In the previous Episode we looked at the freak winter snowstorms. In this Episode we will take a look at the aftermath of the week of freezing weather, and the recovery to date.
Landa Park
We start with this look back at Landa Park in the snow. From here we will look back a little further, and then move forward in time.
Chimney Repair
Long before the freakish, frigid, February frostiness we decided to have our chimney inspected to ascertain if it was safe to use with real wood fires. The chimney inspector came out and checked our chimney for issues, and he only discovered one major issue that would prevent us from using our chimney: the chimney was loose and seemingly not attached to the house at all. I personally witnessed the inspector rock the chimney back and forth on our roof. This situation seemed less than optimal for us, so we decided to go ahead with the suggested chimney rebuild. Keep in mind that all of this was initiated BEFORE we had any idea that we would have a week long freeze in February.
The old chimney. It looked okay, but was apparently only held in place by gravity and friction.
Let the demo begin! I should mention that the workers found styrofoam in the old chimney structure. I don't know if this is normal for modern chimneys, but it seemed odd to me.
Let the framing of the new chimney begin.
The new chimney is ready for mud.
The new chimney is stuccoed and just waiting for its new cap before paint is applied. Look at that awesome tarp job! Look at that clear blue sky!
Wait. You mean that we were without a fireplace during a week of freezing temperatures? Yes, folks, this is the way things worked out. The good news is that the tarp held, and no snow got inside our Texas House.
Aftermath And Recovery 1
We will revisit the chimney situation later, but first we are going to look at how the freeze affected some of our plants.
Our Variegated Soft Agave (agave desmetiana variegata) did not fare so well after being buried in snow. But look at how large it grew between
October and February!
We replaced it with this Lace Aloe (aristaloe aristata). At least we think it's a lace aloe. It was not labelled, and lace aloe is the closest match we have found so far.
Likewise, our T-Rex Aloe (Aloe Hybrid) did not survive.
So we replaced it with a Tiger Jaws (Faucaria Tigrina). We had much success with same at our
California House.
This prodigious vine-thing seems to have succumbed to the snows.
But after a severe pruning it seems to have recovered on its own. No, we don't know the actual name of this plant.
One of our three beloved Firesticks (Euphorbia Tirucalli) that did not make it.
This one was replaced with a Yaupon Holly "Stokes Dwarf" (Ilex Vomitoria). The label claims this is a deer-resistant plant.
Another victim, and another plant of which we do not know the name. We had three of these, and two did not survive.
This one was replaced with Desperado Sage (Leucophyllum Furtescens "Greado"). The label on this one claims that it is "deer-tolerant."
We lost all two of our rosemary bushes. Exact variety is unknown.
Because we like rosemary, and it does well here, we replaced it with a Rosemary Irene Prostrate Light Blue (Rosmarinus officinalis 'Renzels' Irene). It is so far thriving.
Cute Cat Interlude 1
Meet Fillmore. The shelter was unsure of his age, but the vet estimates about 5 years old. He is very much at home here, and so far he gets along with everyone else. As you can see, he keeps himself very clean.
Aftermath And Recovery 2
The top row consists of three Variegated Flax Lily (Dianella Tasmanica 'Variegata') that apparently perished. In the next row, left to right, are another dried out firesticks and our Octopus Agave (Agave Vilmoriniana). The front row contains one of our very sickly-looking Monkey Grass (possibly Liriope Muscari) plants.
We replaced two of the flax lily with two Dianthus (Dianthus), and one flax lily is recovering on its own. The firesticks was replaced with two Gollums, or Jade Plants (Crassula Ovata); and the octopus agave with a Horsetail (Equisetum Hyemale). As you can see, the monkey grass has recovered completely. In fact, all of our monkey grass has completely recovered.
Left-to-right: False Saguaro (Pachycereus Pringlei), Grey Ghost Organ Pipe Cactus (Stenocereus Pruinosus), firesticks.
At this time we have not yet replaced either cactus, because the local nurseries seem to be out of stock of most cactus. The firesticks was replaced with a gorgeous Candelabra Aloe (Aloe Arborescens).
In the foreground you can see a bush of unknown name and variety. In the background you can see three sickly clumps of monkey grass. To the right is the remains of our beautiful Euphorbia Lactea Crest Grafted (Euphorbia Lactea Cristata).
Of the three of these bushes we had, only this one survived. As you can also see, the monkey grass is doing well.
This bush was the same type as the one above. What else do you see in this photo?
We replaced the unknown bush with another desperado sage.
In the center of this photo you can see the remnants of our large, lush lantana bush. At the bottom is another dead rosemary bush.
We placed the new Irene rosemary where the lantana had been, and we planted a Striped Century Plant (Agave Americana Veriegata) where the old rosemary had been. Time will tell if we planted it too close to the driveway.
Chimney Repair Continued
And just in time for the warmer weather...
Our new chimney cap was installed, and the chimney painted. We are good to go for wood fires, now that the cold weather is over.
