The warm weather!

I just walked out to the mailbox to get the mail WITHOUT A COAT and didn't even get a chill. This is very unusual weather. I'm wondering how it is going to effect our flowers and trees.

I'm not complaining but I do hope we get some real winter soon before things start breaking out in bud thinking it's spring.

I need to get out and do another spray of the deer repellant. I saw about 4 deer coming way too close to the house and heading over to my flower bed. One poor deer had a bad leg. It was just hanging by a stringy piece of meat. He was hopping trying to keep up with the rest. I felt so bad for him. I might get some alphalfa and put it way down by the pond to steer them away from my flowers.

So, how is everyone else enjoying the weather?

Yesterday DH and I walked thru the yard and discovered there are BUDS on my Lilac Bushes and a few of the flowers he has planted, along with alot my my seeds and bulbs have started sprouting :( I hope when the cold winter does finally hit, that they survive...

Even his climbing Roses is starting to bud.

I have to admit, for Michigan this is diffenately the strangest weather we have had so far as I can remember.

Happy New Years

Connie

Had deer in the garden right next to the house last night muching on the tender new learves my red sorrel and poppies are sending up! The roses have leaf buds, lilacs, etc. Bulbs are sending shoots up. As I recall the ground didn't freeze very deeply last year. Looks like that might happen again. Hopefully everything will go back into dormancy once it gets cold again. I sent and email to my rosarian friend this morning to ask her what to do about protecting the roses. Will let you know what she says. After the ground actually freezes some of the more sensative perennials can be loosely covered with evergreen branches to shade the ground and keep it frozen. Hopefully preventing some of the freeze-thaw heaving that can happen.

Definitely strange weather!
Happy New Year!
Jeane

Hyacinths are up three inches as are my daffys. Either it is going to be a very early spring or things are going to get zapped and we'll have no spring flowers. This weather just isn't right!!!

My son will be 30 in January. When he was about 5 years old in 1982 (?) it was so warm at Christmas time he was out riding his big wheels and I was hanging clothes on the line. It was weird weather then too.

Just think. If we don't get 'real' winter till some time in January and it only lasts through March then it will be a short winter and we'll be out gardening again before you know it. Yippeee!!!

I don't think the fleas have died. My dogs are on Frontline so they're fine but I have two friends whose dogs are full of fleas and scatching to death.

What is everyone doing for New Years? Anybody going to eat black eyed peas for good fortune in 2007?

NY eve - DH and I always hit the early movies- we're home by 9:30pm!! We love it - it is a sea of gray or old heads!! And we fit right in!!

I'm working New Years day (and today). I get to work early, so early that some New Years Day's I believe I'm going to work at the same time the late party people are just coming home from the parties.
I will be in bed early tonight. But Sarv, an early movie sounds like an interesting idea. Only thing is, daughter is thinking of having a few of her friends spend the night .... do you think I will get any sleep with a house full of girls?

I haven't really looked, but have noticed the bulbs coming up in the gardens.

I heard a long range forcast on the radio the other day, it was kind of funny. The weatherman says 'winter should arrive around the middle of Jan'! Everyone at the radio station was laughing ...

New Year's Eve is my brothers birthday so we will be celebrating with him and then home early.

too- no sleep for you!!! Not with kids staying over. DGS is 10 and got invited to a New Year's eve bash and to spend the night. Gosh, that sounds young to me...guess I must be a dud.

50 and Thunderstorms forecast for today, it could stay like this all winter to suit me.

Paul

Just gonna celebrate with family & friends tonight Italian food & tomorrow Mexican...both are my favorite foods!!!

My weather is the same as Pauls...........drizzly rain now!!!I do have lots of bulbs popping thru...But I figure they know what their supposed to do and will strut their stuff this Spring>>>> hopefully!!!

Yes, raining here..too....but better then snow..for me anyway. Lots of stuff are confused out there...can't blame them....lol...enjoy your last day of the year all...waving from..here...smiles..

