Love the warm winters. The extended growing season is terrific. Breaking ice so the animals can drink is something we don't like to do all the time. But the cold will come back. It's been changing back and forth forever. I think that impressive Tonga volcano steamed us up pretty well, lately.
Yep. Politicians ignore the power of volcanoes in their calculations. Nature keeps reminding us who's really boss. Breaking ice---no fun at all. A friend had a cow, Penny, lead cow; she would breathe on the (thinner) ice to reach the drinkable water. I like your handle. Best of luck in the future!
I’m in NC zone 8a now (I miss being zone 7b). With the warmer winters I get concerned if we will have enough chill hours to allow the fruit trees to thrive. You mentioned frost heaves and that brings back memories of growing up in central NH during the 80s. Since it was the 80s and there was no supervision or discipline…we used to sit on the back seats of the school bus crouched down with our feet on the seats. When we would hit a frost heaves, we’d be thrown up several feet into the air. I think we nearly hit the roof at times. Totally unsafe but it was a blast. And the bus drivers didn’t care. Looked forward to April every year because of the frost heaves. Blessings to you during this season.
My grandparents had an old RV that they'd take up into the mountains, and we'd ride up top above the cab, doing the same thing. Not crouched, but laying flat out like superman, waiting for the frost heaves to buck us up (and hopefully not into the tiny window in front of our faces). Totally unsafe, but a blast.
Beautiful work, this one. Older than you, I can remember deeper snows many years back. I am in the west, on the Front Range of Colorado Rockies. Deep snows seem to be features of a past life, moving behind us in time. Climate change can be unpredictable, and I keep hoping we will get more snow as it is our water source for summer... Bless you Ashley. I, too, am a writer with a following. It is good work to uplift people, sister! Bless you and your household.
I forget the year, but people in Missouri remember the late forties as having such a bad snow. Weather cycles up and down, hundreds of years, hundred million years---it's all the same to a world that has been around for billions of years. Inventing "climate change" allowed politicians to control millions of gullible people. Sad. They were never taught science and facts. Thomas Sowell should be read; John Christy; Thomas Seyfried; Voltaire: Those who can make us believe absurdities, can make us commit atrocities. He is the one who "may disagree with what you say," but will "defend to the death your right to say it". Age of Delusion (and acronyms). Love Nature.
I don't know what you people who deny climate change do to delude yourselves. Politicians didn't invent climate change; in fact they denied it for decades. Since they are in the pockets of the fossil fuel industry, they don't want people like you to know that the combined actions of humans can override the cycles of nature. In fact, they dreamed up that "Nature always has these cycles" LIE that you are repeating.
They don't want to admit that the actions of their corporate donors have any effect on the world around us. In fact, the greatest polluters are industry and the US military. The greatest thieves of third-world resources are US industries, which will stop at nothing to rip the wealth out of weaker countries and leave pollution and destruction in their wake.
Our actions have consequences and the faster you people admit that and stop lying to yourselves, the faster we can bring about change.
Nano particulates, ice inculcation. Military, indeed. Pay-to-play wasn't good enough. They want pay-to-live. They want nature itself to be proprietary with them as the eternal and inescapable middleman. But first, they must destroy the natural world and then supply you with their 'solution'.
There is no doubt that Humans can clean up the mess that Humans made. However,
those who claim that Humans can stop volcanoes from spewing toxic chemicals and gasses into the air, that Humans can alter the climate so that everyone has sun when they need it and rain when they need it are deluded. As long as people understand that gravity is real and follows Nature and Science. Thomas Sowell said "There are No solutions, only trade-offs. Consequences matter". Oil and coal kept us warm in winter so that inventions and science could progress; without them some of us will freeze. Wind mills produce constant noise and, on the coast, they disrupt the whales' sonar, letting them land on a beach and die. Migrating birds are chopped up.
Hi Ashley....thanks for the sharing of what it has been, and, is, like for you at your place. Of course, here in Oz, we are in the middle of summer with temps around 35 degrees centigrade, and lots of humidity! I am currently growing herbs and tomatoes. Love it. Thanks again, love reading about you and what you are creating and growing. Have an awesome Christmas and a fabulous 2025 too! Angel hugs and blessings, Barbara xoxoxo
Yes, there is good and bad in everything. The good part about climate change is that you can grow more things. The bad part is that the bugs and weeds will be thriving!
I would much rather have snow than ice! I never liked Rhode Island winters for that reason. So nasty. If it got cold enough, it was ice- and thick. And not only ice, but slush. I'd rather drive in snow (depending) than slush... or at least I'd rather walk in snow than slush. Slush is much harder to shovel, too - so heavy! Not air-filled like real snow, but full of water. Now I'm just on the edge of WNC, not quite *in* the mountains. It's gotten cold already this year, and the mountains have seen some snow. There are rumors we might get a White Christmas! But last year in my area, it didn't even get below freezing. Either way, it's already better than RI winters. No complaints!
Love the warm winters. The extended growing season is terrific. Breaking ice so the animals can drink is something we don't like to do all the time. But the cold will come back. It's been changing back and forth forever. I think that impressive Tonga volcano steamed us up pretty well, lately.
