Even the Houston area is predicted to have 5 or 6 nights below 32 degrees, with a possible low of 25 one night. I will definitely be covering plants and moving some into the garage.

@LIndaTX8 Our heaters are all set up. Just need to be turned on. I'll wait until Saturday to get crazy, stuffing plants into the hoops. Most are in, but there are always a few I forget behind the pond or out front in pots. Saturday's high will be 65 and sunny, 43 overnight.

Our neighbors are having their annual New Year's Eve party. We'll just walk down there, unless it rains. (Then we'll be wimps and drive). It'll be 26. Always cold on New Year's Eve!

I don't understand. For days now the forecast keeps saying it's gonna freeze. Like Big Time. And highs not out of the 30s. Now I think we all know that forecasts are not always accurate. And maybe this time the forecast will be correct. Yesterday (Friday) the high temp was in the 50s.

Today the forecast is 46/31. Right now it's 46. Is that it for today? Dunno. Will tomorrow be 35/18? Dunno. And so on.

Everything that needs to come inside is already in. Brought it all in a few weeks ago when we had other false alarms. Might cover 1 or 2 plants later. If I do it now I'll probably scare the blue jays. This is the first time I've seen any birds at my feeders in several months. (There's been a few hawks around.)

Plants that I brought inside need water. Hate to water them in my sinks. Guess I'll have to grab a bucket.

What strikes me as really weird is several perennials that are in pots and doing just dandy outside. I thought they died last summer.

And as previously mentioned somewhere, y'all that are further south are getting colder weather than me.

I just don't know.

It's 60 at 2:00. Im out back yanking my bromeliad border out of the ground. It's supposed to be 24 tonight, 20 New Years eve. The forecast changes a bit each day. I dont want to take any chances, though.
The sun disappeared and it just got chilly. Im going to finish stuffing the hoops. Backyard looks awful...

@tx_flower_child you are in a different part of North Central Texas than me!! It's 34F close to the house and 30F on a thermometer hanging in one of my trees. It's misty drizzle, so everything is wet, wet, wet without really providing a lot of moisture to the groun. Just miserable weather. I have a cow due her first calf soon and I'm just hoping that waits at least until Jan. 5. I didn't do a lot outside this a.m., but it only took a short few minutes for my fingers to reach the cold/hurt stage. If the forecasters are correct, when it officially reaches the freezing point, that will be as warm as it gets for the next 3 days. I hate it. Before dark thirty, I have a few plants that are cold tolerant to move and need to double check all the outside faucets. I'll be the Iceman coming after doing all that.

Well, it's starting to get a little nippy now. It's 8pm and the temp has dropped to 37. The wind could be worse but it doesn't help. I did give most of the outdoor plants a watering. Dug the frost cloth and pins out of the garage but decided I'd rather go to the grocery store than fool with the frost cloth.

27F here now. There is a thin sheet of ice on everything metal - the gates, the barbwire, the window on the pickup. Big things like the stock troughs are still liquid, but the bird baths are mini skating rinks. LOL! My girls in the pasture just stood below the house in the river bottom and hollered at me to bring the feed! Normally I feed at the barn, but it's high and exposed to the wind so they just insisted I bring it where there's a windbreak. I took it to them

You are well trained, Donald.

I'm sure the girls were grateful you brought their food to the less windy, cold place!

Are you sure that 29° isn't tomorrow night, Sandi? Here it's supposed to be 39° tonight, but tomorrow night it's supposed to be 25°.
quote="Bubbles"]It's 60 at 2:00. Im out back yanking my bromeliad border out of the ground. It's supposed to be 24 tonight, 20 New Years eve. The forecast changes a bit each day. I dont want to take any chances, though.
The sun disappeared and it just got chilly. Im going to finish stuffing the hoops. Backyard looks awful...[/quote]

