Reprieve

Although the morning air was a chilly when I opened the door to let the dogs outside at 5:30 a.m., I felt a slight bit of hope.  Chilly, but not the frosty cold of 32 degrees.  With some trepidation, I opened the iPad to check the temp.  38 DEGREES!  Wooohooo!!  With the break of dawn, I looked out the window to confirm, and sure enough, no frosty white coating on the grass.

Nora and I spent at least an hour last night tucking in most of the tomato plants using sheets and row covers.  She also found this rather large bit of material that I believe used to be the roof of an old metal gazebo my mother had at the house (sadly, it became a mangled, metal mess during a thunderstorm that rudely interrupted a family party several years back).  We draped it over chair backs to cover half of the butterfly garden with its zinnias and dahlias.  Turns out our valiant efforts were not needed, but better safe than sorry. 

So, it was with a much lighter step that I headed out for morning chores. About half way in I realized that 38 degrees is still rather cold and my stinging fingers sent me back into the house for some work gloves. Then it was back out to remove the covers in time to greet the morning sun.