First Snow and Traffic Hazards

Sleigh bells ring, are you listening?  Well, it's not enough snow to pull a sled in but here in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania it's going to snow on the annual Holiday Parade that rings in our favorite Christmas character, Santa Claus.

 

When I got up to feed the animals, Tipper, Jessica and Persian, there were a few tiny, more like minscule flakes being blown gently out of the sky.  Not enough to even lay on the car window.  Tipper always goes out around 4:30 am and there was just a gentle breeze of wind at the time.

It's now after 6 am and there is a light snow continuing to come down.

I'm sitting here writing this and listening to the police radio come alive as people make their way on this cold morning.  As usual the Highland Park Bridge is always active with accidents on mornings like this and I could never understand why that was the only bridge that got this kind of activity.  I got my answer a couple of weeks ago when my son told me to think about it.  The dam is right below that bridge and the mist rises to create the black ice on the bridge surface.



As you can see the snow is a light dusting and really the streets are just wet.  Nothing to worry about.  Right!!!!!  If I were to go to church this morning, that street is made of bricks and would be slippery and the car would want to slide at the stop sign.

 

I have learned over the years to avoid both of these areas on mornings like this.  I will go out of my way to take a different way to work by going to the 62nd Street Bridge and back tracking to whatever destination I need to go by crossing under the ramp to the Highland Park Bridge.  As far as going to church, I take a different street and park on the opposite side of the church.

 

Tipper is getting older now, but from the time she was a puppy she loved to play in the snow.  It was no different this morning.  Even though she has more difficulty going up and down steps, she went right out into the yard to let the snow fall on her.  It makes me happy to see her get excited about something because she has gotten to the age that she doesn't even try to play with her toys except for on a very rare occasion.  She bounded into the yard and walked around looking at the snow falling onto her face.

The snow is so beautiful, gently cascading out of the sky and today being the day after Black Friday, I wish you all happy baking for the upcoming Christmas season.

 

Ivy Geraniums For My Porch Planters

Went shopping yesterday for supper. Came home with dog and cat food but no people food. On the way home I stopped at a local farm store and looked at the plants.

Last year, I could not get near their parking lot so I went early this year between rush hours. My budget is strained this year so I didn't spend the $13 per plant that I did last year for my porch planters and my hanging baskets.

This year I bought 6 plants again and I did the ivy geraniums but I bought the smaller 4" pots for a total expenditure of $21. 

I put a red and white plant in the two front porch planters and 1 white plant in each of the hanging baskets off my deck. I'm saving my biggest expenditure to buy a bougainvillea for the back yard with a trellis.

The biggest problem I had planting these was getting the roots from last year out of the planters.  Even though I pulled the biggest part of them out, I was having a difficult time turning the soil in the planters.  I lost a good part of my soil and I invested in good potting soil to start my plants.

For those in the area, Patty's Farm Store has a wonderful variety of flowers to choose from.  Just be aware as we get closer to Mother's Day you will have trouble finding a place to park if you want to browse.