Not even for blue hosta.....it's COLD up there.

bk

Amen,BK! This is as far north as I want to be! Phil

Personally, I'll focus on growing out my shade trees as much as possible to protect my blues; dang right it's cold!

I do love Minnesota though, with all those lakes and GREEN GREEN places. It's absolutely beautiful. I visited there when I lived in Michigan in 1990-92. Not real sure I could hang with those intense winters. Brrr!

Don B.

When you southern people have it really hot and humid, coming soooon, would you not like to be in the North and look at those blue hostas? Right now I am getting blue being outside though!

Minnesota in the spring/summer/fall = : ) Winter in Minnesota can = : (

Don B.

Hey, I love Minnesota in July. It's beautiful, green, mild. I loved downtown Minneapolis.when I was last there.

However, it gets REALLY cold there. I's so cold there, they have underground walkways under their parking lots to get to and from the car and the office. Downtown has all enclosed walks above the streets from building to building. You can go anywhere and not go outside. If you stay outside for too long, you'll freeze to death.

I worked for a company headquartered there many years ago. I showed up there in Winter in suede, open-toed high heels like we wear here in the winter. I had on a coat that was appropriate to Texas winters.

I learned a lot there that week, but two main things.....

IT"S COLD.

Go there in the summer.

bk

LOL BKay, like a gut-punch when you dress South for a North winter!

Don B.

I was started in Minn. My parents lived in Brainerd all their lives. When my mom was 7 months pregnant with me we moved to California. Needless to say I did not look back. I ended up in Florida. I do not do well in the cold. Blue leaves = blue feet for Paula. I visited once when I was 7 in the summer and got eaten alive by 'sketers but the fishing was great.

Watched back to back college hockey games outside this past January in a football stadium, 45000 wimps like me showed up in 9 degree temps. Winter Carnival in St Paul celebrates the reign of King Boreas Rex until Vulcan arrives at the end to break his cold grip......gotta have some fun.....temperature is only a number.

Paul

If it were up to me, I'd have headed (a little more) south a long time ago (I couldn't take the summers in the deep south, but mid-country would be ideal). But the family digs in their heels every time I bring it up. I'm freezing up here!!!

Wendy

These were taken a couple winters ago. This year there is only about 2 feet of snow on the ground. This winter it's the minus 25 wind chills I can't take!

There is a van under this snowdrift, you can see the antenna sticking up...

This post was edited by wendys_garden on Sat, Feb 8, 14 at 13:39

The folks up north can even start their cars remotely to get them warmed up. It is rather startling to be walking thru a parking lot and have a car engine start w/o a person in the car. Those snowed over car photos remind me of why I am here (CA) and not there.

I guess I won't post pics of my hosta noses poking up today.

-Babka

About the cold in MN, it keeps the riff raff out.

People in the South are not able to watch guys in cars and snowmobiles drive on frozen lakes and rivers. Last year one pickup tried to leave the lake but broke in. Yesterday I drove by the Mohawk river which had snow mobile tracks, but nobody broke in there, would be fatal probably.

Bev, you might be right about that.

bk

Out for a bite of brunch over looking the St Croix River with ice fishing houses off in the distance

and at the link.. you will find out why you dont want to live in MN ... lol

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: Austin attributes the large amount of ice on the lake to the âextraordinary cold winter weâve had,â pointing out that Duluth recently experienced an all-time record of 23 straight days of below-zero temperatures.

The theory (I believe I read) about global warming is that it creates more extremes. So when it is so cold now, we probably should get a very hot summer. It should have created large hurricanes, but we got none to speak of.

In a typical winter, our wicked cold temps last only a week.

In summer, we have few, if any, days over 100. Very few that are 90+.

Let me remind you warmer climate folk...
In January, I can always put more clothes on!
In July,.... there's only so many clothes you can take off before getting arrested! And face it, even naked, 100úF with 80% humidity is HOT!

