We don't get snow very often, but occassionally get freezing rain & sleet during the winter. And it can get pretty windy here. Because of the above, I can sometimes have winter problems with damage to my tea roses when they are young. The young, flexible canes can be bent way down or even broken. My tea roses barely go dormant at all, and our long growing season means that lots of new growth has usually been produced by the teas until very late in the year, just before potential ice can occur. But after about 5 years, when the tea roses have built a solid structure, they begin to hold up well to the occassional winter storms that we have. For example, my Mrs. Dudley Cross used to be very scared of winter freezing rain & ice. Now, she's a seasoned, portly lady and doesn't blink an eye. Same for Mr. G. Nabonnand. Randy

Against my better judgement, I looked at the NWS forecast this morning, lol, and our chance for Monday precip has gone from 70% to 80%. I would love snow on any day but Monday. If we can just have the Christmas Parade in town that evening and have it safely, then it can snow every day after that and I won't complain. At the parade, we collect a lot of food and donations for our local food bank, so we need to have decent weather so we'll have a large turnout. I actually think a lighted parade, Santa's arrival and the lighting of the Christmas Tree on the courthouse lawn would be beautiful in snow (not sleet or freezing rain!) but the snow also could hurt the size of the crowd and/or make travel difficult. Jeanie, I know we all are ingrates. No matter what weather we have, we seem to want something else. I am dreading a long, cold winter like last year's and was hoping it wouldn't start up until January, but it looks like it is starting early. Actually, for the OK Panhandle and for Jay's part of Kansas, the cold weather already has brought them some snow. We're all stocked up on groceries now for winter. I keep the pantry really full because the nearest grocery store I like is 30 miles away. There's a small one in town, but I don't care much for it and won't go there if I can avoid it. I do need to start stockpiling deer corn and wild bird seed for the really cold weather because we feed a lot of 'visitors' in the cold months. Jeff, I know that early snowfall fits right in with everything else this crazy year. I was looking at the video footage of all the damage in California from the Santa Ana winds yesterday and thinking to myself "at least we don't have those here". Paula, I agree with you on the shaking and the quaking. I am sure it was felt much more strongly at your place than ours, but even though y'all have had a lot of quakes in central OK, I never, ever expected to feel one way down here and I don't like that feeling at all. My plan for the spring garden is to plant less cool season stuff because it takes up so much space for so long, and instead try to get warm-season crops in the ground as early as possible with the use of low tunnels of floating row covers. Then, if I can get the warm season crops to produce before the dreaded heat arrives, I'll be happy. I won't spend endless $$$$ watering all summer long either. I'll stop watering the big garden at the end of June, and then everything can sink or swim on its own. When we first moved here, an older gentleman I met had his own planting strategy, developed from long battles with the intense summers and late cold springs. He planted on April 1st. He stopped watering at the end of June. Then, in September, he planted spinach and other hardy winter crops. He didn't have to deal with the recurring freezes in spring. He didn't spend money on irrigation in July and August. He got pretty good harvests most years, and great ones some years when rain actually fell in adequate amounts in the summer, without letting the weather drive him crazy. The longer I live here, the more I see the genius in his plan. I know we are better gardeners for having experienced all the extremes, but I sure would like to have a nice, quiet year when the weather is mild and mellow. It's not likely to happen, is it? Dawn

Poor fellow has worn out his welcome!! Certainly is well shaped & not a hint of a droop or drip, long time before he will be sweating with temps in the - range! BRRRR. I worked 2 days out with long shorts on & it got pretty warm, didn't get a tan tho. Today it was very windy & it had a chill to it so settled for jeans to clean up back yard. Hope it is warm tomorrow as still have lot to do.Several roses need pruning back & fruit tree stakes put in. Just think, with all that snow you don't have garden chores!! Of course you get to shovel or ride the blower!! Jan

I recently got one with a bend in the handle & like it. You can't flip snow off like a regular one, but it's generally easier on the back. Get a regular one too. Plastic edge is ok. Metal edge can chip a bit of ice, but it's not a big deal. If you need to chip ice, get a small metal shovel with a handle & steel blade, not a snow shovel. Always have at least 2 snow shovels. You never know who might offer to help or who you may want to help. As a final note, take a break if your back starts to tighten up. A heating pad & toddy are your friend. Did anyone mention lift with your legs, not your back. A little easier said than done, but something to shoot for. I just moved the snow thrower to the front of the garage. I'm all set for snow now.