Announcing A New Contest!

I am starting a new contest called (drumroll please)

Guess What is Under That Mound of Snow !

Here is a picture of the backyard, with several mounds labeled:



Post your guesses for what you think is under mounds A through M in the comments.

Person who correctly guesses the greatest number of answers will be declared the Winner.

First prize is The winner of the contest will have the glory of winning the contest.

The Winner will be announced in July. (At least I hope to be able to announce a winner by then.)

Try to remember the postition of the visible items in this picture (playgym, basketball hoop, trees) for later, when they are marked in additional installments of this contest, in February.

Further Clivia Update

I picked one of the clivia berries this evening,

and peeled it.


I was expecting a lot of smaller seeds instead of these 3 big ones.

The seed was about the size of a cooked chick pea.

There was a lot of advice on the web as to how to germinate the seeds. I went with this approach because it was easiest and because it will be easy to see if anything happens.

I have read that it takes anywhere from one to six months to germinate. If it germinates at all. Stay tuned ...

A Confused Clivia and Other Clivia Updates

One of my Clivia Miniatas is currently blooming. It is very confused because clivias are supposed to bloom in the spring, not in December / January.

This particular plant used to have more respect for conventions, given that last time it bloomed was in May.

Do you think this might be another example of global warming?

However, I cannot tell you how wonderful it is to have these flamboyant flowers lighting up the house as the snow piles up outside.




Last year we also had a confused Clivia, though not as confused as the current one. That one bloomed in late February. This is a picture of it next to a Campanula I bought at the Edison Flower Show.


Besides blooming later, it was also different from the current one in that it opened its blooms one at a time over a period of almost two months instead of all at the same time.

Here it is in April as its last flower opened. Notice the seed pods that have formed from the first flowers to bloom.


Here are the seed pods in May,

starting to ripen in October,
later in October,
and this week.
Unlike Eli, I do not have a time lapse video of the process.

Snow Depths According to TRAINED SPOTTERs

Ever wonder, when the news reports on snow depths around the area, where their info comes from?

• Do they send reporters driving all over the state with yardsticks to take measurements in the various city hall parking lots?


• Do they fly over the state and measure various depths with Sonar?


• Do they find out by listening to the other news stations?

After a little research (googling), I found the answer.

They rely on SKYWARN®, NOAA's National Weather Service (NWS) volunteer army of TRAINED SPOTTERs.

According to SKYWARN®,

SKYWARN® storm spotters are part of the ranks of citizens who form the Nation's first line of defense against severe weather. There can be no finer reward than to know that their efforts have given communities the precious gift of time--seconds and minutes that can help save lives.

Not to mention, those precious seconds and minutes required to stampede to the supermarket and stock up on bread, toilet paper, and DVD rentals.

For example, this info from the National Weather Service website, under the UPDATED SNOW AND WIND REPORTS link, shows the extent they rely on TRAINED SPOTTERs in NJ.

******STORM TOTAL SNOWFALL*********

LOCATION / TOTAL INCHES SNOWFALL / TIME/DATE / COMMENTS

NEW JERSEY

...BERGEN COUNTY...
GARFIELD 9.8 800 PM 12/26 TRAINED SPOTTER
MAHWAH 4.6 600 PM 12/26 TRAINED SPOTTER

...ESSEX COUNTY...
BELLEVILLE 10.5 730 PM 12/26 TRAINED SPOTTER
WEST ORANGE 7.0 700 PM 12/26 PUBLIC
NEWARK AIRPORT 7.0 700 PM 12/26 FAA CONTRACT OBSERVER
CEDAR GROVE 2.5 420 PM 12/26 PUBLIC
BLOOMFIELD 2.0 400 PM 12/26 TRAINED SPOTTER

...HUDSON COUNTY...
JERSEY CITY 7.6 700 PM 12/26 TRAINED SPOTTER

...PASSAIC COUNTY...
HASKELL 9.0 807 PM 12/26 TRAINED SPOTTER
WAYNE 2.5 500 PM 12/26 PUBLIC

...UNION COUNTY...
ELIZABETH 11.7 625 PM 12/26 TRAINED SPOTTER
UNION 11.3 645 PM 12/26 TRAINED SPOTTER

After finding out about this program, I decided that When I grow up I want to be a trained spotter.

With a little more research (yup, more googling) I found out how to go about this.

According to SKYWARN®, I need to contact my local Warning Coordination Meteorologist, and receive training that covers:

• Basics of thunderstorm development


• Fundamentals of storm structure


• Identifying potential severe weather features


• Information to report


• How to report information


• Basic severe weather safety

Also, I am guessing, how to use a yardstick.

So I have applied, and am waiting to hear back.

I will blog any further developments.