TO anyone who lives in a dusty climate with a greenhouse , as freeze is inevitable . Why they always occur on the cold nighttime of the year is beyond me , but for what ever reasonableness , the fastball always blows up during an epic snowstorm , methamphetamine hydrochloride breaks during an sparkler storm or it just plain runs out of fuel during an arctic vortex , as it did for us last year . This morning , I awake to temperature which made the break of the day national news ( -6º without windchill ) , and when I looked out at the nursery at 5:00 am in the iniquity , I could see that it was completely white with rime – never a just sign of the zodiac .
I am not good with these sort of thing . I mean , I am a realist , or a fatalist – regardless , I just turned and started to make my burnt umber , and then look on the weather for a snatch , neglect the facts since – well , there just is n’t much I could do about it at this point . At least , that ’s how my headway works . I was not about to run out and start hauling tender tropicals through -5º F weather as that would sure as shooting defeat them , even in the short run to the warmer family . What was done , was done . I did n’t really defeat , just a picayune ‘ done with it ’ .
By 7:00 am I stand in the kitchen with my coffee in my hand , stareing through the window looked to see if the furnace was perhaps on , and that due to the insanely cold weather , that for some unusual meteorological rationality , there was no steam emerging from the exhaust fumes . That inside that single pane glass home , all of the plants were indeed fine , and it was 70º and balmy . After about 17 minutes of standing there view ( yes , it I timed it ) , realism begin to sink in and all hopes for a miracle melt .
These are the things that make keep a nursery stressful – cold , frozen nights , running out of fuel – everyone who have a greenhouse has their own repulsion stories of loosen everything , entire collections , plants that were collected from all over the world – and for me , a monolithic collection of plants which can sometimes seem like a gist , but at the same time , valuable and difficult to replace , many being in the collection for 15 years or more .
Thanks to Joe who fire up up at that head , and ran out in his slippers , shirk with the switches and thermoregulator , not all was misplace – for he said that it was 20º in the greenhouse , the pots were just jump to freeze , and for some unusual and magical cause , many of the plant await o.k. , but the truth was that it was -5º out of doors , and the temperature was omit quickly .
We called our natural gas party ( Suburban Propane ) who are now , I am convinced , the best hombre out there , as they belt along out at analyse the situation within an hr . In the mean meter Joe made me run for to Home Depot to buy a couple propane ling that were 200,000 btu ’s and they were able to take the greenhouse back to a balmy 75º. Our gas men analyzed the trouble and felt that our furnace was broken , ordering a new part which may or may not be in stock , and the leftfield . We waited , with our propane space heaters on , and the sunshine which help rewarm the greenhouse . We had to move a few benches , many plenty and tub of plant to make way for the gas man who would be installing a Modern blower , and by midday everything was move , and preserve to wait .
While name lunch in the kitchen , I noticed steam come forth from the greenhouse , and thought that perhaps one of the heaters over - heated , but then I saw that the furnace had as if by magic restarted . Strange . They illumine too , had come on in the greenhouse , all of which are on freestanding electric lines , but nothing was put to work earlier even though the meters that the flatulence man used told them that we did at least have power issue forth to the furnace .
This is becoming a long story which surely no one really want to read , so I will shorten it . After find an lineman who make out come right on away for an exigency call , and who thankfully move out from Boston just at dusk , ( Thanks so much James ! You are AWESOME ! ) we find that the problem ( he key that the job … . ) was just a chew which corrode , get wet and somehow activate the furnace to short – or something like that , I clearly know nothing about electricity .
The surprising fact here is that it seem like most of the plants have outlast , even though at 7:30 am the temperature inside the greenhouse was 18ºF. My greenhouse has freeze three times now , at least , frozen to low temperature that were below 25º F , and each time I am so surprised to see how many plant pull through , specially given that many plants freeze and break down in a hoar when outside . The rationality so many live is that most of the industrial plant in the collection add up from either area of the world which experiences uttermost temperatures , such as the comeuppance or alpine expanse , or they come from South Africa , Chile , cold expanse of China or New Zealand .
Plants are also kept reasonably dry , which help the cell stretch a minute when a freezing happens . Amazingly , it appears that we only lost a handful of plant , and we are grateful to everyone who helped or provide to help haul plant into the house today . Thanks to Bob and his assistant from Suburban Propane in Rochdale Ma who drove out first thing , thanks to the ladies in the office there too – you deserve draw of chocolates ! Many thanks to Glen Lord who bear by on call for most of the mean solar day oblation to help us move everything into the theater , as he has help us before , and thanks to James Holske our newfangled electrician who genuinely saved the day with his skills in stag out what the trouble was .
I hate to partake in this all with you , but since many of you follow our dog ’s liveliness on this blog too , I am .
Yesterday we were told that our mellisonant Fergus has malignant neoplastic disease , and only has a little clip to experience with us . His lungs have nodules throughout them and it has diffuse to organs . He started coughing this weekend , yet appeared so levelheaded after some dental work two weeks ago .
We have decide of course to not prolong any excruciation and opted to not plow him other than with pain medicine and some steroids . He is is extremely good Fergie spirits , full of energy and athirst , but coughing terribly at times . Today was a right 24-hour interval for him , no coughs which we finger was due to the steroids , but we ’ve been told that it could be a affair of days or at best , a calendar month or two . He is 12 twelvemonth former , and surely a elderly , but as many of you who have beloved pet , one is never really ever ready for this . He did go after a squirrel today .
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