Peach Tree

My peach tree thinks it is spring.

I just love that tree. It is so beautiful in bloom.

Getting Ready

The newly cleaned out canning area. (This is where
I store my supplies when they are not in use.)

Top to bottom, left to right: The canning pot, canning lids and bands,
half pints with pints underneath, pints. Bottom shelf: hummingbird
feeders, and quart jars. 

On Saturday, I woke up with the desire to clean. This is not a common feeling for me, so I went with it. (I would much rather be in the garden.)

I organized my canning jar area, cleaned out the oven, microwave, and fridge. I topped off my staples (in my grab-and-go containers).

Now I am ready for canning season. My goal is to be able to use all the canning jars I received to can things this year. That's a big goal. I received 126 jars. And I have about 48 pint jars. I only have one 12 pack of half pints, and might need to buy more to make my goal work.

I am going to expand the garden. I plan to make use of my local farmer's market, and you pick places to try to make this goal a reality. And now I won't have to scrounge around in a mess to try to find what I need.

I Survived Ice in South Alabama

Talking with people who have lived here all their lives, I learned that there has never been this much ice at one time in any of their lifetimes. (The oldest one I talked with was almost 80, and she has lived here since the 1950's.)

We had over one inch of ice in our backyard. Because our local weather people predicted the storm, schools were closed, and many businesses closed. We didn't have the terrible problems seen on TV in Atlanta and Birmingham, where people were snowed into their cars, and had to abandon cars and walk home, students stuck in schools, etc.

For 3 full days the ice lay on the ground. Today the weather is shirt sleeve weather, but even today there are many places still with white on them.

These pictures show  the progression from sleet to freezing rain to over an inch accumulation
of freezing rain.

The birds stayed at the feeder.  (You have to remember that this is the
winter migration point for many birds.) This was the first day. 

This was the second day.  

This is my poor garden. I broke through the ice to try to show you how
thick it was everywhere. It is over an inch thick. 

My kids had a good time in the ice. It wasn't good for snowmen, but worked great
for sliding down hills. (Getting up them was another story.)

Here's another picture of my kids in the ice. 

I have 3 kids, so I wanted all of the kids in at least one picture.

We have only had five snow storms recorded since 1973, the weather man said before the storm came in. Well, they have never had one with this much ice (or one with only ice). This would explain the use of laundry baskets and kickboards to slide down the hills. :)

The pictures look white like this was snow, but it wasn't snow at all.

I am glad it is gone.