Yeah, I agree. Let's hope for a mild winter like last year! I lost a lot of the tender stuff those two cold winters as well. The diff then was that it got cold and stayed cold for two weeks, then did the same again, which made the ground cool off a lot. It's the only time ever that the cold water out of the taps actually ran cold! (pipes are underground - you can get ground temps from the tap water temperature)
This winter, even if we get cold days and really cold nights, the ground hasn't cooled off much at all, so there is still a lot of retained heat. When you throw a sheet or blankie over a plant, you trap that heat rising from the ground, keeping the whole plant warm. Even just a few degrees is enough where you and I live, since the cold temps usually only last a few hours at most.
Temp of the Gulf water makes a difference on this side of the state. Even after a cold front when the wind is blowing from the NW for a day or two, if it's blowing across 70deg. water it's much warmer - less damaging than when the water's down in the 50's. Over where you are, you get the wind blowing across the land which always moderates your temps a bit, too.
There's hope!
