Welcome to The Pauley Principle!

The Pauli Principle, named for Wolfgang Pauli, deals with atoms and electron-sharing that results in new, stronger bonds. Think 2 parts hydrogen and 1 part oxygen, a shared delectable (!) electron and VOILA! Water!

Similarly, when you prepare whole food to share with family and friends, especially foods you've grown, something amazing happens. Meals become tastier and healthier. Your soul, not just your stomach, becomes fulfilled. You live life more abundantly as a result. During a shared meal, the bonds that people create grow stronger and become something new: GREATER than the sum of the parts! I give you The Pauley Principle.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Early Morning Frost Damage Survey

This morning, after a cold windy night, I took a quick walk-about and here is what I found.
The grape arbor at the back deck looks healthy,

and terrific tulip and tarragon.

Salvaged strawberry plants from last year's bed look strong...

but these pansies tell a different story,

and some of the 250 tiny little strawberry crowns I planted last week can still be seen reaching for the sky, but barely.  Not all survived.  :/  

In spite of bitterly cold temperatures, the gorgeous grapes in the vineyard are still growing,

and this young white Edelweiss grapevine seems hardy.

Meanwhile, this year's garden plants wait out the cold spell in our loft-turned-greenhouse,

and our herbs are looking herbaliscious except for the sweet basil, already frost-bitten last week!
The forecast here looks even harsher for tonight, with temperatures expected to dip below 30 degrees F. Another year of lost crops due to freezing temperatures? We had too much gusty wind last night to get the strawberries and grapes covered, but tonight I'll do my best! No smudge pots to use on the four rows of grapes so...


feeling helpless, I asked Chris what else we could do. He simply said an age-old line, 
"Man proposes, but God disposes."


Really, Chris, that's the best you can do?  


It feels like Mother Nature said, "OOPS! I forgot all about giving you winter. Here! How's this?!"

Please also check out these Rural Thursdays Bloggers:
Two Bears Farm
A Rural Journal


(OH, NO! Another hard freeze tonight!)


8 comments:

  1. Seems mother nature is playing tricks on us this year...one day warm..next day cold..very confusing for everyone n everything that grows.

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    1. So confusing! Mother Nature has her tricks!

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  2. Thanks for joining in on Rural Thursday - welcome!

    Oh, I do hope your strawberries do okay. We've had a cold spell here too. Hoping the little seeds I started do okay as well.

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    1. Thanks! At least the strawberries had not yet bloomed, so I think the root would carry them through. We shall see!

      I'm looking forward to this Rural Thursday excursion! Looks like some fun and informative posts. And, of course, yours carries me away! I thoroughly enjoy the Blue Ridge area but don't get there as often as I'd like.

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  3. Ronda, we had a couple of below freezing nights last week as well, but since we really didn't have any tender plants up yet, no harm. Sorry about your strawberries. I think they'll come back. :)

    Thank you for sharing at Rural Thursday this week.

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    1. Thanks, Nancy! I think you're right about the strawberries. Rural Thursdays will be a pleasant hobby!

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  4. We had a freeze last week too & I do believe it got our grape vine so no grapes this year...

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    1. Oh, don't you hate that?! Ours in one location in the valley look like someone took a torch to them. It's so disheartening. Up on the hill, just a little higher elevation, they look undamaged! I hope yours will leaf back but if you had the little clusters already forming, it's too late. So sorry!

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