Frozen All Over Again!

Hello Daylily Friends,

Diana and I are now enduring another freeze, accompanied with sleet and snow, and we can't go anywhere.  For days we've been told on the TV news that we were going to have really bad weather, and it finally started to arrive about 6:30 a.m. this morning.  We had some coffee, and Diana "suggested" that I go and see if the newspapers had been delivered.  I tried to walk, but I couldn't take but a few steps.  It was just too slippery.  Not long afterwards I walked on the frozen grass to get to the Greenhouse where
everything was good.  I looked at many of my dormant plants that I
brought into the Greenhouse about a week ago, and each plant is beginning to grow very nicely.  I was particularly impressed with TET. MADGE CAYSE.  I saw this plant blooming in South Dakota, and I've never seen it look more beautiful.  So, I decided that I had to get it converted, and this Spring I'm really going to use it in my hybridizing program.  I am also glad that all of my Greenhouse plants are growing so well, particularly TET. CARIBBEAN WHITNEY LYNN.  It has a big blossom that I should be able to harvest tomorrow.  I'm going to freeze the pollen, and later use it with my HEAVENLY SUNRISE, which is dormant.

I am also pleased to report that my efforts to convert other plants in the Greenhouse are also going well.  Most of the plants have now achieved some size, and I have treated several new plants.  I'm making good progress.  One plant that I'm particularly pleased with is SUNRISE SHADOWS, which is a Shooter plant that was introduced in 2008.  Actually I think I have three of these plants converted, and I'm delighted with what I've done because SUNRISE SHADOWS is registered to be 32" tall with an 8" flower.  The registration shows four branches and that it is dormant.  I can't wait to get this monster into my program.  The overall Greenhouse is just so clean and nice.  The hanging baskets for Diana's front porch are growing very well, and both my seedlings and my registered plants are just B-I-G!  It is just such a joy to see the Greenhouse doing so well when everything outside is so freezing cold.

I decided to walk from the Greenhouse to the end of the driveway to check on the newspapers.  It was a slippery walk, but the newspapers were there.  They were frozen in ice, but they were dry.  I then walked up the driveway toward the house, but I had to again walk on the frozen grass.  I could not have walked on the driveway.  I took a picture of the house just to show how frozen things are.  The worst part of all of this is that it continues to sleet and intermittingly freezing rain also falls.  I just hope that there is no disruption to the electrical power because I surely do not want anything to happen to my Greenhouse.  Anyway, it was good to finally reach the front porch without having fallen anywhere.

As we go through all of this bad weather I think back to two weeks ago when we were in South Africa.  I remember going in the "Safari Vehicle," with our guide, Michael, and seeing so many unusual animals.  Michael has really amazing visual skills, and can
see the animals from long distances.  We saw many Zebras,
and I just have to show a picture that I got of several at close range.  They really didn't seem to mind our presence.  By far the most difficult animal to see is a Leopard.  But, sure enough, we saw one on a rocky hillside just resting and getting plenty of sunshine.  He apparently viewed himself as being perfectly secure up on the rocky slope, and of course he is not really threatened by other animals.

When Diana and I were on "Table Mountain" in Africa, we felt like we were on top of the world.  We could see such long distances, and we were having such a good time.  Today, even though it is so cold with this apparent blizzard, we still feel like we are on top of the world.  We can see spring just around the corner!

Bill 

UPDATE FROM THURSDAY, FEB. 13, 2014

This morning I got up, and it had snowed even more!  Wow.  What a sight.  I went around the yard and took a number of pictures, but I've decided to post two that compare with two shown above on my post yesterday.  The first picture looks across the main field of daylilies, and the second picture is of the house.  We are so fortunate that the snow and ice have not impacted our power.  We are in good shape as long as the power is ok.  I suppose that we are "at home" again today.  Fortunately, Diana has made some wonderful "Chili."

Bill