Lyn,
You are right about huddling the bags together for warmth. I did huddle them, but cold wasn't my concern at that time. I was trying to keep them from blowing away in our 40 mph wind! I should have dumped mulch on the pile of bags like you suggested. We are up to 36 degrees now, so the biggest danger is over.
Did I mention we had a grass fire? A total of 15 acres burned across the street from me. My husband was able to douse the edge by my neighbor's house using his quad and my big watering tank. Five firetrucks came a few minutes later and contained the rest. One neighbor has a big building with race cars and the fire went all around the building but the only loss other than the grass was a wood fence. The grass will all grow back since it's buffalo and bluestem, but 2 neighbors will be replacing trees. I'm sure glad it didn't spread to the cotton field behind our neighborhood.
I worry sometimes about my wood mulch becoming a fire hazard. The house is thick limestone and brick, so that's not such a worry, but with this wind and the dry conditions, fire spreads super fast! The cedar trees are almost as bad as the eucalyptus trees in California--super hot torches!
Today I'm supposed to be pruning all the roses at my mother in law's house so we can get the place ready for sale. We've spent weeks cleaning it out and fixing it up. I've never understood why people will fix up a house or a car to sell it, but not while they are using it themselves. I wish we had worked this hard while my in laws were alive so they could have enjoyed a modernized home. I guess I never really saw how overgrown her roses and shrubs were; and maybe she wasn't a serious gardener. My sisters in law ordered a rose from J & P every year for many many years, but now most are Dr. Huey. I would like to find the notebook where my MIL kept track of what she planted and where. We could dig them and bring them to my place if I wanted.
We also brought home dozens of crocheted and quilted blankets. Our nights are cold enough for the heavy blankets and footie pajamas, so we're trying out various quilts. I wish i had enough wall space to display some of them. My MIL was an artist, and one room had literally hundreds of canvases with landscapes. What do I do with all these? Turn the garage into a gallery? Paint over them? My husband and youngest daughter are skilled painters, maybe they'll re-use them?
Some are from her mother and grandmother, so they are old. Guess that artistic gene is pretty persistent!
