Red Buckeye Update

We are having the most amazingly warm weather here in eastern North Carolina (77F or 25C on Christmas day) More warm days are promised & it looks as though we will not see frost until the first of next year although we have experienced frost earlier this season.

In early November I posted about the seeds of my Red Buckeye that I collected & potted up.
Of the seven seeds, three were dug up by squirrels even though they had chicken wire over the pots. Is there squirrel wire I wonder? Anyway after battening down the said wire no more raiders have gained access.
We have had a very wet year, well above 60 inches of rain which is a lot even for us.
This what I found in the corral by the potting shed this morning.

Looks like 3 have or are germinating they must think it is spring.
One I think I planted upside down & that looks like a root  at the top.
(Yes, there are cyclamen seedlings in there too.)
 What to do?
 These seeds are supposed to need stratification (winter cold) before germinating. Shall I put these in the potting shed to protect them for the cold still to come or pile leaves over the top of them where they are outside? Decisions, decisions.....

Collards in the rain

After two weeks away a day of rain.

 Just at sunset in the garden to cut some collards for dinner.

Spied these self seeded beauties yesterday growing through a bed of chickweed in the old veggie garden. Probably helped by germinating next to the compost they are twice the size of anything I purposefully planted.

Probably should have 'photoshopped' the utility pole out of this photo (if I knew how)

 but would it still be real?