The handwriting is on the wall, written in ominous reports from the poles of sea ice melting and in our own experience not getting nearly enough chilling hours for our fruit trees. We humans are heating up our little planet at a scary pace while the mainstream media feed us a steady diet of “climate change debate” and “be happy, keep shopping” poppycock. We know better: we know we’d better get ready for a hotter planet. We talked in December about how we have changed and will be changing the way we grow fruits and vegetables. Today we deal with how to prepare the forest that covers most of our farm. We anticipate not only a change in the climate but also having to find ways to live with much less energy, specifically less petroleum.
Listen – 21:20

We're sitting together with Sad Longleaf, the mascot of Longleaf Breeze. The forest is gone now, replaced by the orchard, but Sad Longleaf still presides over it.
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The new USDA map leaves Raleigh in Zone 7b, but just barely. The 7b/8a boundary made a huge jump inland from the coast.