Confusing Temperatures

I have been enjoying the cold temperatures. It's hard to face our sweltering summers in the years when winter never seemed to show its face. The past couple of winters have really confused some of my plants though.

Here is my beautiful rosebud of a daughter with our nectarine tree. Most fruit trees benefit from freezing winter temperatures. They do not, however, do well when temps are freezing one week then nearly 80 for a spell the next.

That's when they bloom. In January. In February. In between every major cold snap until by the springtime they have surrendered and produce
NOTHING. No fruit.







My only productive fruit tree this past year was my 8 year old tangerine, and I'm hoping it doesn't bite the dust with all the freezes we're having this year. Stan & the boys religiously tuck it in it's blankie for each freeze. See the green leaves sprinkled on top of the brown?





While Rachel & I walked around photographing, Molly followed us with this heavy log. She could barely pick it up. Persistantly, she persued us, hoping we would toss that beam - not that we could heft it very far. You can see the grass is frozen dead here
and still pretty green here closer to the house = blessed with sprinkler system & overhead trees.





Here's my winter garden, still hanging in there: onions, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, kohl robi (new for us - if it does well, I'll have to find some way to cook/eat it! > suggestions are welcome), & collards. None very close to harvesting. All enjoying the rain and cold and sun.




These little bulb flowers surprised me. Along the house on this side is dead space. Everything I plant here dies. Until now! I rescued these plants from the trash, expecting them to die when planted here - not willing to spend more $ on plants that were doomed. Sure enough, they didn't show their pretty pink faces for a couple of years. I forgot they were there. They started blooming during our last hard freeze and are still at it.
Any idea what they are?

This is my Jacobina, one of a pair. They came back after freezing last year and bloomed their pretty pink-purplish blossom cones.

I'd show you my frozen poinsettia but it looks just like this. It, however will not resurrect. It was one of the gamma rayed dna spiky leaved variety. Beautiful but always made me think of Spiderman...

Our sprinklers ran, providing us with bejeweled Monkey grass and icicle laden bushes.





The sprinklers ran about 10 a.m. today. I agree with a couple of friends who say, "If it's gonna be this cold, we want SNOW!"




Then there's this. Not pretty. Not confused. Very icy.






Makes me glad to have one of these. Time to fix some hot chocolate!