Well, here in Michigan at 6:12 pm it is 19* and promises to get nearer zero that I care for. The fireplace is on and DH has spent his afternoon making chili and bean soup -- yummy!

We had about 5" of snow two days ago and with it this cold, it feels as if it should be even deeper. What's up with this?????

I hate it, but it does make for a nice evening of wrapping up in fabric and sewing until my fingers fall off!

Stay warm, everyone!

It is sooooo cold here in Zephyrhills, FL too. This morning we had slush on the car. It has been a disappointment for our visiting grandson who arrived last Sunday. Waiting for some relief from the New England cold, and getting this weather.

Next week should be better for your grandson. It is a weird cold front, we have set record lows everywhere. I wonder if the rest of the world is feeling this too.
I remember in Tampa we would wake up with frost and by afternoon be wearing short sleeves, maybe this coming week will be like that.

Freezing rain this morning around 10am in east Orlando but I never saw a flake. Up around Ocala Forest they had enough snow to coat the cars and make tiny 6" snowmen! Low tonight will definitely kill many of our plants and hurt the commercial citrus and strawberry people. There's huge strawberry festival in Plant City every February and I can't believe they'll be able to save their crop this year.

Kate

Here in Brooksville, freezing rain this morning but no snow. I called my Uncle in WV to tell him and got absolutely no sympathy whatsoever! My Aunt up on the New River Gorge has been stranded in the house since December 18th. I've been drinking ginger tea and stayed bundled up in my couch quilt all day to try to get warm.
Rita

My sister in Crystal River, FL, posted some pics on her facebook page of snow on their car windshield and patches of it on the ground next to their car. I teased her by asking if they closed the schools.

In central Alabama, it is now 23, expected to go to 15. We had a very light dusting of snow Thursday night, more to the north of us. It has not been above freezing since Wed. and my lake has a thin layer of ice all across it. By the time it warms up, there should be a good coat of ice. The ducks are not happy at all.

I think the Florida / South cold weather *feels* as cold to the southerns as the cold feels to us in the Northeast - now I know my cold doesn't compare to the cold in Canada or the Midwest or even much further North. I would be really pi$$ed if I moved to Florida and got slush and snow and ice - even for a day ~LOL~ In fact, this bitter cold & snowy weather here is really starting to pi$$ me off - and it's only January!!!
Snuggle up everyone - its going to be a cold night everywhere.

We didn't have snow in my part of Crystal River, but did have crust of ice on the windshield. DD with the snow, lives 9 miles inland from us. Our yard used to look like Halloween during these freezes, but the plants have gotten so tall, we can't reach to cover them. So, they're on their own. The Staghorn Ferns growing on the trees have been covered for about a week.

Salijo, Yes, the schools are closed......it's Saturday. lol

SharonG/FL

I feel for you folks in Florida...but be glad you are not in Winnipeg Manitoba these days...-20's with windchill factors in the - 30's and 40's. I tend to hibernate on those days and snuggle up with a good hot cup of tea and some quilt squares to hand quilt...if that doesn't work, our two cats like to snuggle up on either side of me and the dog at my feet..then we exchange body heat with one another...I haven't been back to Florida since 1989 when we spent 6 weeks down there...kids enjoyed it and now they are grown with kids of their own...we plan on being in Florida this time next year..dh spent first five years of his life in West Palm Beach...still has family there so we are going to visit them and take a cruise out of Tampa as well...hope the weather will be warmer then

I'm also in Orlando and didn't notice any snow. It was cold enough to make me buy an electric blanket... I have the central heat and space heater on! I think it's time for chilli and hot chocolate!

The tourists are pretty disappointed tbat they left cold weather up north to come here for THIS!

"I think the Florida / South cold weather *feels* as cold to the southerns as the cold feels to us in the Northeast". Really it doesn't. We know there's a big difference between 20 degrees and -20. I grew up in N.Dakota and lived there until after college so I've know what serious cold feels like and what 8 foot snow drifts look like. I remember going cross country skiing in Wisconsin when it was well below 0. THAT was cold.

