Erik,
Always good to know the power is still on. I hope the weather warms up for you. 😀

Thanks. I'm grateful, too.
Power in Texas and northern Mexico has been hit and miss as their grid struggles to cope.
This cell phone snap shot from last night, after my last run to the horse barn with warm water, shows how I am using electricity.
And yes, I heat palms with power and my house with wood! 😆

<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href=" https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/nxDE2xzhhX8DFT7vO5YU5w?feat=embedwebsit e"><img src=" " height="640" width="383" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href=" https://picasaweb.google.com/terdalfarm/February2011?feat=embedwebsit e">February 2011</a></td></tr></table>

Thats a cool pic. I bet its toasty warm in that hut. 😀

I guess the Bayfieldbunch have not left the valley yet. 😯

A good blog from some people wintering in the valley where my place is.
Glad to see they got thier water back on. 😀
http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

Yeah, let's hope the charts are wrong.
A cold south is hard to accept as part of climate change.

Phenomenal swings in barometric pressure are believed to cause it.
But what causes the phenomenal pressure changes?...hmmm.

Aaron, posts crossed, thanks for renewing the Bayfield link.
Man what they've gone through with the water line issues! Plus their house at home in Ontario!
Outstanding photos on their blog.

I expect our motor home friends in El Centro AZ are having the same problems.
Fortunately Hugh is a jack-of-all trades and can fix anything...if he's got the parts.
He's always got a toolbox nearby, no matter what he's doing or where he is.

I bet a lot of MH folks didn't order the "insulation package" when they bought their rigs.
Who would've thought they'd need that in AZ in February?

Stay warm buddy.
Barb

Just some info on palm-trees and the freeze in El paso Texas.

http://www.kvia.com/news/26907209/detail.html
http://www.elpasotimes.com/opinion/ci_17364903
http://www.kfoxtv.com/station/18700108/detail.html

Aaron, how sad to think those palms surrounding the stadium will likely be gone.
And Saguaros and oleander...

The first sentence in the first link says "Falling fawns..." they obviously mean FRONDS. 😆

Somebody asked what low temps a Saguaro can take:

Excerpt from “Native Plants for Southwestern Landscapes”, July Mielke author.

Experts believe Saguaros can live to be about two hundred years old. The medium green skin covers twelve to twenty-four ribs, which expand and contract like an accordion depending on the amount of stored moisture within the plant. Stout gray spines occur in crowded clusters laong the ribs. The central spine of each cluster is 2-3 inches long, while the radial spines are generally shorter. In May and June, the tips of the arms and the main stem are crowned with funnel-shaped, 3-inch wide flowers with waxy white petals. Each flower blooms only once, opening at night and staying open into the next day. This is the state flower of Arizona. Smooth-skinned green fruits the size and shape of a chicken egg split open at maturity. The red inner pulp sometimes causes the fruits to be mistaken for flowers. The pulp, which contains tiny black seeds, is edible and very tasty.

Saguaros occur mostly below 3,500 feet in elevation, on gravelly slopes. Their distribution is limited to s. Arizona, the extreme southeastern edge of California, and Sonora, Mexico.

Culture: Saguaros require well-drained soil and full sunlight for best growth. Young nursery-grown plants will probably need protection from the sun after transplanting. You can cover the plant with a piece of woven shade cloth through its first summer. If you move a Saguaro, keep the same orientation to the south to avoid sunburn on the tender, less exposed skin. Although mature plants can be moved, transplant success decreases with age. Young plants can be watered once a month during extended drought; older, established plants can survive on rainfall alone. Saguaros, particularly seedlings and very old plants, can be severely damaged or killed below 21F. Bacterial rot can also affect Saguaros; older plants seem to be more susceptible. The rot causes the normally light green, firm tissue to become brown and mushy, oozing a black, foul-smelling liquid. By the time the problem is noticed, it usually has spread extensively through the plant, and death is imminent. Unless the dying Saguaro poses a danger to buildings, people, or other plants, you can let it decay naturally until just the woody skeleton remains. Some people like to use the skeleton as a decorative element in the landscape.

Gila woodpeckers and gilded flickers make their nesting holes in the main traunk and arms of Saguaros. Other birds such as elf owls and starlings take over the holes after the original occupants move on. Although the next building is a natural process, the Saguaros in developed communities are affected more heavily because there are fewer per area than in the natural desert. The flickers’ holes are potentially the most harmful, because they disturb water-transport tissues in the upper part of the plant. You may be able to discourage the birds’ excavations by making a life-size replica of either a Gila woodpecker or a gilded flicker and putting it on the Saguaro. These birds are territorial and may be driven away by the imposter “bird”. If the excavation has already begun, you might be able to discourage further activity by wedging a circle of hardware cloth into the opening. Do not fill the hole with any substance like concrete.

...it was sure a lot colder than 21F.

Good to see things have warmed up at your place.
Barb

...it was sure a lot colder than 21F.

Good to see things have warmed up at your place.
Barb

I wonder how many in the Saguaro NP were killed, but nature has a way make things better in the long run. 😀

I talked to my friends down there and they said the weather is perfect. Always good news. 😛

saguaro read.
More of the same. 😆
http://everything2.com/title/Saguaro%2520National%2520Park

Thanks for that Aaron.
Good writing, interspersed with good links.

Barb

After all the record cold there should be some good news. Some of those Washy`s will make it. It would be nice to get some seeds from those that survive. They will be super cold hardy. Maybe next year Aaron you could get some from your friends there?

John

Do we realy want the earth to be colder?
Here is a sad but true link
El Paso TX 😥
http://www.kvia.com/video/26907362/index.html

After all the record cold there should be some good news. Some of those Washy`s will make it. It would be nice to get some seeds from those that survive. They will be super cold hardy. Maybe next year Aaron you could get some from your friends there?

John

I hope to make it down there this may or june I will be on the lookout for seeds. I always look for seed there but I have not found any good places for it yet (palm seed).
I hope this year to find some 😉

El Paso TX icon_cry.gif

How sad to see the condition of those palms...

Barb