Below is a photo of some buds beginning to wake up. This in NY z5b about 35 miles south of Albany.
So now I have to pray that they are able to navigate through February and March.
Not very hopeful. @alan what do you think?
Mike.
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I am having the same problem here with several trees myself 
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The year before last the buds looked like that at this time and much of the crop did fine, except for the relentless rain.
I have no idea what will happen this time- there are so many variables, but at their present state they canā probably survive single digits fine- I hope.
Surprisingly, mine are not that swollen here- do all varieties look like that.
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90 day forecast has trended warmer in the past couple of weeks. Doesnāt mean there wonāt be a cold snap though. The polar vortex should be stable for at least 2 weeks, but after that it could still make a brief visit.
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I donāt know. This was just one photo that a friend who hapenned to pass by the place sent me.
Mike
I made a remark earlier in the month that was deemed too political in a non-political topic, and had it censored and erased. It was about as innocent as yours, alan.
But, you get to make the rules I reckon.
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Early bud swell makes collecting scionwood more difficult. I used to collect pecan scionwood in mid February. Tried it 2 years ago and wound up with a bunch of useless wood. Now I collect it before the end of January and have good results.
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Iām not even that advanced here in Maryland.
Iāve never made a rule for this forum and my advice often goes unheeded- you have the wrong guy.
Michael is a friend- he doesnāt mind a bit of kidding. I donāt remember, was your comment good-natured? Staff usually lets comments like that that arenāt nasty slide. However, you can always flag it and if someone seconds it the comment will disappear. I wonāt lift a finger, (not that Iād be allowed- I tell you, Iām not even a figure-head:wink:).
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I did not take it as a political jab.
I took it as a subconscious admission that he could not make directly.
@alan
Alan is an old friend and he and I disagree on the political but see the value added to our lives by those discussions, and especially the value added by those discussions on topics on which we share views 
Mike
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Yup, Mike makes fun of the time I waste on endless and pointless political debates on this forum. He has me there, except that I enjoy writing about most any topic Iām interested in- Iām in love with the sound of my own voice- even if itās only my internal monologue.
On the other hand, thereās almost no joy more complete and more difficult to obtain than turning that particular monologue off- that is transcendence from the constant hectoring of verbal analysis, rumination and all mental verbal constructs. I guess itās a love-hate relationship.
I should move this subject to the lounge, if anyone has any useful suggestions on this front. I use Hatha yoga breathing exercises. Anybody get there by tending fruit trees? For me that game involves constant analyzing formulated through endless internal verbal blather. At least it is low-anxiety blather if it doesnāt involve squirrels, insects or disease.
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Coldest i see on GFS long term is some single digits the second week of Febā¦ GFS always seems to run too cold thoughā¦ That is for Albanyā¦ After that who knows. Judging by this winterā¦Iām having my doubts any real Arctic air shows upā¦
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Hi Blueberry,
I can see how you might feel that way. However, as admins, we do our best to be fair and objective. There is not one set of rules for admins, and one set for members.
I would rather not bring up a sore point, but in the interest of objectivity, there was a difference between your comments and the ādrive byā comment Alan made.
Here were your comments, which were flagged and removed in the āGlobal Coolingā topic:
āyep, the idiots who think āglobal warmingā is controllable by human efforts are like lemmings heading for the precipiceā¦ā
āDonāt be ridiculous! I will not discuss with blind people!ā
I hope you can see the difference.
Itās true, as admins, we do seem to tolerate name calling in the Politics section of the forum, even though it is against the TOS. This is mainly because, with the exception of Alan, no other admins read the Politics section any more. People are rude there, but the roughly half dozen people who do participate in that section of the forum seem to be OK with it. As long as there are no flags in the Politics section, we ignore it.
However, as long as Iām an admin, if itās within my power, I will not allow the kind of ill-mannered discourse which is seen in the Politics section to spill over into the rest of the forum.
Here in the main part of the forum, we can have disagreements of course, but itās disagreements among friends. And friends donāt call each other names.
As mentioned, if you (or any other member) feel like Alanās comment was inappropriate, or should have been reserved for the Lounge section, you can flag it. Admin policy so far has been that if two members flag a comment, that comment is removed. In that sense, members have the same authority and power as admins.
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I was always against the political forum as I worried it would leak unto the regular forums, and it does all the time. I have been here here some time. I would rate the moderation here as fair to poor. I have seen an incredible double standard myself. I myself see no difference between Blueberryās and Alanās comments, except that Alanās is done in a deceptive way. .In the form of a joke that is not funny, nor correct. Very offensive to me. So no sorry their is no difference except Alan is your friend so he gets a pass.
I find Alanās comment extremely offensive. At least blueberry said what he truly believes not disguising it in a joking manner that moderators find acceptable. So are you saying itās OK to put down people if your nice about it? A clear double standardā¦
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@MES111 what tree is that in the picture? When I look closely it seems silvery, but I donāt see any white or color yet, so I hope youāll be okay if it stays cool enough. It certainly is amazing to see that much swelling of buds in 5b!
@alan
Yeah ok
Iāll get back to you in a month or so when I figure out what you just said, although I know what you meant 
You know, Iām just an old lawyer from Brooklyn, and it takes me a while.
Mike
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I didnāt take the photo so judging from the backround that would be either an INDIAN FREE PEACH or a RED BARON PEACH.
Mike
Drew,
If anyone is unable to see the difference between name calling and a political comment (even a sarcastic one) then there is really no reason to discuss it. I donāt see any hope of reconciliation between the two viewpoints.
I would also remind you the intended target of the comment has stated he was not offended at all. That is significant.
As mentioned, if the comment is that offensive and you feel it is inappropriate - flag it. You feel the moderation has been fair to poor, but members have practically the same moderation capacity as admins. Iām not sure what your beef is.
I think Scott has been extremely democratic in the administration of this forum. I donāt recall we (as admins) have ever removed a comment unless there has been a flag on it, or a complaint (in the form of a PM) about the comment. We have never suspended an account unless there was a clear indication of spamming going on.
Furthermore, when we created the Politics section, we tried very hard to balance out the needs and desires of the membership on both sides. Thatās why the Politics section remains āOpt Inā and is not available to brand new members.
And no, there is no double standard. I would not have deleted the comment based on the flag above if it were another member. Especially since the recipient who the comment was directed to, took it as a joke. At most I would have reminded the member to keep climate change comments in the Lounge.
Even though itās not my place to remind another admin of what I will call ābest practicesā, I will do that now to demonstrate absolute objectivity, and suffer any potential verbal disconcert from said admin.
Alan, letās please keep climate change comments in the Lounge.
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With February knocking on the door i start thinking about collecting scion wood. I like to collect it as late as possible, especially peach which I struggle grafting, but while still fully dormant. With the warm temps in January it makes me think I need to do it soon.
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