Uh-huh. I've got my heavy fabric out and ready to go against freeze, but winds are gusting to 45 out here so not sure I can keep them clipped to the hoops until the wind drops. Was hoping to get an extra week with the warming mid-week...

BTW, we picked ~the last of the ripe stuff yesterday and took it to a women's shelter, about 20-25 lbs worth (we planted extra for this purpose). I took our daughter and she enjoyed their reaction so much that she wants to do it again next year! :o) Nice to know we might be doing something right.

Dan

We're toast tonight as well. Right now there is a howling wind from the north, the snow level is down on the north facing slopes to where we are, and forecast is 24 degrees.

But it's been a gorgeous fall and many of the shrubs that usually just go brown with an earlier hard freeze have had time to develop colors - the lilacs, Hibiscus, etc.

Bonnie,
Thanks for the reminder about the herbs! I ran around tonight unhooking hoses, bringing in the dahlias and amarylis, picking the last of the peppers and toms.
Dan, I think it's wonderful that you donated the produce. What a great thing to teach a child! I remember the discussion a while back about the folks selling way overpriced seeds to people afraid of whatever was ending the world that week. Nice to offset that!
My daughter has a poster that says, "Be the change you want to see in this world." She volunteered at a food bank this summer and wants to spend Thanksgiving serving food at a mission. There are kids that can do more than text and you are getting to raise one!
David52, I agree it was a gorgeous fall. I can't remember seeing this kind of color here in a long time.
Time to change gears to setting the space heater in the well house, dropping the coil heater into the stock tank, digging out the gloves... winter things.
Barb

Definitely a beautiful fall! Winter came SO abruptly last year, that it was nice to have some time to kind of wind down this year. I don't have any bushes to provide color, but the long, warm fall has turned my 'Heavy Metal' Panicum, switch grass, a nice bronzy red this year, and some of the leaves on my Bergenia are a wonderful fiery red--I'm hoping a few more still turn red since they're evergreen and will be out there like that all winter.

It really has been a wonderful fall for color. When I've been out around town for the last couple weeks, the maples and other trees and bushes are amazing this year.

In anticipation of the cold, I got my couple tomatoes cut down and hung in the garage yesterday, and today I cut the remaining cukes, and the three--very small--acorn squash I got. Leaving the second batch of potatoes out there for now. Assuming the foliage freezes in the next couple nites, I'll dig them up when we get the next nice, warm day.

I have one dahlia and one geranium (Pelargonium) that I covered with big pots for the next couple nites, and will be digging the dahlia root soon, and am still deciding if I want to dig the geranium to keep inside over winter or not. Oops! Need to run back outside! Just remembered I forgot to cover the one purple fountain grass that I want to bring in so I don't have to buy more of those unbelievably expensive things next spring!

Got some cuttings of the 'Blackie' sweet potato vine yesterday, and brought my Perilla in since it's in a pot and easy to "transport." Will probably just make some cuttings rather than trying to keep the whole thing alive over winter since the pot it's in is so big. That's another expensive thing to replace in spring!

Today I cut down the basil plants, washed them off, snipped the nicest leaves off and spun them in the salad spinner to dry them, and now they're laying on paper towels to dry. The parsley and cutting celery are still out there and should both do just fine with the cold temps, so time to deal with them later.

The wind was blowing so hard here most of the day that the backyard is covered with (small) cottonwood branches! Oh, how I wish those trees would die! No snow here, Bonnie, and I didn't even score any rain! I keep hoping--and hoping and hoping............

It's wonderful that you and your daughter got to take the fresh veggies to the shelter, Dan. I think I remember your saying you were planning to do that this spring sometime. I can just about imagine the faces of the women when they saw home grown veggies.

And congratulations on your daughter, too, Barb! It's nice to know there are still some generous and caring kids in the world. One does wonder at times!

