While mother nature is letting her hair down this winter, we really can't complain too much. It has been a while since we have had a truly harsh/cold winter and we were due. This may not be so much fun, if some of the reports about us being at the apex of a warming trend for the last 500 years or so and now starting a cooling trend are correct.

As my college professor used to say, "Science is fun, and meteorolgy isn't really science."

I pore over the weather map EVERY single day. It's a sick obsession with me. Not only is the Midwest significantly colder than towns listed in Alaska on the map, but a good deal of the South is colder than those Alaskan towns, too. For example, Charleston, SC, is supposed to have a low tonight of 20, but Anchorage, AK, will only get down to 34. One of the hardest hit is poor Louisville, KY, which will reach down to -1. Of course, the Alaskan towns are closer to the water, I guess. Still, isn't Fairbanks inland? It won't get as cold as poor Louisville, either. Meanwhile I live in a valley surrounded by hills and mountains. We get smog worthy of LA (the "inversion"), and it lasts for weeks. Not only are the hills not in view right now, just a nasty brown cloud, the differences between our highs and lows can be as little as 3 or 4 degrees. It's just gloom and doom 24/7. Diane

I'm worried about my roses too. It's been some time since we've had a winter this cold so I have no idea what will make it through. Thankfully we do have snow cover this year. We are within about a 1/2 inch of breaking the all time record January snow fall total of 29.6 inches. I'm pretty sure we'll break that. It's snowing right now, lol. I'm hoping that snow cover will help some in keeping the roses insulated through the prolonged cold but I'm sure I'm going to have to do some deep pruning this spring.

I appreciate Diane mentioning Louisville...since I live there! Let me say...I don`t ever remember it like this in my adult life. I am worried sick about my roses. What shall I do? I say...order more roses!!!! Ha! I will add to my Palatine and my DA order and I will plan a trip to S.C and visit my sister and Roses Unlimited. What else is a girl to do?Hope this picture does not offend....I`m freezing here and dreaming of summer! Lesley

Sadly, no snow. We've gone from 57 one day to 32 followed by -1. Its been a yo yo and that's why I'm worried. I will be starting my indoor seeds next month. So will probably grow more then I was planning.

Here in Lexington, Ky., I'm wondering about the roses, too. On the positive side even with less roses, less thrips? I have several roses on fort rootstock. It should be an interesting year for keeping records on what survives and why, any impact on insects, etc. Survival of the fittest? And more interesting posts this year to follow.

If you're hoping for fewer thrips because of the cold weather, don't get them hopes up too far up. Last year, we had an awful January, and the thrips were bad as ever (sorry, but smog makes me gloomy).
Lesley, were you swimming today? Heehee. You look pretty darn good. Must be all that gardening work. I do hope it warms up in Louisville. The temps across the South have shocked me.
Seil, I would love to have some of your snow. It's brown, brown everywhere here. But as I've said a million times, you don't get much precip in a desert.
I hope everyone warms up soon, and their roses survive to bloom in spring beautifully. Really. Diane

The day before the snow storm it was close to 60 degrees but I knew it was coming so out to the garage I went. Fired up the big snow blower, turned it facing outward so it would be ready to go. Talk about a temperature drop...... anyhow. out to the garage (we use a simple padlock on the double doors) to get the machine. Put key in lock and NO IT WON'T OPEN...... it was frozen solid.

Thank GOD that my young neighbor up the street came down and cleaned our driveway for us.

Okay, back to the roses, sorry, got carried away there.....

I wonder if the cold will have any effects on the mites for RRD?

At least we have a blanket of snow!

Thanks for rubbing it in.

Well, I have conditions that, however gray and wet, are paradisal compared to what most of you folks are complaining of, and I've STILL been fighting gloom. So you all have my sympathies. It sounds rough.
I don't know if others are affected by low light the way I am, but I'm looking forward, after months of mental pain and bad humor--aggravated, I believe, by a very gray fall--to a boost in my mood around the end of this month or beginning of February. I've found that I perk up at this time; it seems that my body starts getting enough light at this point to begin functioning again. It was already a fact to celebrate when we reached January 21st and a month past the winter solstice. Though I live in mild, if not sunny, Italy, we're just below the 45th Parallel and the winter days are dramatically short here, the change in the length of days substantial.
I'm looking forward to spring!
Melissa

Melissa thefarm, I used to wake up depressed even in summer. My bedroom window faces the sun when it comes up, so I always had my drapes closed so I wouldn't be blinded by the light. One night I decided to open the drapes and the next morning I woke up happy. Waking up to sunlight made a huge difference in my attitude and made me all around happier. It might not be an option for you, and maybe you're already awake when the sun comes up, but I found it very helpful.

