Working in the Yard

I was very excited this morning with the thoughts of snow and possibly being stranded at home tomorrow. I love to take pictures of the animals playing in the snow. Then I looked at my yard. Even with a decent snowfall, my yard would still be "lumpy" with detritus. So I spent my afternoon picking up wood scraps & dog toys. I put away the lawn tractor and saw horses. Moved the smoker grill and tea cart. Picked up the little presents the dogs scavenged like a yellow flip-flop, a piece of PVC pipe, and disgusting bits of diaper. I drew the line on the flattened dried-up remains of ... something. Just need the snow now.
Trying to give the girls a bit more protection, I made a few adjustments to two of the chicken houses. "House" maybe overstating it. They are more like chicken shacks. The chicks were so busy watching me & stuffing their faces with goodies that they forgot to do much laying.
But it was a good day.
A quick word on your outdoor plants. They are not affected by windchill but chances are there will be ornamental shrubs lost or damaged due to the extreme cold. Shelby County & most of south AL fall into Zone 8a which is supposed to only get as low as 10-15 degrees. If we hit 5 degrees as predicted, expect damage to zone 8 plants like gardenias.
By the way, the Norfolk Island Pine, potted for cute little Christmas trees, is tropical. It won't withstand any temperatures below or around freezing.
One bright spot - your hosta will love this. They thrive in climates that easily register -15 to -20 degrees. If you have seen pictures in magazines of monster size hosta, probably a northern garden. 99% of mine are in containers which provides better growing conditions & allows more chilling for them.

Some of my potted beauties.

"Striptease" hosta

"Fragrant Bouquet"

Container Hosta in border