsbo locations were a couple degrees colder than that. It finally popped above freezing today, 34°F. Feels downright balmy... now where's my swim trunks?

Please do not put on your swim trunks!

Without checking, I'll say I think it was Graham Stuart Thomas who called failed plants providing a chance to try new ones garden opportunism.

Clad only in goggles, flippers and huge neon pink, red and white board shorts - his limbs and trunk pale as snow gums in glaring contrast - Dr. B. marched toward the icy waters, pausing occasionally to take meteorological readings.

My little min-max thermometers (the old fashioned type which I love) had a low of 18 F from Friday night, and a bit warmer the last two nights. I've still got four inches of snow (my neighborhood got over six on Wednesday night and it has been s-l-o-w to melt).

I braved the elements to nail up cross beams and pickets in what I hope will be a fun little fenced kitchen garden, but it was not fun looking for dropped nails in the snow, grumble grumble. Like many of you, I'm getting a little fatigued with this weather!

Happy gardening,
Grant

Of course, this is first year that I didn't dig the dahlias. If they did not survive...I will not re-invest. Good Luck all Gardeners!

Dr. B. being Ian, in case anyone didn't get it.

Our lowest temp of this recent wretched spell was 8 degrees one morning. 9 and 10 several other mornings. Still below freezing now, although there was a fair attempt at melting today. We were treated to 11 inches of snow served up last Wednesday and I count the days until it disappears.

Charleney, too bad about the dahlias, but don't give up hope yet. It probably didn't freeze deeply enough to kill all of the tubers. Some of them are pretty tough customers.

My min max thermometer under my deck in west Oly showed 9.8 degrees that Friday night 1-12. I call it a nice round 10 degrees. I think it had been only down to 20 degrees the night before. Did not go above freezing til that Sunday afternoon - a balmy 35 degrees. Not enough snow cover to protect things. Primroses looked sad sad sad even though I moved them into the garage every night - at 10 degrees, an unheated uninsulated garage won't be all that warm either. They are fine now with warmer temps.

I find my min max thermmometer an essential gardening tool! along with the rain gauge.

Oh and ...

I was in the Kent area on thursday, in the agricultural fields along West Valley Highway. 1" or more of solid ice over the flooded fields, and a good 2" of ice on a duck pond. And that was a few days after it went above freezing finally.

Highway 8 between Olympia and Summit Lake, in the gorge where the road is carved through solid basalt, had HUGE sheets and ropes of ice covering the vertical basalt. The kind you could climb up with ice ax and crampons.

Tumwater Falls in Tumwater draped in ice and icicles too, along with all the vegetation alongside the falls and the rapids.