Diana

rain here too - I much prefer yesterday - Sunny and warm!! We're staying holed up in the house today....blaah I do have one last tub of Christmas cookies that I may have to finish off...

I sent all the candy and cookies we got home with my skinny son. I just didn't want them around 'calling' to me. :) Tonight my husband and I are babysitting our 7 month old granddaughter for the first time. It will be her first time away from mommy and daddy too. I sure hope she doesn't miss her mommy. I'm kind of nervous about it. I haven't watched a baby in decades. I guess it's like riding a bike..........it all comes back to you.......I hope. :) She still gets up every few hours to eat during the night and mama is leaving lots of bottles of breastmilk. I have a feeling it's going to be a long night. Ha!!

Happy New Year to all my gardening buddies here on DG.

It is my FIL bd today!! I hope we have a short winter and can garden soon!
Rain rain and more rain here!!
we are just sitting home tonight playing games,watching movies, drinking fake bubbly with the boyz!
I will have a margarita! :)

HAPPY HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL MY DAVESFRIENDS!!!!!

PARTY

52 degrees in west Michigan today!
How did we get so lucky?
I'm sure it must be the calm before the storm but I did hear we are going to have an "El Nino" winter. Sounds good to me!

all my bulbs are sprouting.....oh how sad.

Took this picture of my Rugosa Rose today....Its got green leaves on top....sure hope is not waking up. 48 degrees here today in AuGres

Deann

My daffodils are up and my roses have buds on them. The lilac bushes even have swollen buds on them. I don't know how things will turn out. The ground is not frozen and neither is the lake. Very strange weather. I'm not complaining.

I heard on the radio that it is really cold in Los Angeles, California. It's like they got our weather. They must be in shock.

I saw my rosarian friend yesterday. She basically said we just have to let Mother Nature do her thing. If our roses are well established they will survive this. Our tea roses should be protected as we usually do. I only grow shrub, climbing and species roses, which tend to be hardier. However, as we moved this summer, I didn't get them planted until August. Hope they have had enough time to establish a good root system. Once the ground does freeze I will give them some more compost mulch to keep them frozen. And hopefully, avoid having them heave.

The weather service seems to think we could be in for a record year and that the warm trend will continue. I actually wouldn't mind seeing some snow soon. A good snow cover would give my collection of plants that I moved and planted this summer and fall a much better chance of survival! Do you remember last spring? Seems to me we had warm weather early then it turned cold again for awhile. Wonder if we'll do that again. At least where I lived in Troy. Maybe it didn't do that farther north. I know when we came to visit here (before we moved) it seemed like spring was a couple weeks behind what it was in Metro Detroit.

Anyway, as my rose friend said, there's not much we can really do about Mother Nature. She's going to do want she wants anyway. Our poor plants will just have to adapt. It sure feels like spring out there! My friend, Judy's helebores are in full bloom! Heard about someone else who's snow drops have bloomed already. And, as much as I 'love' lol ... walking through the yard in waders...all this rain is actually good for the trees. They've suffered so much from the lack of it over the last few years. So, I guess MN finds a way to balance things out.

At least I'm not spending a fortune trying to heat my greenhouse! Think I might move up starting seeds and cuttings a couple weeks earlier. Anyone else starting things for next year early? On the chance that the weather man could be right and it will stay warm...
Jeane

I just started a few pots outside..but gonna wait for the ones I'm gonna do in my house....I'm worried about my bulbs all popping their heads up!!!I try covering them but with all this rain it just is helping them grow more...My snowdrops are about 4 in.high...I like those and sure hate to loose them!!!

I'm off to the garden to see if my 19 hellebores are blooming! Love those darn things....Gray and gloomy here today. I need some potting soil, been waiting for a sale, but I may have to pay full price...grrrr

My garden friend said she tried to call me for hours and my phone was busy....guess where I was (on here). She went without me to get on-sale potting soil....drat. (that was a couple of weeks ago...)

Take care all!