Freezing rain

[TerdalFarm]

Here are a few snapshots of my garden in the freezing rain we are having in Oklahoma today.
http://picasaweb.google.com/terdalfarm/ ... directlink

Not much about palms, as my Butia and Ch. humilis are under cover, but you can see some Trachy fronds.
I put in a shot of a Hibiscus ("Texas Star") and of a crepe myrtle as those came up in other forum topics today.
--Erik

[hardyjim]

That's a lot of ice.


Hesperaloe parvaflora?

[TerdalFarm]

There is now a lot of snow over the ice and it keeps coming down. I'm about to go sweep snow off the roof of the large Butia hut.
As for the Agave, yes, Jim. Every nursery around here sells them. The local WalMart uses them in their parking lot.

[Barrie]

YIKES!

[lucky1]

Oh man!

Apart from the fact there are some gorgeous plants underneath...actually quite lovely pics of ice.

Your roads must be awful!
Barb

[TerdalFarm]

We now have about 6" of snow on top of that ice and more falling. No big deal to those of you up north, but NOT what we are accustomed to down here at just 36oN!
The roads are bad. My wife drove to her hospital this evening alright. I made her leave early, and oh yes, I bought her an AWD Volvo XC70 on Wednesday as the forecast came in (a 2001 model). Yes, I am still feeling guilty for my trip to Belize earlier this month while she was stuck home alone in the cold with no water and 100 animals.
I'm about to put a 5 gallon jug of warm water in the Butia hut for the night. Not super cold here (~20 oF). The snow should keep roots insulated. Basically, I'm not worried as we still have electricity--unlike much of Oklahoma.
--Erik

[lucky1]

100 animals?
plus new baby goats...

We're used to snow and cold, yes, but not an inch of ice underneath.
The air's so dry here even in winter that you just drive really fast down the driveway and the snow's gone

That AWD will be a lot safer!

Are your broken water pipes now repaired?
Or do you have to wait until ground thaws to dig them up to the barns?

5 gallon jug of warm water in the Butia hut for the night.

husband suggested we use the palm hut for a liquor cabinet, the liquor not freezing would help the hut temperature.
A little far to go for a beer, though.

Hopefully your weather will ease on the weekend.
Barb

[TerdalFarm]

Barb,
thanks for reading...and replying. Lets me know its not just for me.
Of the ~100 animals, almost all are the chickens. They show up in my palm photos from time to time as they are definitely "free range" in every sense. They are NOT USDA Zone 7 hardy and so needs lots of extra care in cold weather: extra feedings, heat lamps, warm water, etc. Sometimes one wanders off and you have to go look for it; if you don't find it, it dies of hypothermia.
The horses are relatively easy as they are pretty tough.
We have had six goat babies born this month. We are keeping them all + the moms in separate barn stalls with heat lamps, warm water and extra food for the moms. We have lost kids to hypothermia in the past with milder winters so we are not taking chances with this winter.
This is all much easier with both of us home vs. just the wife for the last storm.
Ever the optimist, I am predicting that this is the last cold weather (it will be ~10 oF tonight). The El Nino is finally kicking in good, like I had counted on. For the next couple of weeks, at least, we'll get waves of cool, moist air off the Pacific. Highs in the 40s oF (vs. the low 50s oF we should be getting in February, with sun) but lows in the 30os oF under the clouds, which is better than lows in the 20s oF under the stars. So, my outdoor palm goal is to keep 'em dry.
Speaking of dry, the chore of fixing broken water pipes is almost done. The hardest involved digging--by hand--a trench in a pasture, patching a PVC pipe that was laid much too shallow (even for down here) and filling in the trench. The remaining break has been sealed off and will wait for a month or two.
Amongst other blessings, we did not lose power, unlike much of the state. I see power lines holding up broken tree branches all over the place so it is a miracle.
--Erik

[TerdalFarm]

Barb,
I think your husband's idea is inspired.
The water jug did not freeze overnight despite temps into the teens. Must be residual heat from the house (I set it out about midnight), waste heat from the electric tape on the trunk of the Butia and the protection of the plastic "greenhouse." Speaking of which, I am very impressed that it held up to an half inch of ice + ~6" of snow. It was flimsy and built of scrap boards.
As to a liquor cabinet, I don't see how a case of Molson (or whatever brew he favors) would give any more protection than water, but if it inspires him to check on the palm periodically, so much the better. I don't like to open the flaps on my "greenhouse" on cold nights, so I am a fan of a shot of Belizean rum and a peek out the window of the house myself.
--Erik

[lucky1]

Erik,
Inspired husband or not, wouldn't we all laugh ourselves silly in a few years to discover the best anti-freeze for palms is beer.
Heck, there's even beer in that fertilizer concoction from the internet.
H would want to strain it through the kidneys first.

Glad your plastic held up to the weight of ice and snow.
For the next onslaught (if there is another), maybe stand a pole up (like a tent pole), covered with an inverted bucket so it doesn't tear the plastic.
Rain/snow/ice will slide off the "conventional roof" slope.