Rosecandy,
I usually get up at 5:30 a.m.; the sun these days is still rising after 8:00. I don't understand how this can be, but our days are lengthening in the evening, not in the morning. Anyway, it seems to be the total amount of sunlight available that's significant. For several years now my experience has been that at a given point in the winter my mood improves, and thank heaven we'll reach that point in about a week. Congratulations on having found help from the sun!
Melissa

Kippy, I will hope with you that the horrible mites passing RRD around will be killed. :)

This had been an unusually cold winter for us as well and I am looking forward to a smaller mosquito population this summer! I think my roses will survive but if they don't then I get to do some additional shopping and planning. :)

Yes, Melissa, I get SAD in the winter too. Last year I left an old patio chair cushion out and when the days were sunny I would just go out and sit in the sun, bundled up of course, but in the sun never the less. It made a big difference in how I felt last winter. This year because of the darn polar vortex it's just TOO cold to do that even on sunny days and I've really noticed a difference. I just feel so gloomy and listless. And because of the sub zero temps I've had to pull all the blinds and drapes to help keep the cold out and the warm in. It makes the house dim, of course, so that doesn't help my mood any. I'm a little ashamed to admit it but my Christmas tree is still up and ON to help brighten the house a little, lol. I find it also helps to celebrate all the little holidays this time of year. I do Chinese New Year, Ground Hog's Day, Valentine's Day, what ever, just to bring some cheer into the house. I totally hate football but I'm throwing a Super Bowl party for the family because it's something to do. (Hmmm...I probably really need to get the tree down before then, you think?) I'll do what ever it takes to get through the next couple of months until spring!

Seil,
Yes. I think your strategies, including the Christmas tree, are excellent. Sunlight, every other kind of light, exercise, company, and activity all help. I was rarely this bad in Washington state, which is even further north than where I live now, and I think that having to get up daily and go to work in a well-lit office helped considerably. Could you install brighter lights in your home? There's no possibility of a sun room?
I teach a weekly English class to two seven year olds, and even though it's great--good children, good mothers, and I do a good job too--every week I dread preparing the class and then going and teaching it. Even though it's a lot of fun. It's my sluggish aversion to mental and physical activity, yet that activity, and the social contact, are exactly what I need. I always feel MUCH better after a class.
Spring is on the way!
Melissa

This post was edited by melissa_thefarm on Sun, Jan 26, 14 at 2:32

Besides the winter blues our pet dog Candy passed away this month so really added to the gloom big time!...
Really going to miss our girl running and barking in the garden :(

I am so sorry, Jim. It does add to the gloom and then some. I hope things get a little better for you, but all we pet owners know they will never be quite the same. May your memories be happy, though. Diane

It's been excessively cold all over NA, I think. We've had temperatures consistently below -15, Celsius, though at that level I don't think there's much difference. Just looked it up - that's 5F. It's been weeks! So depressing. One thing I'm doing to combat the winter blues is winter sowing. I've covered my patio furniture with bottles and flats and whatever else I can put seeds in and it does help me feel more connected to the garden and the nicer weather.

{{gwi:218741}}

Redwolf, do you have good success with winter sowing? I tried it a few years back but nothing came up in the spring and I was so disappointed.

Seil, this is my first year trying it. But the folks over on the winter sowing forums and the Canadian gardening forums are super-supportive and helpful. I've been pretty careful about my choices and I have a lot of hope. If they don't come up I'll definitely be disappointed, but in the meantime, it's nice to dream of my garden-to-be!

I sow hollyhock seed in fall, winter, early spring--any time. I always have hocks coming up in waves. When one bunch is past its prime, another group comes along and starts blooming. I do the same with coneflower and rudbeckia, though they reseed themselves well, as do the hocks. Diane

Jim...I am so very sorry for the loss of your dog, Candy. I know how difficult this can be. They become wonderful garden buddies. Hoping you will be able to remember the joy she brought you. Lesley

I know KingCobb believes that mother nature is letting her hair down but I think she is bipolar. Yesterday it was 60 degrees, today its 10. Go figure.

Wintersowing in milk jugs, here, too. Gardening of any kind when it's below zero outdoors, snowing and blowing, is a good thing. I garden indoors, too, with a four shelf lighted rack filled with blooming African violets. In fact, I accidentally found help for my winter depression because I set up this rack in my bedroom a few years back in an effort to keep the plants safe from my toddler grandson. I have the lights on a timer and found that unlike an alarm clock, when the lights click on and bathe the room in artificial "sunshine" I am wide awake and ready to take on the world. In fact, in my new house the AV's on the rack are in the room at the end of the hall, next door to my bedroom. The doors to both rooms always stand open (I live alone now) and even though it is not direct light on my bed, if still feels like "dawn." No more hiding under the covers, hitting the snooze. I feel just as cheerful in winter as I do in high summer when the sun is up well before 6 a.m. (All that's missing is a few bird calls!)
I know everyone can't fit a plant rack in their bedroom (nor would they want one) but it does work for me! :-)