I always brace myself for the worst when I lift up the cloth I use to cover my vegetable garden during deep cold spells.

This year, I had to wait until the weather was warm for a day or two to even get a peek. The cloth remained frozen to the ground and to the hay I used to surround the beds.

I don’t know precisely how cold it got in my gardens two weeks ago. But based on weather reports from nearby towns, it was deep into the single digits for multiple days. There was nothing but a relatively thin cloth and the ground heat to protect my winter sustenance. I was certain the cold had overwhelmed everything I had planted.