Well guys things are looking up! Thanks for all the kind words. I appreciate them. My out patient surgery results came back negative for cancer. Hurray!!! I lost the weight my doctor asked me to loose, now he wants me to loose 10 more pounds! Currently I'm at 197. My blood pressure is down in the 120s again and I feel great! Now I am up and running around my house and yard like a chicken with it's head cut off! I fixed the furnace. Turns out it was the induction blower motor....fixed it myself...bought a new motor, installed it. Now the downstairs in toasty again. The wife is happy and so is my wallet! It only cost me $195 bucks versus $650 which is what my Heating and cooling friend told me. Thank you Lord!
The Christmas decorations outside are up. The tree is up inside. Lawn is raked and the leaves are into bags. Moved half of my outside young trees inside. Now is the time to prepare those in the ground for winter. We had 25 and 27 degree nightly temps 3 weeks ago. I was afraid I would loose a few trees but could not get out to protect them. They look fine, tips are bright green. Some tips are red. That's a good sign they are alive. Now we are in the 60s by day and 40s at night which is normal for Charlotte. Come next month, we will get major ice and snow.
It's a good thing I did not start covering up my trees in my orchard. However, I did pull out the shrub jackets and made plans for how to wrap them around my trees. For those who don't know, this year I plan on covering my trees with this thing called a Shrub Jacket. They're nothing but a thick piece of decorative green burlap with a draw string at the top and bottom and 3 tie strings on the sides. They have a contour shape to them so that when stuffed with leaves and tied all around the tree they looks like eggs in the movie Aliens. I have both the large and medium sizes. They are kinda expensive but they come 3 in a pack. I got mine at a closeout store. Last year, I had a few burned tips from a couple of trees. Back then I only had a few trees in the ground and did not cover them well at all. This year I have over 60 trees in the ground and would like to cover them properly. Come Spring I will remove the jackets and check them for winter damage and add the results to my database. Now that I'm planning on covering them with these jackets, it's a good thing I did not take any cuttings. Why? Because once stuff and tied, the tree is about 3 or 4 foot tall depending on the jacket used. So, my plan is to use these jackets as my trimming guide until the trees are mature enough to weather the winters alone which is about another 2 years. We have 4 full seasons in Charlotte and it's usually pretty predictable. We know ice is coming in January, so I only have a few more days left in the month to get ready. Last year we had snow on Christmas eve and day which is rare.
Cathy you can send them. I plan on sending you and a few others promised some special cuttings since I am behind sending them out this year.
Thanks Sara, let me know if you are still seeking a Green Greek. I think I have a small one somewhere in my garage.
Thanks Paully. I try.
Hey Kerry, you know I only got to visit one from my wish list and that was UCD. However, I did make an unplanned trip to New Orleans and Houston so there went my budget for the other 2 planned trips. On my NO trip, I did meet Dalton of Durion Nursery and James Robin. And I brought back 6 fig trees purchased from them. You should have seen people's face when I scrolled through the lobby with all those trees! On my Houston trip I located a source that had 3 huge 4 year old trees. One was a Celeste Gold and the other 3 were Black Italian. I currently have those 2 fig trees but mine are no where close to the size of those purchased on in Houston! The place I bought them had a sale. I bought them from ONLY $15 bucks a piece...I just could not pass them up! I did have to leave them with my nephew till March because they were too large to ship on the plane. And, yes I tried and the airline said No.
I did not make it to see Bill in NJ or Bass in PA, maybe next year. Bill and I have been in contact and plans are in the making for a trip in May. I have not reached out to Bass yet. But I will....so Bass if you are reading this you can expect an email from me about a trip your way in May. thanks again everyone!