Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Frozen in Fort Worth

Currently at 8:10 this morning my outdoor thermometer reads 19.5 degrees F. Winds NW at 30 mph. My greenhouse thermometer is reading 23.3 F and I am pleased as punch it is still standing.

When my sweetie got home (from working second shift) he came in the bedroom and quietly said, "What do we need to get out of the greenhouse?"

I immediately sit up. "The greenhouse? Why?"

"The NW wall is gone."

I could be a fireman, except I forgot my gloves. Got dressed and immediately spoke my plan of attack without even seeing the situation. Got outside to indeed see the wind and the sleet were working on downing the whole structure.

Got (what I previously thought was) a ginormous tarp out of the truck and my sweetie found some rope. (These things come in handy when you move so much.) Got the gaping wound of the greenhouse covered with the tarp and realized my fingernails felt as if they were going to come off.

I yell into the wind and run to find my gardening gloves. I realize my fingers are useless at this point and run upstairs to bath my hands in warm water until the feelings return. Back into the wind.

My sweetie, who is prepared with his gloves, has tucked the tarp under the strapping and has the south side secured. I help secure the bottom and we are done. Except, now the wind is circling around and beating the SE side pretty hard. (I will insert here -- this is all being done in 6" of mud and rain run-off from the loft roof.) Re-adjust and re-attach - at this point I say we are done.

It's not pretty, it's not warm, but it's still standing.

This is pretty much the view out our window today. Temps are still falling and the wind is howling.

Hope y'all stay, warm where ever you are.

UPDATE: 1:30 PM

Just saw this on the national news. Super Bowl party tent at the Cotton Bowl in Fair Park (Dallas) has collapsed. They are not certain if it was due to the storm winds or weight of the snow. My sweetie points out to me, "If the professionals had a tough time, you know it had to be a bad storm." My sweetie knows just what to say.

Update: 2/4/11 - Greenhouse is standing but one wall gone for good. Some what intact but plants are history. Temps have not been above 19 degrees since this posting started. The "dusting" of snow we were to receive last night was 7" here. Crazy weather. Warmer in Alaska.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh, poor Texas. Brrr.

Cat said...

Bless your heart...you guys are definitely getting it worse than we are down in Austin...no precipitation just cold and windy...keeping my fingers crossed that your greenhouse makes it through the storm. STay warm!

creekside rummager said...

OMG I feel for you guys. Sunny days will come, but that doesn't help now. I remember being on our roof with my husband in a huge storm that had blown part of our roof off and we were trying to cover it with plastic. Try to stay warm.

Carol said...

How disappointing to have that happen. Hope everything recovers well. We are in the midst of a blizzard here and Missouri is just not used to this kind of snow. It should prove interesting.

Unknown said...

The song "I'm still standing" keeps running through my brain.

lifeshighway said...

I worked by way through my allotted cup of pretzels reading this exciting story. There is action, drama, some romance, adventure and a great ending.

I give it too frozen thumbs up!

Carolyn @ Carolyn's Shade Gardens said...

Sounds awful. We have a severe ice storm warning through 4 pm tomorrow with expectations of massive power outages from downed trees---can't wait.

YayaOrchid said...

Oh, I'm so sorry about your greenhouse. Glad you got it up and standing again. We're supposed to get some real frigid weather here Thursday, but still that's nothing compared to what you guys get up there. Please stay in and stay warm. Avoid driving if you can!

Jenn said...

Oh gosh! How horrible. It's colder in Texas than it is in Kentucky! I bet that's a first.

Kimberly said...

TG, I feel for you. Horrible weather!! I hope your greenhouse stays snug through the storms. Unbelievable about the party tent...how will they party?!?! :D Stay warm!!!

Amy said...

We are just windy and cold! There are a lot of power outages, too. I'm sure there are in Ft. Worth...as well. My son's school was cancelled because no electricity. Best of luck with your GHouse.

Karen said...

Reading through your ordeal was so riveting. I was going to go out for a walk in the frozen tundra and forgot all about it and now it's dark out! I am so sorry about your greenhouse, and I never, ever knew it got that cold in Texas. I hope it warms up soon.

Carmen said...

Obviously not only am I a novice gardener, but also a novice blogger! I tried to leave a comment several weeks ago - but find it sitting in my iphone inbox. Needless to say - not only am I thrilled to follow a fellow Texas garden blogger, but also jealous that you get to work in a nursery! I look forward to see what your planting next!