Glad the worst part of winter appears over on the farm and broken pipes--and 6 goatkids--are all fine.

My outside stuff is looking not bad considering it had no heat.
The yucca rostrata looks amazing for its first winter outdoors.



And the nainital palm seems to not look so shredded (even though it was NEVER exposed to cold wind).
Time will tell.



Not bad for no heat...time will tell.
Barb

[TerdalFarm]

Barb,
They look great, especially for no heat! Here I had just become sold on the use of heat tape on trunks. Maybe I don't need it. But I think I do: my older, smaller Butia will live, but again be defoliated.

The flimsy Butia hut over the newer, larger Pindo palm has layers over the plastic roof already: first, 1/4" foam board, then OSB. Thus, the ice and snow are on the OSB, which overlays the foam board.
--Erik

[lucky1]

Erik, your heat tape is the correct way to go.
I was being foolish with mine.
Will install tape for next winter so I can plug it in when the really bad stuff arrives.

This winter's been so mild in B.C. Canada with the exception of one cold spell Dec. 14.

Re your butia hut, I recall now that you reinforced the roof so it wouldn't cave in from snow and iceload.
Your Butia will be doing well in there, especially since your farm soil temps aren't that cold from your report earlier.

Barb

[TerdalFarm]

Barb,
I have been very pleased with the heat tape. I assumed it would help the trunk and spear, but the good color on the leaves was a pleasant surprise. As for luck, I'm glad you got it good. I was betting on a warmer-the-average winter and got the other kind of luck.
As for soil temps, we are great there. There were in the 40s oF when this storm hit. The snow is melting from the bottom up, and as I walk in the snow, my boots go through into mud. Speaking of which, it is time go check on the animals and make sure they all have water that isn't frozen.
--Erik

[Wes North Van]

Like Barrie said YIKES.
I have never seen ice like that in person. I remember pictures of a bad ice storm in Montreal a few years back. Your pics remind me of that storm.

[TerdalFarm]

When the temps dropped, the freezing rain turned to snow. We got about 6". further south in Oklahoma, where it stayed a little warmer, they got much more ice. That is where the power outages are.
Here is my Butia hut with the addition of snow:
[img]http://lh5.ggpht.com/_r-MvN4jW1sE/S2Wna ... GP1099.JPG[/img]

--Erik
P.S. Barb, I tried your method. Didn't seem to work. I don't know if it because I am using Firefox vs. Explorer, or Picasaweb vs. Flickr.

[lucky1]

Erik, I use FF too.
Maybe go back to your previous method to get pics loaded.
Didn't load at all this time.

or...instead of Img (toggle on/off, try using the URL toggle on/off).
That should do it.
Barb

[hardyjim]

February should be an interesting month.
Hopefully the brunt of the cold will go east,they are due
and as far as I'm concerned-It is their turn!

[TerdalFarm]

Jim
I'm hoping for February to be not-so-interesting as January.
Barb, I added some more snapshots to the link I gave on post #1 here so you can see the effect of snow on the ice + a few animals shots.
--Erik

[hardyjim]

I can't wait to turn the page on this miserable January!

In fact I am going to go write down our high temp and to that right now

[lucky1]

Erik,
Thanks for the tip that you added new photos.

If I had to choose between the Trachy encased in ice or the Trachy with snow on it, snow would win

Those baby goats are adorable!
Goat milk is increasingly popular among families whose children can't tolerate regular milk.

Smart horses, preferring hay to snow.
Nice to see the farm pics.

Barb

[TerdalFarm]

I'll take snow over ice, too! As of this evening, 92,000 homes and businesses are still without power here in Oklahoma.

Here is a summary and prediction by a local TV meteorologist who happens to live nearby:
"This most recent winter storm turned out to be another dandy and brings our ‘official' snowfall total for this winter to 14.7". In case you are wondering, normal is 8.6" and in case you have forgotten, we received most of our snow last winter at the end of March. So, we will have some more interesting situations developing I am sure, but for now things have settled down.

In fact, the jet stream pattern aloft continues to show a number of potential storms lined up across the Pacific that will be coming this way periodically. Any one of those could amplify and turn into a trouble maker, but the way things stand now most of the energy will be staying further south of us for at least the next week or so." (Dick Faurot, newson6.com, 1/30/2010).

--Erik

[Barrie]

Smart horses, preferring hay to snow.

Apparently so will the winter Olympic skiers. They've trucked in tremdous amounts of hay to lay down as a base for the snow events sighting the lack of snow.
I guess once the hay is laid out over the course, they bring in snow from high elevation and snow maker machines to dress up the runs.
Winter Olympics start in less than 2 weeks and no cold weather for the elevations is predicted.

Cheers, Barrie.

[TerdalFarm]

Oh, dear!
I hadn't thought of that while reading all the cheery posts from B.C. on this forum.