falling over brown stuff

I trust everyone who celebrates Christmas had a loving festive holiday. We had our usual quiet day though the twins, Jade and Autumn, came by for a visit while they're in town.

They left today, headed back to Austin as Autumn has to be back at work tomorrow. She's already gotten a promotion and raise. Jade, whose official residence is in Dallas with her great aunt, works from home so as long as she has her work computer with her she can do so anywhere. And now that she has a car, that's her (used) jeep in the picture, she's not tied to Dallas as long as her department continues to work from home. Still no car for Autumn but she has her moped which had been malfunctioning so she's been ubering to work and taking the bus home but now it seems to be fixed finally so I gave her my heavy coat since she didn't have one. She had to move, again, on the 23^rd. Her living situation is in constant flux, has moved three times since she graduated last May, but the apartment she's subletting now for the next 6 months is closer to her work and will give her some time to find permanent housing. My grandson, Audra, and my great grandgirl are supposed to be coming in later this week from Arkansas. And my sister returns from Albuquerque tomorrow.

I've basically been hunkered down in the house for the last three days though I did have to go out for birdseed. I usually buy a giant bag at Costco which is heavy on the sunflower seeds and light on the millet and that's what I ran out of. The seed I got Saturday looked to have a good proportion but in reality, it's heavy on the millet and the birds don't seem to like it as much. They like the pecans I've been putting out though. I put them out for the squirrels to keep them off the bird feeder but the blue jays have helped themselves.

Plenty of damage out there...ginger, firespike, shrimp plant, night blooming jasmine, 

confederate roses, banana trees, 

morning glory bush, yellow bells, purple orchid tree, rock rose, Mexican bird of paradise, Rangoon creeper, pink desert willow vine, Mexican petunias, toad lily, salvia, plumbago, turk's cap, white and purple Philippine lily, hummingbird bush, and lantana all frozen to the ground. Leopard plant, crinums, spider lilies, agapanthus, amaryllis, society garlic, swamp lily, some easter lily and daylily foliage all mush. Roses and azaleas damaged. 

Orange cosmos, 

marigolds, and my little broccoli/cabbage/cauliflower plants are dead. I think it will all come back (well, not the dead ones) as it has the past two winters after days of a hard freeze, except for the annuals for which I have seed. Tomorrow it should be warm enough to uncover everything out in the yard and pull back the big tarp in the garage and see what there is to see. Today was warm enough but still one more night below freezing.

It's not all dismal. Apparently two of the 10 buds on the the yellow angel trumpet branches I cut off and put in water were far enough along that the flowers have descended. It remains to be seen if they actually open.

I finally got motivated Sunday and today to do my home yoga routine, even threw in some extra stuff and Minnie got a walk for the first time since last Thursday so we are slowly warming up and thawing out.

Tomorrow is Marcmas! Time marches on and birthdays add up. He'll be 71.