Crap! I knew this was a risk, but every time I checked the ten day forecast, the lows each night weren’t lower than 40, so I risked it and put out all of my window boxes. And guess what! Tonight and tomorrow night there is a frost warning.
So now I’m trying to decide what to do. Weather.com actually says it’s only going to get to 37, and Frank thinks that we might be okay, so one choice is to do nothing. Bah. I know my luck better than that. We are a cold pocket, and we will freeze, I know it.
So, do I leave all the boxes in place and look for things to cover them up with? I only need a degree or two (or five …) and I have plenty of blankets and quilts. I could leave them all in their spots and see how many I could cover up that way perhaps?
Or I could double them up on the railings themselves … put them two by two, as it were, and have less length to cover up that way, but still not actually have to move all 70 boxes out of place. I might actually be able to find enough things to cover them up with that way.
Plan C is to move them all onto the deck and cover them up there. Fewer blankets are needed that way. I could move them closer to the house for some radiant heat. I could just leave them there for a few days, because I know tomorrow night is the same deal, and then just move them back when it’s safe again. It’s having to move them all, but no stairs would be involved …
Plan Q or something would be to move them into the house, but I don’t think I’m that desperate or worried. Yet. But still, this is better than having had them all inside for two weeks or something, right? Think of all the electricity we saved! Maybe I can talk the kids into helping haul boxes if I decide they need to go onto the deck.
In other news, we got twelve brand new fish today. We went in search of a pump locally, but couldn’t find a 3000 gallon per hour one anywhere. We got the fish anyway. We think they’ll be okay even without the water circulating because we just got all the new pond plants. They are cute. We’re going to break down and get a pond heater for the winter, so that we don’t lose them this winter like we did last. We haven’t fed them yet. We’re supposed to wait a day, and it’s hard. I want them to learn already like the last guys, that we bring good stuff.
I planted a window box of spinach and scallions up on the balcony today. The onions and lettuce are doing great. The peas I’m not sure about. They don’t seem to be draping down the boxes at all, which is disappointing.
I still haven’t decided what to do about the damn window boxes. I’m going to see if the kid will help move them, because honestly, I think moving them onto the deck and closer to the house is the best bet.
I did a bit of everything in the end. I double stacked the boxes so fewer blankets would be needed on the upstairs balcony, and got them all covered with four little wool throw blankets I have.
On the downstairs deck, I moved the boxes off the railings and stacked up four deep next to the house. Then I covered them with some old wool blankets that Frank had saved from some clean out the cabinet project, I think.
And just to be on the safe side, I brought in the cosmos and fuchsia into the front lobby.
Now that I’ve done all this, you know it’s not going to freeze, right?