Just uncovered the strawberries since last night was the last predicted to fall into the 20s. They all look good--some even have new growth. I won't do any digging until tomorrow because it is way too cold and some needs to drain. I might do some rearranging in the shed after it gets a good bit warmer. The red mini-belle peppers surprised me by sprouting but checking my dates they aren't that far behind schedule. It has been a bit cool upstairs.

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The temps are supposed to get up into the high 50s today with sun and no precipitation. Good day, if it all pans out, to get some digging and other work done. I went out briefly to check on the strawberries. Most seem to have made up their minds, for the moment anyway, to survive. A few are still deciding. The temperature went down to about 33F last night. The soil has a frozen half inch but the soil beneath seems to be soft. I hope I didn't take the covers off too soon. But, if the weather predictions are right, last nights low should be the lowest at least for the next 10 days. I hope the overnight temps will go above 45 soon so I can put the rosemary and hibiscus outside.

Well my plans for the day got side tracked. First, a rearrangement of a part of the big freezer. Mom wanted a package of stew beef but after digging for a bit I couldn't find it. So I sorted and rearranged all the beef. Then Candy (our 1-year-old cat) got on one of my shelves and started knocking things off. And her partner-in-crime and mayhem, Lena (the 3 year old) has been trying to find a way to climb behind a stock of jars on two high shelves. So we rearranged those shelves and a couple of more besides to thwart the beasties. And I wanted to take the stash-buster afghan out of the ottoman because the three items in there (and the yarns I am using for them) were getting a bit too bulky for the space. I remembered a basket I had various stuff in in the outside shed so I emptied it and washed it out to receive the stash-buster and it's yarn. That is now sitting upstairs in our craft/planting/storage room. Besides a bit of puttering I think that is it for the day.

An interesting study on the effects of a warmer/dryer climate on agriculture in the U.S.