Parking Ticket

This is a little dated but I've been waiting to vent until I found out how much this stupid ticket cost. So here's the story.

I received a ticket at 4:56am on 2/22/08 during a snow storm that the forecasters did not predict to start until after 7am. For the first time since the beginning of time the Westfield police decided to enforce the "no parking on snow covered roads", as all their residents peacefully slept knowing that the storm wouldn't start until mid-morning.

Once again the weathermen were wrong but this time because the storm actually appeared and developed a couple hours earlier than expected. Because the Westfield police felt like writing tickets that day they went ahead and wrote tickets for everyone on my street. Funny enough I was in my car by 6am on the road, long before the storm was allegedly going to start.

My lessons learned, courtesy of the Westfield Police Department and NYC area weathermen are:

1. Not to trust the weathermen (that's a given)
   
2. Expect the unexpected, the Westfield police do work when you least expect it
3. Don't expect logic or fairness to be used lightly
   

The ticket cost $40 but at least I know that I moved my car well before the storm was supposed to start; too bad that's not good enough for the police this time.

Happy Feet

Just some local feet attending a local party.

Two Weeks In

It has been two weeks since I planted a large amount of seeds. The chives are growing so quickly, they are about 3 inches tall now. My thyme, oregano, and cilantro are doing well also. I've had 3 out of 9 sage plants sprout, I'm a little bit disappointed with that. Yesterday I noticed my first rosemary sprout and I'm still waiting on the lavender to start.

One week ago I planted large (6) and small (10) sunflower seeds. Yesterday they all sprouted at the same time! I imagine in 2 weeks I will be transplanting many of these sprouts into larger containers prepping them for the spring. =)

Spring is just around the corner!

It's time to start getting your plants ready for spring. I have a small grow room in my house that I use to grow my plants from seeds. I start the last two weeks of February and continue through March and into parts of April before I bring them outside. Currently I have chives, thyme, and oregano under the lamps. I planted chives, thyme, oregano, sage, rosemary, lavender, and cilantro last week on Feb. 20. The thyme and chives sprouted within two days. I keep them in a warm box without light until they sprout. Once they're up I keep them under the lamp 16 hours a day. The oregano I found to sprout slowly in the dark (I only have two right now) so I have placed them under the lamp to see if they prefer to bask in the light and then rise. At this point I have 72 herb plants that I'm hoping will grow strong.

Yesterday I picked up my flower seeds and are starting to work with them. I planted 6 large sunflower seeds, they'll hopefully grow up to 12 feet tall. I also planted 10 mini sunflowers (hull), I'm going to plant them in window boxes that I have hang from my porch.

As you can see in the picture the thyme is in the center and really started strong. The chives are on the far right with their string stalks. I use foil around the inside of my grow room to reflect all possible light towards the plants. Heat is not an issue the lamps are fluorescent grow lights and I keep my house anywhere between 68-71 degrees.

I'll post more pictures soon!

Ski Trip to Smuggler's Notch, VT

View from top of Stirling Mountain.

Mummer's Parade - Philadelphia

The Mummer's Parade is crazy and everyone should go to it at least once or twice during their lifetime. It's such a great way to celebrate the New Year!

Trip to Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island