Aftermath And Recovery 3
Our Sago Palm (Cycas Revoluta) did not fare so well. If you scroll backwards about three pictures you can see its current state. We cut off all of the fronds, and we have seen encouraging signs that it might not be totally dead.
Our Philodendron (species unknown) was not made for the cold.
However, new growth has appeared at the base of its dried out trunk.
The large Aloe Vera (species unknown) that we
transplanted from California was not a cold-loving plant. The damage might not look too bad in this photo, but it did not survive.
Or to put it another way, it did survive. The main growths did indeed perish, but this little subterranean offshoot is shooting up and growing.
It looked bad for our little, caged Sunburst Cactus (Opuntia Sunburst).
But look! From the fallen and damaged blades grow new blades! It is a survivor!
This Elm Tree (species unknown) brings us to the end of the plant roundup. It did not survive the freezing, frigid frosts of February. It had been looking poorly since we moved in, and it just wasn't strong enough. The main trunk had a hole in the top, and water was coming right in and feeding rot and fungus in the tree's core.
We called Rosebrock Tree Services to come evaluate and dismantle our elm tree. We will miss its shade, but not its threat of it falling over unexpectedly. As an added bonus, we now have a bunch more firewood for our wood fireplace, now that the weather is getting warmer. At least I should have plenty of time to split all those logs before the next cold spell.
Cute Cat Interlude 2
Satchmo enjoys his naps in the sun.
Aftermath And Recovery 3
Now we move from the biological to the mechanical. The only mechanical item to break on our Texas House was the copper pipe running down the back wall to hose bib. Details about the installation of this pipe can be found in
this Episode.
When we opened this shutoff valve for the first time after the freeze we discovered a leak in this segment of copper pipe. It looked like it would be easy enough to cut out a section and replace it.
This is the affected length of pipe. We replaced this section and thought all was good.
However, when we turned on the water again we discovered that there was more leakage lower down. It looked like it was coming from three or four different places.
However, a close examination of the actual pipe revealed only one large burst. Also damaged by the freeze was the hose bib at the bottom of the pipe. We thought we had sufficiently insulate said pipe and hose bib, but we did notice that a very small amount of water was able to find space between the hose bib and the wall, and it subsequently froze, which damaged the hose bib and possibly allowed the rest of the pipe to experience the freeze. However, we are still not sure why the pipe burst at all. As far as we know, there should not have been any standing water in the pipe when the freeze occurred. I guess we will have to do a better job of draining that pipe when the next deep freeze is expected.
Here you see the newly-installed new pipe, hose bib, and insulation. You can tell this is the new pipe and not the old because the new is PEX and the old was copper. We changed methodology when installing this (as well as material), and insulated before securing the pipe to the wall. One hoped-for advantage of using PEX is that it will not conduct the freezing cold in the same way the copper did.
After the temperatures started to warm up we decided that it would be a good idea to test our irrigation system for possible leakage and breakage. While we did not discover any leaks or breakage, we did discover something else quite unexpected.
We observed water burbling up from a seemingly-random point amongst the landscape rocks. Removing some rocks revealed this hidden sprinkler head. It was completely buried by rocks, and partly buried by dirt. It would have to be raised up higher to be effective.
So we started to dig down deeper, and we discovered this SECOND hidden sprinkler head, completely buried by both rocks and dirt. It, too, would need to be raised up a bit.
After removing both sprinkler heads we discovered that both were damaged, so we decided to replace, as well as raise, them both.
We subsequently discovered that these two sprinkler heads are in different irrigation zones. So far they seem to be working well, and they remain unburied.
BYA Update
We now switch to a brief Back Yard Archaeology update.
Included here are various bits of rusted metal, plastic, and at least one wire - all from various dig sites around the property. Possibly these are remnants of the original construction of our Texas House, but I don't know where that yellow plastic spring would be used in construction.
This appears to be a fragment of a small deer skull. It was quite weathered, as though it had been in situ for several years. We have seen no evidence of deer hunting, so it may have died of natural causes.
Garden Update
We added a bit of shade to our garden to aid the blueberries - some of which specify partial shade instead of full sun. So far they seem to be doing very well with this addition.
Our four new peppers also benefit a little from the new shade. From left to right we have: Green Bell, Fresh Bites Orange, Candy Cane, Yellow Bell. As of this Episode, we have some new peppers growing on the pepper plants.
Signs Of Spring
We conclude this lengthy Episode with some encouraging signs that spring has sprung here at our Texas House.
In the
previous Episode we saw the first lizard of spring. Today we have the first scorpion of spring. He kind of blends in, so you may have to look closely to see him.
These are some of the verbena that grow wild in our back yard.
I believe this is our Blenheim Apricot (Prunus Armeniaca 'Blenheim') tree. So far no fruit has appeared, but it has a lot of green leaves.
I believe this is our Bruce Plum (Prunus 'Bruce') tree. Like the apricot tree above, this one has not yet produced fruit.
April showers bring May
bIsh