I've lived here almost 15 years and though our garden season is short and winters are long, it's a great place to live. MN is committed to its green space. It's not a concrete jungle, even in the cities.

Oh, and as for the tunnels, connecting buildings and parking lots... they're not underground. They're above ground.... usually on the 2nd story of buildings. Called the skyway.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Skyway1.jpg

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:936642}}

What we need is to start two communes-one near Phil (or perhaps we could all just move in) in NC for late fall, winter, spring, and another in Minnesota for summer!

What Melissa said! I could have done without the 45 50 mph winds here today though.Besides, after surviving our winters the springs are oh so glorious!

Even though it's cold with lots of snow in winter, I'd rather live in Minnesota than Southern California...

Don B.
(Born and lived for 34 years in Southern California, but I escaped to Colorado!!)

And yes indeed, Hostaholic2, doing winters in snowy climates DOES make you appreciate spring more, I think! : )

This post was edited by Don_in_Colorado on Thu, Feb 13, 14 at 21:20

Isn't it great that we love where we live? There are perfect temps in all our cities and towns for a few weeks or months. Other than that, it's either too cold or too hot. It doesn't matter where you live. Just choose your poison. (Except California, of course.)

The wicked cold front finally moved on to the east. It's now crippling the Southeast. But, someone was driving down the street in a convertible this afternoon. Our temps finally went into the 60's this afternoon. Yeah!!! Sushine was glorious. I love Texas. ;-)

I also love the old saying, "Bloom where you're planted".

bk

Just yesterday we had a lot of wind coming from the west, blowing that ft of fresh snow over roads going north-south. One guy in a van with a ladder on top driving in front of me tried to zoom through such blowing snow, started sliding and ended up in the front yard of a house. He could not believe what had happened. Watch out! But no hostas got harmed, they only had lawn under the snow.

Of course, my 'Prairie Sky' thinks it lives in Paul_in_Minn's backyard, not in the arid, warmer climate in North Colorado. I have every intention of keeping it thinking that way :) (Lies of love to my hostas, with lots of water. And no direct sun after 9 AM for this one. Seems to work)...

Don B.

This post was edited by Don_in_Colorado on Sat, Feb 15, 14 at 23:05

I'll take MN any day of the year, especially the Twin Cities! Beautiful homes in nearly every neighborhood, even the less fortunate ones. MN can get under your skin, I know it did mine. Inspired by Mary Tyler Moore in the 1970's, I moved there to be an "Independent Woman"...went to school there, and grew up. Today, I'm in Wisconsin, but I consider MN home and often get an urge to tear up a bit when I cross over the St Croix river from Hudson into MN.....home really is where the heart is and mine is in Minnesota. Of course, the blue hostas are a nice perk, too!

I envy you peeps in Minnesota that get to experience spring. Around here we go from winter, to mud season, to summer.

Yep it can get chilly but this is my view--a couple hundred yards, both lengths of my yard.

One thing I liked about MN was the student union building at the U. was mostly underground. They do a lot of research on subsurface structures, where the temps are more moderate.

And Bernd, I should hope you do not have a hurricane up there in New Yawk. Weather extremes are going to send more severe storms and of the types indiginous to the area. Hope we don't wind up with a super hurricane coming straight up Mobile Bay since we are shaped a bit like the Bay of Fundy and the tides which come roaring up that Canadian bay twice a day has to be an awesome sight. My little cottage at 22 feet above sea level is the highest point for a couple of miles around, and we'd be an island of hosta in a sea of brown mud.

Moccasin, no hurricanes here yet, though we will have a hot week coming up with a high of 75. Nights are still around 32. As I wrote in another thread, I could not plant arborvitaes because the old stumps and the soil were still frozen, like in white ice, was pouring boiling water into it, will try again today at 65 dgrs. Minnesota must be even colder now.
You lucky guys elsewhere have hostas showing already, nothing here. Bernd

duplicate...

This post was edited by berndnyz5 on Thu, Apr 10, 14 at 8:40