Arctic Texas

I don't know what is up with this weather but I don't like it. Temperatures will be falling into the teens and stay below freezing for some time. This means I have to find a place to put the cactus that my cats won't bother. I don't want a vet bill for taking out stickers.
Likwise my lemon tree, basil, beets, lemon grass, split leaf ivy, and who knows what else I'm forgetting will all have a new home somewhere inside for a few days.
This along with crazy overtime at work (not complaining), a recent funeral, and trying to get a non-profit garden off the ground, my life is swamped.

Snow Dead

I admit it's not as catchy but I hope it stays that way. I don't want anything else catching cold. I have gotten a positive identification on my cactus plants, two of which will probably not make it. They were so pretty too.
Anyhow, what lived will still live and what died will rot and I quote, "on it's way to being black slime." I always wondered where black slime came from. Can anyone tell me where a gelatinous cube comes from? That can't be a natural shape for anything.
I talked to a relative who lives a bit south of me about my lemon tree and he assures me that it should produce within the next year or two. his trees are about ten feet tall and they produce so well that he doesn't want to trim the limbs except for the ends. Unfortunately several of his other trees died recently and he had to chop them down. So is the cycle of the tree.

Snow Survivors

Survivors of the snow include almost everything.
I wasn't sure about the lemon tree but I figured it was pretty big and should be able to handle the cold weather by now. I was right. Not one leaf fell from it's branches and it's still going strong. Of course it wasn't actuall in the snow but it was exposed to the below 30 degree weather.
A couple of the orphaned cacti died but they were on their way out anyway. They had turned yellow and splotchy. Maybe I should have watered them but since I had no idea what kind of cactus they were I didn't know.
Even the strawberry plants are still green and they did get hit with the snow and cold. Looking forward to some nice berries in the spring and maybe even in late winter if everything goes well.
The cabbage and root veggies are all looking nice. I'll have to remember that for next season.

Cacti Orphans

I have finally had the change during the day to take pictures of the cactus plants I have adopted. The previous owner moved several states away and didn't want the hassle of moving things that could injure her if she wasn't careful moving them.
In my brief attempt at figuring out exactly what kinds of cacti they were I have found out that I would rather have someone who knows something about them to just tell me. The first two are very similar and may be the same variety while the other two are very likely not.
I hope someone can tell me if they can survive 20-something degree weather since we are scheduled to have some in the next few days and they are still sitting outside in pots. Which reminds me my lemon tree is due to come back in soon.