The Big Chill

     Texas weather is, if anything, interesting.  On this 20th day of November it has been 80 degrees Fahrenheit, 26 degrees Celsius.   That’s about 20 degrees F above normal for this time of year.  The first freeze has been late in coming.  Leaves have been reluctant to fall and stuff that should be dead is alive and well.

That is all due to end in the next 24 hours.  All the tropical and subtropical pot plants (eucalyptus, ginger, philodendron, ficus, bougainvillea) have been brought in.  In a few hours we’ll be covering the garden beds planted with broccoli, collards, kale, chard, lettuce, carrots and mustard greens with floating row covers to minimize the freeze damage.  It looks to be a rather light freeze but it will come suddenly and linger a few days.  So, we’ll see what happens.

We’ll cut some of the greens to add to our Thanksgiving feast on Thursday.  Should be yummy!

Condensation

It was a big, hairy mound. You couldn’t see over it. It was the accumulation of the summer’s spent vegetables and not a few weeds, twigs, troublesome dogs, etc. But now it is all condensed into a nice little mound of mulch thanks to my shredder/grinder. I thought the job would take all day but with son Tim helping, it only took three hours.

I was afraid the city would complain about it or fine me or burn it up. Now it will nourish this Texas sandy clay and the various forms of life in the soil. Ah…the cycle of life!