Friday, December 11, 2009

It's not the frost, it's the cold.

In summer, a lot of people love to comment about the humidity, rather than the heat that makes live unbearable here. Well this morning, there's no frost. It's just plain cold. It's 25 degrees (yeah, I know Larry, I know). The humidity stands at 46 percent. It's a dry cold.

It was a beautiful sunrise though.



Last night, I put the brugmansia seeds I received in the mail yesterday in water. They were created from two pink brug crosses, one with lots of bloom flushes, another with great long tendrils on each flower. This morning, I'll peel the cork and sow them. I set up a sweat box under the light rack. It's just a strand of 50 Christmas lights inside a Sterlite container. It's a quick and dirty bottom heat contraption. I'd never seen brugmansia seed. They're ugly.



It's 27 degrees, up from a low of 24. The high today should reach the mid 40s. I've got more wood that needs to be split and a few pieces of trim to finish in the kitchen.

12:27pm - the brug seeds have been sown. I'm heading to the Post Office for more stamps, gonna grab a bite to eat somewhere, and come home to split more wood. Tomorrow, I caulk the kitchen. I've decided for now to ignore the little room off to the side. I'm out of wood for the trim I need to redo and I don't feel like going to the store on my day off. It's 34 degrees and overcast.

5:04pm - Used the log splitter for almost an hour. Today, it ran out of gas before I did. The jug in the basement was empty. I knew this. I should have refilled it this afternoon when I went out. I'll take it with me tomorrow.

It was cloudy almost all day. I considered installing the plastic on the hoophouse, but it'll be another few days before I start sowing seeds. Carla is bringing my bandsaw back on Sunday morning. I'll use it to create containers again just like last year. They only hold up for about a year in the cold. I'm still working on the seed swap. I hope I have time to at least paint the kitchen ceiling. If not, there'll be plenty of time for that this winter on cold rainy days.

Just as I finished hauling in the wood I split, the clouds parted. It's a beautiful sunset, just too cool outside to enjoy it. It's 37 degrees. It's 72 in the basement.

11 comments:

Kris said...

Brrrrr. Only 9 degrees here this morning. Bright sun. Sparkling frost. Birds lining up at the feeder...

Tom - 7th Street Cottage said...

Kris, you people have way more tolerance for cold than I do. By you people, I mean those that live even a few miles north of me. I just can't function when it's this cold, let alone at 9 degrees. Last year when we hit the single digits, I stood by the wood heater half the day trying to warm my hands and feet.

Kris said...

Well, Tom, on the flip side, I sure don't envy your summers of heat and high humidity. I just can't deal with that stuff and I practically shut down. Here, cold snowy winters are a nice time for inside projects, catching up on reading, visiting friends more often, etc. etc.

Darla said...

It's struggling to get out of the 40's today...short walks on and off through the gardens today..no standing around rearranging things in my head!

Tom - 7th Street Cottage said...

I don't mind the hot summers. I hate the mosquitoes. >:/

Darla, it's 36. I think we're done with climbing. As soon as the sun sets, it'll drop back into the 20s overnight. Tuesday was nice.

L. D. said...

Your sky shot looks so much like my winter view. It looks cold.
I used my hand rotary sander on my floor. I have done this before, and it isn't fun, working on your knees, but I sanded the floor with a rough grade and a fine grade of paper. I found that I could smooth it out, not change the color, and could really see what needed to be done to the different areas. The previous finish on it is actually been sanded down a little and things just get cleared away. I have such large cracks between my boards that if I had sanded it down to new, it would have looked good but large cracks of sawdust. Wet a cloth and wipe it once in awhile to see how it is looking as that will show you what it will look like with a finish. The urethane was a satin type, and I did three coats. I should have steel wooled it down before the final coat, but I knew that I would be hitting it with the minwax, and fine steel wool. The wax and steel wool is marvelous but we are having a tough time walking on it with socks on. That will stop with a little wear and tear of shoes.

L. D. said...

I guess I meant to call it an orbital sander.

Tom - 7th Street Cottage said...

Thanks LD. That's exactly what I needed to know. I'm gonna give it a try in the dining room this winter, maybe. I really don't want to start the floors yet. Just thinking of all those hours on my knees.

Anonymous said...

Man, cold weather sucks. When it drops below 60 I start complaining. Oh well, I just have to make the best of it until spring gets here.

ryan said...

I hadn't seen brugmanzia seeds either, come to think of it, even though I have three in containers in my garden. Ugly seeds, indeed. There is something a little ugly about that plant in a way, when they aren't being show-stopping beautiful.

LeSan said...

I hear you on this one. It has been stupid cold here for the past week or so. Temps in the low teens. I have four inches of ice on my ponds. I go out there every morning to melt some holes for the fish. Good times. We might get some snow in the next few days which ironically will warm things up. Goofy planet.
Those were beautiful pictures Tom. Really beautiful!