I thought you knew how to tell those calves are 4 days from dropping? I always singled them out and brought them to home pasture so I didnt have to hunt down a hidden calf. Besides starting to bag up, the hips sink, but then they do love bad weather... am gonna have to look up Eastland Co...
Grocery stores are out of my Bush's chili starter, but blackeyes I have. SIL works @ Lowes and said he's tired of being griped at because they are out of pvc, chuckl. Said he told them shelves were full when store opened. My daughter said she got griped at because the Walmart was out of water when the hurricane hit, told them a truck can only haul so much a day and it was gone when it got there. I forget people only know 'Just in Time' stocking. As a truck driver, I KNOW in bad weather fuel is gone, no food that needs refrig will be safe, and cooking is done by fire. I am SO glad I am no longer driving. I know I would be up in Wis, ND, Minn, Mich, Pa. Icy and at home warm. New Years resolution to be home and on my pillow @ midnite, not out being fake happy.
That said, 28* seems to be our lowest prediction, tho it comes down after what? 5 gray half misty days? The days are getting longer. Jan Full moon will need mater/pepper plants started and that makes me smile. Staywarm, and like cooking in cast iron, lo and slo!
Our lo is tomorro nite- New Years Eve.

You're right, Linda. It's 41 tonight, 24 Sunday night, and 21 Monday night. I was thinking New Years was Sunday.

@kittriana I have an actual presumed date, but daddy's babies tend to beat that by 10-9 days. I had planned to put this one up, but am not set up to protect them from wind and ultra cold weather. Better off in the pasture. They always find the warmest spot there. Already 26F here. Lots of cold hours in front of me before it gets back above freezing. I guess I'll be breaking ice for the cows and bringing in a birdbath or two so I can put out some water for the birds. I swear those wild feathered things are as spoiled as the domestic animals. I often feel like all my retirement $$ are going toward upkeep on non-human food disposal units!!

I don't want to think about the coming freeze. Ice proffered the yard and plants the best I could. . I hate cold weather and worry about every plant outside! The heat dish in the 6th is on 24/7 these days!

I'm ready for next Wednesday to get here. Most of the high temps until then are mostly in the twenties F. Some of the lows are approaching single digits. I have an idea that a cold spell this long and this cold may take out my little pomegranate. They aren't as cold hardy when they are still young and small. It needs a couple of warmer winters where the young wood survives. Hopefully it will sucker from the roots, but this is too cold for too long a duration so it may become history. I've got to go collect and thaw at least one of the birdbaths. I see them trying to get water, but they are frozen solid. I really, really don't like this weather. Everything has a thin layer of ice coating it.

Good luck, Donald. I hope you and your plants and animals stay safe in this cold.

Our weather is about a day later and ten degrees warmer than yours, Donald and I don't like it either. I have all the barn and pastures water turned off and drained (I hope) next I will be covering all the baby citrus trees that I planted this summer. We are not at all set up for freezing weather this far south. I hope all the troughs are big enough to water the animals for the five nights that it will be below freezing.

Good luck, Pork. I remember how hard it is to keep animals fed, watered and safe during really cold weather.

I did sorta cover a few plants, and we wrapped outdoor pipes while taking down the Christmas lights. While not a traditional greenhouse, the few plants I have growing are colld weather plants. Looked up Eastland County again- should have remembered its the place where Ranger is. Yup, you get icy. Richmond stays warmer simply because of the city, and less open plains. Pine needles I have, they cover the oregano and marjoram, and then I cut down that blasted bamboo the neighbor idiot planted on our property (she has 1' easement for road to her house and thought bamboo would stay put on her side). The loquat outgrew its pot before I knew where to plant it, so we will start a new one. Your poor pomegranite may never get very big if it has to sucker every year. Well, one more trip and I can get warmer.

When I got up it was 19 degrees with an overnite low of 16 degrees. It was 37 in the greenhouse. Hoping this means we are closer to springtime.

I finally got to light a fire in my new wood heater yesterday. It was a small fire and I thought I'd need to turn on the a/c or strip down to cool off. Phew! But it worked well and I love it.

For the 'chew' it will be brisket which is already grilled. Thankfully or it wouldn't get cooked outside today.

Hate this cold, all I want to do is sit indoors eat and shop for plants. That is foolish as they couldn't be shipped with these temps.

Hope y'all stay warm! Happy New Year!