I haven’t kept up too much over the past few months but hope to get back into some sort of steady blogging because I do enjoy being able to share our view of the Poconos with you, the reader

Here are some pictures from an ice storm from this past winter, not to out of the ordinary I just love to go outside once its settled and look around at how the ice has effected all of the trees and surroundings.  This winter has been unusual, but living in the Poconos I’m not sure that there is ever a ‘typical’ winter that you can expect.  We get our waves of highs and lows - there was one point this winter it literally went from 6 degrees one day to 60 the next!  Its never fun to get a bunch of snow then have it all melt and be left with a muddy mucky mess during what should be a completely winter time.

Its now the beginning of March and we’ve had a series of flooding, high winds and power outages but I can’t say that differs too much from what we’ve seen going on in other parts of the country.  What I can say is typical from my experiences of the Pocono winters is that just when you think winter is over another snowstorm or two catches you offguard.  I have learned to wait until about the end of April to be sure we’re not going to see any additional snow falls or freezing so I know its safe to start planning spring planting and trips.

While the snow was piling high this winter we made a trip over to the Monroe County SPCA and adopted a dog who we managed to find at just the right time and has been a perfect addition to our home.  There are plenty of other shelters in the area and I encourage you that if you’re looking for an animal to consider adopting one that is in need.  Its not just cats and dogs - but rabbits, guinea pigs and more!  Although the Monroe County SPCA is a “low kill” shelter, there are animals there and at other shelters that are always in need.

In other news Bill Clinton is in Stroudsburg today at Stroudsburg High School to campaign for his wife.  If anything the Poconos never have a shortage of happenings and things to do!

Whew, it seems like we just got into the fall season but winter is definitely right on its tail.  When we left this morning there was frost on the ground, the windshield and when I got into the car it said it was 31 degrees!  If you haven’t yet winterized your plants its definitely a good time to start.  Check out this plant hardiness zone map and take notice if you’ve just moved into the area the difference in temperature so you know how to winterize your plants accordingly.  Covering them with hay or even leaves might do the trick but be sure to read up on your perennials so they are sure to last through until the spring.

 A great, great investment for the winter is a remote car start system.  Simply put what it allows you to do is start your car from inside the comfort of your warm home so that by the time you are ready to leave for the day it is already warm!   Each system is different, but the one we have works by simply holding in a button on the car keychain and it will start the car.  If you do not get in and manually start the car within about 5 minutes the car will automatically shut itself off.  Also, if you fear that someone might steal your car - no worries, if you auto start the car as soon as the break petal is touched it turns itself off. 

They are great for a number of reasons:
1) It saves time - you do not need to run outside & start the car and then run back inside.
2) Security - since you do not leave your keys in the car(unlike manually doing it) there is no risk for your vehicle being stolen.
3) Money - Ask your car insurance agent if you can save any money with a better alarm system.  Most companies will reduce your insurance rates and eventually it will pay for itself.
4) Convenience - Going from a warm house to a warm car in the dead of winter is wonderful!

Tips:
- If you do get a system take notice of how long it takes to warm your car up - when its really cold you might need 2 cycles for it to fully warm up.
- When you exit your car be sure to turn the defrosters on high, so while your car engine is warming your windows are defrosting, saving you some valuable time that would be spent scraping them.
- If there you get a lot of snow make sure your exhaust is not covered before your turn it on.

 I can’t say enough about them, look around for deals - almost any store that offers car cd players and alarms will also offer remote starts.

Here is a coupon for a local car installation company in Stroudsburg for 15% off: http://blossominstallations.com/index.php

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