Slap! - waking up to reality

I had really psyched myself up to the face that we were going to have our first frost tonight. It's not my favorite milestone of the year, but it needs to be dealt with. Wrap some pipes and faucets, and take in the last of the veggies from the garden. Lay up some wood in the house and office, for heat and just to feel cozy.

But that should be tonight - not last night. Tonight. I don't know what the weather people were thinking. Or I.

It did feel cool in the morning, as I was waking up the old bones with a slow jog to the barn. My eyes were half open by the time I had poured my coffee, and I was assessing the day ahead when I looked out over the garden. It was frozen.

Not a little frozen, like a fairy dusting of frost on leaves, but there was ice everywhere. Like this:

It's my own sad version of the hanging gardens. You don't get this effect easily in the desert.
(I had turned on the irrigation hoses last night, and left it at that.)
Considering that the East coast just had an October storm, I don't expect any sympathy, but I will happily accept advice what to do with defrosted peppers and tomatoes.

It's a lesson in "form your own opinion" and "don't believe everything you read".