Yep. Politicians ignore the power of volcanoes in their calculations. Nature keeps reminding us who's really boss. Breaking ice---no fun at all. A friend had a cow, Penny, lead cow; she would breathe on the (thinner) ice to reach the drinkable water. I like your handle. Best of luck in the future!
Yaaaa. Cattle are pretty smart. Isn't it interesting how even the herd bull follows the lead cow?
I’m in NC zone 8a now (I miss being zone 7b). With the warmer winters I get concerned if we will have enough chill hours to allow the fruit trees to thrive. You mentioned frost heaves and that brings back memories of growing up in central NH during the 80s. Since it was the 80s and there was no supervision or discipline…we used to sit on the back seats of the school bus crouched down with our feet on the seats. When we would hit a frost heaves, we’d be thrown up several feet into the air. I think we nearly hit the roof at times. Totally unsafe but it was a blast. And the bus drivers didn’t care. Looked forward to April every year because of the frost heaves. Blessings to you during this season.
My grandparents had an old RV that they'd take up into the mountains, and we'd ride up top above the cab, doing the same thing. Not crouched, but laying flat out like superman, waiting for the frost heaves to buck us up (and hopefully not into the tiny window in front of our faces). Totally unsafe, but a blast.
Beautiful work, this one. Older than you, I can remember deeper snows many years back. I am in the west, on the Front Range of Colorado Rockies. Deep snows seem to be features of a past life, moving behind us in time. Climate change can be unpredictable, and I keep hoping we will get more snow as it is our water source for summer... Bless you Ashley. I, too, am a writer with a following. It is good work to uplift people, sister! Bless you and your household.
I am in Maine, and Yes we do have the real winters next to Canadas' .
Thank you & Happy Holidays
I forget the year, but people in Missouri remember the late forties as having such a bad snow. Weather cycles up and down, hundreds of years, hundred million years---it's all the same to a world that has been around for billions of years. Inventing "climate change" allowed politicians to control millions of gullible people. Sad. They were never taught science and facts. Thomas Sowell should be read; John Christy; Thomas Seyfried; Voltaire: Those who can make us believe absurdities, can make us commit atrocities. He is the one who "may disagree with what you say," but will "defend to the death your right to say it". Age of Delusion (and acronyms). Love Nature.
I don't know what you people who deny climate change do to delude yourselves. Politicians didn't invent climate change; in fact they denied it for decades. Since they are in the pockets of the fossil fuel industry, they don't want people like you to know that the combined actions of humans can override the cycles of nature. In fact, they dreamed up that "Nature always has these cycles" LIE that you are repeating.
They don't want to admit that the actions of their corporate donors have any effect on the world around us. In fact, the greatest polluters are industry and the US military. The greatest thieves of third-world resources are US industries, which will stop at nothing to rip the wealth out of weaker countries and leave pollution and destruction in their wake.
Our actions have consequences and the faster you people admit that and stop lying to yourselves, the faster we can bring about change.
Nano particulates, ice inculcation. Military, indeed. Pay-to-play wasn't good enough. They want pay-to-live. They want nature itself to be proprietary with them as the eternal and inescapable middleman. But first, they must destroy the natural world and then supply you with their 'solution'.
There is no doubt that Humans can clean up the mess that Humans made. However,
those who claim that Humans can stop volcanoes from spewing toxic chemicals and gasses into the air, that Humans can alter the climate so that everyone has sun when they need it and rain when they need it are deluded. As long as people understand that gravity is real and follows Nature and Science. Thomas Sowell said "There are No solutions, only trade-offs. Consequences matter". Oil and coal kept us warm in winter so that inventions and science could progress; without them some of us will freeze. Wind mills produce constant noise and, on the coast, they disrupt the whales' sonar, letting them land on a beach and die. Migrating birds are chopped up.
Hi Ashley....thanks for the sharing of what it has been, and, is, like for you at your place. Of course, here in Oz, we are in the middle of summer with temps around 35 degrees centigrade, and lots of humidity! I am currently growing herbs and tomatoes. Love it. Thanks again, love reading about you and what you are creating and growing. Have an awesome Christmas and a fabulous 2025 too! Angel hugs and blessings, Barbara xoxoxo
Yes, I'm complaining about Minnesota having "wimpy winters" lately. Nothing at all like the winters we had when my kids were growing up in the 1980s.
Yes, there is good and bad in everything. The good part about climate change is that you can grow more things. The bad part is that the bugs and weeds will be thriving!
I would much rather have snow than ice! I never liked Rhode Island winters for that reason. So nasty. If it got cold enough, it was ice- and thick. And not only ice, but slush. I'd rather drive in snow (depending) than slush... or at least I'd rather walk in snow than slush. Slush is much harder to shovel, too - so heavy! Not air-filled like real snow, but full of water. Now I'm just on the edge of WNC, not quite *in* the mountains. It's gotten cold already this year, and the mountains have seen some snow. There are rumors we might get a White Christmas! But last year in my area, it didn't even get below freezing. Either way, it's already better than RI winters. No complaints!
Same here in Iowa. Winters aren't what they used to be. We didn't even plant garlic til November 12. Used to be late October.
Yeah, our Garlic has been going in the week of Thanksgiving for the last few years. Similarly, it used to be October.
I'm astonished that you can grow figs and other semi-tropical fruits in Vermont! We used to live near Smuggler's Notch and I confess I still miss it.