For me, I'd be thrilled if I could eliminate January's and February's weather from our calendar and replace them with an extra May and another October. I don't mind November and December too much since the yard looks so nice that time of year (because of all my broadleaf evergreens -- magnolia, live oaks, holly, osmanthus, etc.).

Dave, I have a hoard of evergreen . Magnolias (8 of those alone), holly, Osmanthus, Photinia and Laurel..., (no room for the Live Oak..., yet), it's still a dark time of the year, why do you think we have all these ghosts, goblins, zombies, vampires, fiends, and assorted politicians running around?! I still prefer January, despite the cold and snow. Days are getting longer and moving closer to Spring!

George Burns beat you to that one, Tapla. To paraphrase George, once you get older, every 15 minutes it's time for another meal.

"If you are 60 and decide to retire at age 66, you must wait the same amount of time as the 6-year-old, 6 years.but that span of time represents only 10% of the length of time you have existed ...... and you can do that standing on your head, right?"

Well not for me! Which is exactly why I decided to retire at 60 this year, so guess I could not do it standing on my head., but do admire your apparent agility. LOL!

The latest long term winter forecast says those of us in Virginia is warmer than normal. Last year was supposed to be average, so if this is warmer than usually, I'll be wearing shorts in December. Guess that means that Dave and I will be doing "winter" grafting. The map showed colder and wet for NJ, so unfortunately the solstice is visiting you.

La Nina is more complicated than an El Nino event, basically, the only strong tendency for a La Nina year is, warmer and drier in California (what luck!), wetter than normal in the Pacific NW, milder and drier than normal in the Southeast, wetter than normal in Midwest, colder than normal in the northern plains, but not a very consistent record for the Northeast. The Winter solstice will be visiting all of us soon enough, the weather reports are yet to be recorded. Last Winter was weird, the lowest was only 14 F.. (while it was like 0 F on the Gulf Coast, but the cold was prolonged in February and a deep snow cover lasted for weeks. As the climate continues to evolve, these types of recorded data on El Nino vs. La Nina years may prove to be less useful moving forward.

Mid January, mid 70's F. , 2020, NJ

This has been a very good fall for my citrus trees.

13.5 month old Fukushu kumquat from bud swell & growth

I mostly get LIMES, LIMES and more LIMES. I still have a lot of Citrus outside, including the Eureka Lemon which is currently flowering. Lisbon lemon is on strike this year, along with the Meyer's for some reason. I really was an absent gardener this past Summer and neglected feeding and general care for most of my plants...., spend most of my time in a pool. I love my hobby, but sometimes it's overwhelming.

SUDDENLY! all the green citrus is turning yellow. I brought in 3 bright yellow Mexican Limes yesterday, and all The Meyers are very yellow. I think I'll have an early crop on the Meyers. The Lisbons are still green, but I think I'll need to start watching those too. I guess I can blame this strange year on La Nina,

Kate - curious what you do with all your limes and lemons? Being in CA citrus country, I imagine your harvests are huge during the next few months... something which us doing potted citrus can only dream of.

I keep my trees at about 6' so I can pick the fruit without a ladder, so, I don't get a huge amount. The Meyers are usually the most prolific. I have a juicer and squeeze some to freeze for future reference. And, I never have trouble finding a welcoming home for anything extra.... especially the Meyers.