What Did I Do While Bruce Was Gone?

November 14, 2025

While Bruce was gone from November 8 to November 10, I was very busy. We had an Arctic blast heading our way, so I wanted to protect my plants as much as possible.

On November 8 (Saturday), when I got back from dropping Bruce off at the airport, I came in to Nox crying. I picked her up and carried her outside. She needed to poop! While Nox started doing Nox things, I took some pictures.

I knew the okra and basil wouldn’t make it through the cold. I decided to leave the rest of the basil harvest until Sunday so the bees could get one last harvest in.

I was so tired I lay down to rest, only to wake up from a nap when Bruce texted me about his arrival at the DFW airport at 11:30 AM.

I knew I needed to start protecting my plants. I walked around to look at things and decide what I wanted to do.

Compare the okra flower from the morning picture above to the late afternoon picture below.

As I walked around to the front, I discovered a partially eaten rabbit. A leg and guts were in my large front garden. I am not going to share the picture I took to send to Bruce. I don’t think you want to see that. I took a shovel, scooped up the rabbit parts, and carried them to the grassy knoll in the front yard.

In the short beds, A1 to A3, I mulched the garlic and the radishes, Japanese mustard, turnips, and arugula with grass, about 4 to 6 inches deep. I decided to use a row cover on the tall bed with radishes, Japanese mustard, and arugula.

I wanted to compare the difference between the mulched plants and the row-covered plants after the freeze.

On November 9 (Sunday), I woke up to a snuggle Nox.

The wind blowing in from the north was a harbinger of the freezing weather to come. The purple magnolia had leaves blown off.

The neighbor’s hickory tree was golden against the grey sky.

In the cold wind, I put a blanket over my herb garden. I realized I needed something to stop the blanket from blowing off after it blew off. Using clothespins and large paper binders, I pinned the blanket to the trough.

I decided it was time to harvest the rest of the basil.

I moved the bucket pepper garden from the patio to the shed. Once the peppers were moved, I moved the gas grill to the other side of the patio so Bruce could back the U-Haul truck.

I had discovered the shed was a lot warmer than I expected. I blocked the outside open window with a blanket.

Once the plants were inside the shed, I realized a wind was coming in from the open window from the barn. I covered that window with a blanket as well.

I moved the expensive plants inside the house.

I went out and harvested the rest of the garden.

I harvested the peppers before I moved the pepper plants.

It was time to move to processing the small mountain of basil taking over the sink and and counter.

I decided to try preserving the Thai basil in avocado oil. I read about preserving basil in oil in the Mediterranean Vegetarian Feast by Aglaia Kremezi.

I made three quarts of pesto! I filled the dehydrator with basil leaves and plugged it in. The house smelled of basil, it was wonderful.

As the wind blew, the leaves blew off the magnolia. The wind blew the leaves toward the south. The clouds blew away.

On the way to the mailbox, I saw this turkey vulture overhead.

The sunset was pretty!

On Monday (November 10), Bruce let me know he was stopped for breakfast.

The cold had arrived! I looked out the window and saw a few snowflakes drifting down and being tossed by a light wind.

Wait! Snow! I texted Bruce and he texted back, “Good thing we got out of Colorado! 😂”

I was sore from all the work I did on Saturday and Sunday. I decided to take it easy.

I moved the dining room chairs into the living room.

I went out into the cold to check on the peppers in the shed. They looked fine. The last few leaves on the basil were black and droopy. The leaves on the hydrangea had also turned black and droopy.

I made Feather Puff bread from The Laurel’s Kitchen Bread Book by Laurel Robertson. With half of the dough, I made cinnamon rolls with pecans and raisins included in the swirl. So good!

I read and let Nox sleep next to me. I watched Bruce’s progress on the Life360 app.

At 7:30 PM, I saw Bruce was about two and a half hours from home. He had stopped for gas, so I texted him, “Coming straight home?” Bruce called to talk about it. He said that he was feeling good for driving and if he continued to feel good, he’d make it home. He said if he got tired, he would stop for the night. I agreed that was the best approach.

As I saw the distance between us getting smaller, I hoped he’d make it home.

When I saw him on the local roads approaching the house, I knew he’d be home soon. At 9:45 PM, the Life360 showed him at the bottom of the driveway and when I looked out the window, there he was!