To recap: Yesterday we had a low of 7 deg., followed by a high of 23 deg., with no sun all day long. I can't recall ever seeing a lower high than we had yesterday. It cleared off after sunset, and I expected a record-breaking low. Sure enough, this morning we had 5 below. I'll have to check my records to make sure, but this is probably the lowest temperature we've ever had since I moved here in 1973. This view upstream shows the river frozen solid all the way across. I don't recall this ever happening before.
The view down the river, showing solid ice all the way across. I'm assuming that all my pomegranate bushes got frozen to the ground, but they'll put up new tops next summer, and should produce fruit again in 2012. I'm concerned about my Thompson Seedless grapevine that I've had since 1974 -- 5 below is awfully cold for a European grape. Las Cruces can expect a year of no oleander blooms; this has happened before when temperatures didn't get as low as they did last night.
A close-up of the frozen river showing a galaxy of ice crystals on the surface. I took unusual precautions -- I ran electric heaters all night long in the Ark and greenhouse, put a lightbulb in the pump house (which wasn't enough -- we are without water in the bakery/honey house), covered the ground with blankets where a water line has been known to freeze. I'm expecting all my water storage tanks to freeze solid; the amount of damage, if any, remains to be seen. This is ordinary weather for Minnesota, but highly unusual for southern New Mexico. I suspect the weather gods confused NM with MN, and gave us the wrong weather.
