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

Since the past few years an increasing number of people are choosing malaysian airlines to go out in the chilly winters and have fun in the freezing temperatures. Many of them choose to stay at adventure hotels and purchase the vacation plans that come along all the related services of car rental, travel insurance and booking the domestic flights. More often than others, the services are reached via some travel agency specialized in hot hotel deals. While certain other times of the year people may choose to do all the travel arrangements such as finding the flights to boston, researching and finalizing the stay packages with orlando hotel reservations, selecting the appropriate connecting flights schedule with spirit airline all by themselves.

Living in the Poconos the seasons the season that I think catches most ‘new guys’ offguard is definitely Winter.  The other seasons do not vary too much from city living or other parts of the country but Winter is definitely unique.  Now is the time to get a start on getting your home prepared for winter so come the snowy months you can sit back and relax confidently. 

I moved to the Poconos a little over 5 years ago and the concept of a well, septic system,  fireplace and needing to get someone to plow your driveway were totally new concepts to me.  So hopefully mistakes I’ve made and have learned from that have turned into the tips below will prepare you better.

Prepare your yard and the outside of your home

First and foremost be sure to prepare your yard for the upcoming months by winterizing it as much as possible.  Right now its not too cold yet and it will save you a lot of time and aggrevation to get it done now.

- Winterize your plants.  Cover them, trim them, whatever is necessary, our winters our quite cold and you definitely don’t want to lose the time and money you spent on your yard.

- Clear the yard and cover objects.  Bring in toys & empty plant containers and tarp what you can - lawnmowers, swingsets, large toys.  If you have tables and/or chairs with covers bring them in or tarp them as well.

- Rake and mow one last time.  Especially if you live in an extremely wooded area, the cold and snow can come on pretty quick so be sure to keep up on raking as trying to get up all those wet leaves in the spring is not fun.

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