Thank you all who expressed your condolences over our loss of Sparki.
Your kind words really meant a lot.
Losing a family member is never easy.

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Today, my news here at home is once again not good.
But on a difference scale.

The Solar Room has only gotten colder and colder. Even with the heaters running full blast, the temperatures inside the Solar Room have plummeted. I noted this morning that at least a dozen hibiscus (maybe more) definitely won’t make it. With the outdoors high being only 1 degree Fahrenheit & the sky cloudy, inside the room had no opportunity to heat up. Then, the last time I looked at the thermometer - just after the sun went down - the tempt inside the Solar Room was hovering close to freezing. At that point, the actual outside temperatures had dropped to 3 BELOW ZERO; with a minus 30 degree Wind Chill. It is supposed to continue to drop more during the night.

Therefore, things have only gotten worse than yesterday and the day before, etc. Frankly, I’m not at all optimistic about those plants (many of them very old; with a lot of sentiment attached) that we have been unable to bring into the main parts of our house. Except for the herbs, all of them are tropicals…

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COVID-19

Although new case numbers are currently declining and vaccinations are slowly starting to roll out, the USA is still a long way from being free of COVID-19. So NOW is NOT the time for Americans to let their guard down. COVID is still very much a part of American life & death.

UNITED STATES 2-14-21 DATA
New Cases: 82,178
NEW DEATHS: 3,313

As Americans anxiously watch the spread of coronavirus variants that were first identified in Britain and South Africa, scientists are finding a number of new variants that seem to have originated in the United States — and many of them may pose the same kind of extra-contagious threat. In a study posted on Sunday, a team of researchers reported seven growing lineages of the coronavirus, spotted in states across the country. All have gained a mutation at the exact same spot in their genes.

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The Good News of the Day is that, despite being extremely stressed, one Hibiscus (seen in my above photo) bloomed for Valentine’s Day. At the moment, it is currently crowded into our foyer with other tropical plants from the Solar Room. Many leaves have turned yellow after we brought it inside. But it is struggling to survive and keep putting out flowers. This is one that may make it to Spring. I certainly hope so. Today, it did seem like a sign of hope.