You're right though in that it's all relative. In the north and midwest, you're prepared for winter. Houses are built for it, people have the clothing for it. You can have extremes of cold or snow that can make it more dangerous or hard to deal with, but you're usually prepared.

At -20 in North Dakota, our pipes didn't freeze because they were built to handle the cold. Here they often are run through our attics and freeze easily. Lots of us have solar heaters on our pools that are susceptible to freezing too; we've been running the pool pump at night for a week because if the solar piping freezes it will burst.

At -20 in North Dakota, the farmers didn't panic because their crops are dormant during the winter. Here many citrus, fern/foliage and strawberry growers will lose their crops this year. I know ranchers and dairy farmers up north have it tough in extreme winters because they can lose part of their herd. The temps here won't harm cattle but the iguanas are dropping from the trees. (The iguana thing has been kind of amusing.)

At -20 in North Dakota, people may have bundled up more than normal, but they owned coats, hats, scarves and expected to use them every winter. Many people here don't have the clothes for this!

At -20 in North Dakota I didn't have roses and orchids blooming in January!

Kate

I live in Panama City Florida and right now it is 18 degrees. 30 years ago this was the normal winter, my Daddy's big channel catfish pond in the back of our property froze good enough for us young'uns to play on. Water would freeze if left in a glass on the counter, we didn't have central heat/air back then. We had a floor gas heater and would hang a blanket across the dining room door way to keep the heat in the living room. Over the past years the winters have not been as cold as they were when I was growing up. People forgot how cold North Florida got and became used to the warmer weather.
But I remember the bone chilling cold winters, building fires at the bus stop to keep warm, electric blankets on our beds because our bedrooms were the same temp as the outside air.

Luckily my house pipes won't freeze. But Mama's house, we had to go over and drain the pump and the house pipes since she passed away earlier this year and her house is empty.

Her beloved 20 foot orange tree is damaged though. I protected my lemon tree and my roses finally will go dormant for a while...LOL

Deb

When I read my post over today I realized it sounded much, much harsher than I intended. I'm not trying to lecture! Apologies to all, especially to MRG! Sometimes I slip into instructor mode when I don't mean to. I guess the chill addled my brain.

The top of my goldfish pond is completely frozen over this morning. Does anyone know if the goldfish can survive this?

Kate

No worries Kate:) Family & friends in Florida-it did not take them long to "forget" the harsh winters they left behind.
I had a pond at my other house that would freeze each winter. Poke a hole thru the ice for air. If your pond is deep (18")the fish will go to the bottom and 'hibernate'and survive.
Of course my goldfish & Koi were prepared wearing their wool coats, hats mittens and boots. They weren't caught by surprise wearing their little polka dot bikinis & sunglasses! LOL

THese are definitely beach bunny goldfish! But I broke the ice up and they are alive. Swimming very, very slowly but alive.

I didn't think your post sounded like a lecture Kate. Today's newspaper had stories about the snow flurries in Florida and disgruntled tourist.
At least we have had sunshine. Our back patio faces west and I have all of the plants I can get crammed onto it.
I had my 2 big staghorns in the tool shed but had to bring them inside.
No animals to worry about!
The cold was reported to pass this weekend, TODAY, reports are it will be here thru Wednesday.
We had a much longer warm summer, only a week or so of fall, and then this!!!!
I think I'm part lizard, this cold makes me lazy LOL!!!!!
Rosa

Kate, I meant to ask about the iguanas dropping - are they (gulp) d-e-a-d?

Rosa - my brother in Georgia got alittle snow (not enough to cover the grass). he sent pics of his teenagers & many others "sledding" on pcs of plastic, cardboard, etc- he said they hit the slopes early and stayed out late. These kids and dogs were having a blast and all were smiling like their faces were going to break. I saw a few big kids too.
Some people like it :)

Our river is frozen - not solid yet - we have to run the ice eaters to prevent the piers from heaving when the tide changes.

I read some pelicans stopped (for a rest? a visit?)about an hour south of here and got caught in this frigid weather and they couldn't get out of the water - so rescuers have caught them and taken them to a warmer area. So the wildlife are not prepared either :)