Time to get the bird bath heater out soon---and the suet feeder. Yesterday I had THREE robins in the birdbath at the same time--with a couple more waiting "in the wings!" I've never, ever had even two in there at the same time before! The birdbath was FULL, and it was fun to watch. There's wasn't much water left when they all got done!

The days are getting short! I think that's the thing I like the least about winter!

Dreaming of seed catalogs and spring,
Skybird

38 here this morning but supposed to be 31 tonight and maybe 29 Wed night. Was out of town yesterday. So will pick or pull most of the remaining peppers and tomatoes. May cover a couple with blankets. Supposed to be over a week of warmer weather behind this so may try to save a couple. With the 3rd year of a drought hanging on I'm ready for it too end. Will try to plant garlic, shallots and dutch potato onions this weekend. Like Skybird said ready to relax and look at seed catalogs and maybe finish the greenhouse. Jay

Only 34 in my yard this morning. Frost around the country tho. Nasty, nasty wind and very little moisture. Nothing in the garden cause it was all tomatoes and they died early this year. My little green house chugs along at 42 or better with its electric heater. Trees still have their leaves and I hope we don't get a wet snow, or it will be disaster with broken limbs.
KennyP

The wind here is still gusting into the teens, so we avoided the worst. Surely tonight. We also are enjoying the burst of color, and our lilacs and Spiraea are very nice color for once. And a real fall planting season!

Wow, Barb, that's a great Thanksgiving gift from your daughter. Now I'm thinking....

Dan

Jay- what are dutch potato onions?

We were at 29* around 7:30 last night so I was outside partially dismantling the sprinkler system to keep the manifold from freezing. I "hired" my neighbor to come blow out the water and he came by today to do it. He wouldn't accept payment so he went home with some spaghetti squash from the garden instead. A quick glance into the garden tonight found the zucchini flattened, so I'm guessing they succombed to the cold last night. Anything surviving is likely done tonight, we're at 24 now.

Made the last batch of pesto sniff yesterday and overnight the winds died, so I suspect when I go out there everything not covered will be done. Sigh. Looks like I did the tomatoes properly, as there is one green guy out there. Hoping to have another week on the peppers and I have a little butternut racing to ripen. I'm a little disappointed the winds came up so much, as I had room in the compost bins and was going to whir some up in the lawn until the wind blew them down to Parker.

Dan

Gosh! reading this is making me think how lucky we have been for the mild weather. Exactly a week ago my in-laws visited and my MIL released a few Monarchs. She catches caterpillars she finds around her garden and incubates them until the cocoon hatches and releases them. This year she caught and release 299 of them!

She perched them on the ornamental oregano planted several weeks ago.
Whilst everyone here is busy covering plants, we've had to blanket our concrete footing just poured for the wall we've been attempting to built LOL! There was a few hang ups with material and even more of a hang up with my recent injury a few wks ago (crushed thumb - bone and all-ironically nothing to do with the landscaping work!!) so dear hubby has had (will) to do practically everything. Plans were to have already finished the wall and I would be happily chucking some perennials in the bed but alas...so I HAVE a slight dilemma that I have 3 half gallon platycodons that has been waiting to be planted (in the unfinished wall bed) that I don't know what to do with. Can I sink them in the ground pot and all until next Spring? Also I can't find much info online about what to do when the Oregano - Herrenhausen variety goes dormant? should I leave the stalks or cut them down and mulch over the plant? On a happier note, the spruce trees seem to be doing well although the pear tree seems stressed to me - hubby thinks I am paranoid and overly worried! Guess all we can do is wait and see next Spring.

Last night should end it all. 20 degrees in my yard and 14 to 16 out in the country. East of Greeley.
KennyP

Well, I continue to be pleased with my microclimate here and my cukes and part of the cantaloupe survived last night's high 20s (!). I'll get some more ripening on the peppers that survived as well, and this next week oughta get my peas ripened and some lettuce in the salad bowl.

Dan