Winter in Sanford, Florida

[Judge]

Well, for the first time in four years Central Florida has had a freeze.  The temperature was 31 degrees when I got up this morning at 6:00 a.m. and at 12:00 noon, it has climbed up to 51 degrees.  Not to worry.  It is supposed to be in the 80s by Thursday.   

The "Freeze of 1983" was the worst in my lifetime.  It killed all the citrus trees and the growers decided it was more profitable to sell their land to developers than to replant orange trees.  They not only got the price of the land but also participated in the development profits - all without investing (risking) a dime. Anyway, the days of driving through Orange and Lake Counties and seeing miles and miles of orange groves have been over since 1983 and any citrus that is left is being grown in South Florida.

I live in Sanford, which is north of Orlando on the St.Johns River.  It used to be an agricultural center that was famous for vegetables, mostly celery.  The farms have long ago been sold to developers.  This has resulted in increased traffic and, since the developers never fully pay for their impact, local taxpayers have picked up the tab. 

It is not all bad.  Sanford is on the shore of Lake Monroe, which is really not a lake at all, but a wide spot in the St. Johns River.  It is a large lake and the city has taken care to keep it attractive.  I have attached a link to show you what the lakefront looks like. 

We live in the "historic district" which has homes built from the 1880s through the 1920s (the "Florida Boom" ended at the end of 1929, like everywhere else.)  We did not have to cover our plants to protect them from last night's freeze because our property is shaded by several giant oak trees that are over 100 years old and they provide sufficient frost protection.

                                                                                             https://sanfordfl.gov/

[deemery]

A balmy 20 degrees here in NH. 

dave

[GPdemayo]

I can't complain too much Bill, this year hasn't been too bad. It was so sad to see what the '83 freeze did to all the groves out west. Such beautiful groves gone in an instant.