One of my favorite rooms in my condo is the Four Seasons room. My sunroom, off the kitchen/dining area, is supposedly a four-season room. However, it is a three-season room when the winter temperatures drop into the single digits at night, and the daytime highs are in the low twenties. In an attempt to mitigate the cold in the past. I had new double-pane windows installed. I hung insulating shades, and I turned on the room built-in heater in the winter. This allows me to use the room as a four-season room longer than I have in the past.
In Ohio, January is known historically as one of the coldest and grayest months of the year. January has been true to form this year following an unusually warm November. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time in the sunroom all year until recently. The entire month has been a cold snap, and I thought my houseplants would die. Fortunately, the in-room heart has maintained temperatures above 55 all night, and the plants are doing very well. The kalanchoe has budded, the geraniums have bloomed, and the old amaryllis, which I thought was dead, has sprouted new leaves.
Sadly, my giant pointseitta in the kitchen is dropping leaves, not sure it is getting much sun,
We also have gotten a lot of snow this year compared to last year. As of last evening, I have over 12 inches on my deck. Today, it has reached a high of 31 degrees, and I wanted to clear some of the snow off my back deck to get to one of my bird feeders. I have put a small tray out on the deck and filled it three or four times a day to keep up with demand.
I am an avid bird watcher and feed the local bird communities, which include squirrels, crows, chipmunks, and occasionally a stray raccoon or skunk. The local herd of cowbirds and starlings have found me and cleared me out quickly. I want my cardinals, bluebirds, and finches to have a fighting chance, so I check and regularly replenish the feeder.
Today, I set up a small ceramic heater in the sunroom. It does a good job of taking the chill out of the room, and I get to spend a couple of hours in the afternoon enjoying the outdoors and the houseplants.
Thanks to the path I shoveled this morning, I filled the outside house feeder on the deck, and I put on the kettle to enjoy a cup of tea with my menagerie.
Hopefully, this inspires you to find a way to enjoy your “indoor/outdoor space.
