Inside/Outside

The pristine beauty of the snowfall is gone, turned to slush and worse. For something lovely to look at, I have to check out my latest crop of double pink Impatiens, the great-great-great offspring of a cast-off plant that workers tossed aside in Lot 6 many, many years ago. Propagating plants from cuttings is one of my favorite things and these wintered-over ones will add a big, free boost to my spring garden.

Outside, sunny days and freezing nights will make reduction of snow piles like this go very slow.

Meanwhile, getting around on foot is tricky. Standing in my storm boots this afternoon, I watched a very well-dressed man with elegant shoes approaching a stretch of churned-up dirty snow bordered by icy slush on East Seventh Street. He plunged right in, but those shoes will never be the same.

The hazardous stretch just happened to be in front of Municipal Parking Lot 7. The lot was plowed, but the sidewalk was barely passable, forcing people to walk in the street, which is also hazardous.

Note to self: Remember to call (908) 753-3427 later and beg for the sidewalk to be cleared.

--Bernice