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We’ve had lovely warm weather over the Christmas weekend. But now we’re finally hitting some cooler weather. Tonight we should get down to about 35, and by Tuesday, Jan 1, 2019 we might get down just below freezing. They are forecasting Jan 1 night to get down to 30, with the following night (Wed. Jan 2) getting down to 28.

If this actually happens, maybe my fruit trees will finally go into dormancy. I would really like it to get cold enough for me to begin cutting them back. But I can’t do that until it gets cold enough. And of course, if it doesn’t get cold and stay cold long enough, I won’t get much fruit next year. Let’s hope we get cold.

Since we did have rain the other night, actually we had a storm that dumped 1-1/2 inches here at the house, I spent some time pulling weeds. We’ve had such warm weather that I seemed to be growing dandelions. So I pulled a lot of them up.

Due to DH health issues I am considering moving next year. We’ll see if that happens or not. But in preparation for that possibility, I have begun rethinking my garden. I had a set of square “plastic” raised beds. They are lined in a type of felt fabric to hold in the soil. But since we may leave this house I’m considering dismantling them and putting that soil into the built in raised beds. Originally these plastic raised beds were where I grew strawberries. But I can move strawberries to other beds or put them in pots. And I think removing them might help me clean up the yard.

Well I am sorry to say it is a warm Christmas day here. We will hit a lovely 69 today, and 68 tomorrow. Our low last night was all of 55 degrees. That may sound lovely, but it also means we are having a warm winter. Maybe it will cool down later, I sure hope so.

What’s so wrong about a warm winter, you ask. Well it means bugs will be more active, they won’t go dormant nor will some die in the cold, and my fruit trees won’t get enough cold so I will have less of a harvest. So personally I would like some cool or cold weather. But alas we’ve been in the 60’s with occasional 70 degree days thrown in for good measure.

With any sort of luck we might get down to freezing this weekend. I sure hope so for my plant’s health.

But nonetheless, Merry Christmas to all.

What’s not to love about this weather. First we had a cold snap, then it warmed up. We got cedar pollen (as far as my eyes can tell you), and now we’ve had rain, about 1-3/4 inches just the past few days, now its back to cold. And who knew, we might just get back down to freezing. After I uncovered all the citrus, it looks like I will be covering them back up.

Who knows what Texas weather wants to do this winter? Not me!

You have got to love Texas weather. We had a bout of killing freeze weather, but now we are up to 70 degrees. So the poor plants that didn’t survive the frost, like my squash, green bean, and tomato plants, may be dead or dying, but now we have great weather. How long will this weather last? Well, that’s a good question. The 10 day forecast shows our day time highs everywhere from the low 70’s to the mid-50’s. And it looks like the coldest night is still in the 40’s. Not even close to a killing freeze night. But of course, by then we’ll be going into December and in December we can definitely expect cold weather.

So I have uncovered what I could, kept some plants covered and just hope for the best. My citrus, meyer lemon trees, are uncovered. I’m hoping we have enough good weather for them to continue ripening. They look good, but we’ll see what happens.

Last night we hit a low of 27 degrees here. No matter how you slice it, here in Austin that qualifies as cold. Especially considering that by the end of the week/beginning of the weekend we’ll be up to 70 degrees during the day, and the low will be in the 50’s. But at least there is not rain with this cold.

Yesterday morning it was cloudy and cold. By 11AM it was clearing skies. By noonish it was brilliant blue skies, no clouds and slightly warming. Yesterday we had a low of 31ish, with a high of 43ish. The ish part means it was actually 30.8 and 42.7, more precise info but the 31 and 43 are pretty accurate. As for how it felt, that’s a different story.

Today they are saying we should hit a high of 53. We’ll see if that happens. But they are also saying tonight will not get down to freezing. We’ll stay just above it. Then we should warm up for the next few days. But we are definitely out of Texas summer.

Welcome to autumn/winter in Central Texas.

We got up to a balmy 48 degrees this morning. It might be better described as we’ve been on a low downward temperature fall since yesterday. Its now down to 39, and its still dropping. We should hit a low of 29 degrees to night. Tomorrow night should be down to 26, and Wednesday low should be 28. The day time temperatures for the next couple of day will be cool too. Tomorrow, Tuesday high temperature should only be 44, and Wednesday high should be all of 51. By Thursday the day will be back up to 63, with a low of 38. By Friday will be back to 67 and 41.

At least the good news is no rain. It will be cold, but no rain, If we get cold but no rain, we don’t have to worry about ice forming on the roads.

But we do have to worry about losing plants with this cold. I’ve covered the peppers, squash, citrus trees, and a few other plants. Since I had promised a few plants to a friend, and I had them outside, I’ve had to move them into the garage. The plants are covered, so hopefully they’ll survive.

I’ve even covered some succulents I had on the front porch. I actually covered them with insulated grocery bags. Hopefully that will be enough for them to survive.

This is the first real cold we’ve had so far this season. We’ll see how it goes. Let’s just hope for the best.

Yes, you have to love central Texas weather. We’ve had lovely weather, and now we are getting our first cold snap. Earlier this week we had a high of 83 degrees. Today we had a high of 50, and we’re shooting for a low of 42.  But by Monday we will have a high of 51 and a low of 29. Tuesday will be slightly cooler.  Tuesday we will have a high of 48 and a low of 27. Wednesday night will warm up to all of 30.

So what does that mean? Well it means we’ve gotten all the way into autumn and will be approaching what counts for winter in central Texas. Will this be a colder winter, a warmer winter, or even a wetter winter.  Who knows. But one thing is for certain, we are well on our way to winter in Texas.

We got to a high of about 43 during the day, and a low of 41. That gave us a cold rain and wind. And yet, we are warming up slowly. Today should be in the low 50’s at least. That will be better than the 40’s we had for yesterday. By the weekend we may be back into the 60’s. We’ll see.

We have an honest to goodness cold front. Yesterday was a high of 87. This morning at 10AM we are all of 42 degrees. That is a cold front. We also managed to get some light rain with this cold front, so its now cold, wet, and windy outside. But it means we have our first real cold out there. Yes, this is how Austin weather rolls. You do learn to watch and listen for the weather projections. You never know when they will actually be right.

We had done some weeding the other day. I’m glad we go it done. We’ll see how many plants survive the weather today. I didn’t cover anything. We should actually stay cool all week. We won’t reach the low 60’s until Friday. And we may have rain, thunderstorms, or drizzle from today (Monday) thru Thursday. So we shall see how the weather goes. and how the garden handles it.

Yes weather is achangin’ here in Texas. We’re getting our first cold front this week. We got down to 58 one night already and today should only get to 77. How’s that for a change! The rest of the week will be similar temps, with highs of maybe 80. But next week we should get more of a cool down. Next Monday they are predicting 51 for a high, and 44 for a low. And of course more rain. We’ll see how that happens.

But it does mean that the leaves are starting to change a bit, they are starting to fall. I’ve begun noticing the changes in the garden. My asparagus is starting to get some yellow in it. That’s a good indication of the changes.

But I’m also noticing that some plants are starting to come up. Carrots I planted are coming up. The arugula has come up, but where we have had some, its also getting eaten. But overall we are seeing a change in the weather. That’s a welcome break from the baking heat we had.