The winter of 2013-14 was harsh, killing off many of the year-old canes that bear flowers and fruit on the blackberry bushes in the garden.
The prolonged cold snap that has engulfed most of February this year is likely to do just as much damage, especially with repeated below-zero low temperatures, including -11F (= -24C) on Tuesday.
After last year's die-off, the canes that sprouted weren't the most robust I'd seen, and when I spy them now in the snow, they look rather forlorn.
So, it appears that for the second straight year, I won't be getting many blackberries from the garden.