Mike...Here's an article published by the NY Flora Assn about various forms of Hydrangea that have been found in the NE. It may be of some help. If you could post a photo of the inflorescence and leaf of the one's you found, someone can probably help with a correct identification. Rb Here is a link that might be useful: NYFA Newsletter

OK, it was only last night that I discovered this was garlic mustard. Tonight I came home to an excellent pesto over pasta, cooked by my ever-resourceful hubby, using the garlic mustard, as we had almost no fresh basil. It was great! I'm not saying this is not an invasive weed that still needs to be eradicated, or at least checked, but you might as well eat it while you're getting rid of it. Here's the recipe my hubby came up with -- the remainder of this post is from him: For this recipe, you need to pull the plant by the root, because the taproot is one of the ingredients: Pull a sufficient number of plants to get about a cup of leaves (six or so ought to do it), rip 'em off the stem, wash them thoroughly and set this aside. Then take the taproots, chop up enough to get about three tablespoons, and wash them as well. Take about four cloves of garlic, chopped, the chopped taproots, the leaves from the plant, about a quarter cup of pecans (you can use pine nuts if you're a traditionalist, but because of the vaguely Southern piquant taste of the leaves, pecans work really well). Toss in about two tablespoons of dried parsley, the same amount of dried basil, the same amount of Pecorino or Romano, and salt and pepper to taste. Dump everything in a food processor or blender. Now pulverize it, drizzling in olive oil as you go until it reaches your desired pesto consistency. (I like mine a little on the light side, which goes better with pasta.) Voila. By the way, this is not only a delicious way to get rid of an invasive weed, it's also chock full of vitamins A and C. This can be refrigerated for up to 10 days.

Logic wrote: "Joe wrote: "Many inspectors (me included) would decline the inspection if they were aware that the buyer contacted their insurance company. The ones that wouldnt, should." Why? This advice is based upon a real and serious problem in NJ...which I think is probably also an issue in PA...but has yet to surface...as PA has no licensing. A VERY large number of licensed NJ HI's have allowed their E&O to lapse...or, it has been cancelled at some point for some reason. However, many have continued to inspect...with the buyer being none the wiser. Not only is this deceptive practice...but as E&O policies are "claims made", once a policy lapses, all coverage is canceled...including coverage for those inspections that were performed when the policy was in effect. Consequently, there are an untold number of NJ buyers who will not have the recourse of the HI's E&O policy if they should need such recourse. This is such a problem that the NJ licensing board has the following warning on their website: "Please call the Committee office to check if a licensee has current insurance coverage." That said, the bad apples have spoiled it for the bunch." Reply: - There is of course, nothing wrong with a buyer requesting proof of insurance, but contacting the insurance company directly, steps over the line. In my eyes, the person that does that has branded himself as a potential candidate for causing trouble down the road. I would eliminate that risk by declining the job. That scenario has never happened to me and it may very well never happen. I dont know if its a Pennsylvania thing, but shoppers rarely ask about insurance, and when they do, you know from other questions asked that theyre working down a list they got from somewhere. You say that E&O policies are claims made. Some are, but of course many are occurrence policies. I believe Pennsylvania requires a certain number of years of tail end coverage for claims made policies. Of course, thats meaningless if a policy isnt in effect when an inspection is done. Ive never read of any problems with lapsed insurance in PA, but as you said, maybe it hasnt surfaced yet. Logic wrote: - "(Joe wrote: "Attend the inspection, but dont ask questions? How does that work?") Of course the buyer should ask questionswhen the HI takes them around the home after he has performed the inspection to show and explain the findings. This takes more time on the part of the HIbut it is the best way to eliminate distractionsand the chance of missing somethingespecially something that is NOT therebut should beaka paradigm paralysis. In addition, this benefits the entire process for all in the long termas the fewer errors on the part of the HIthe less the chance of losing E&O..or having to pay through the nosethe better the chance of containing cost in order that a home inspection remain affordableand the better the buyer is protected. It is a big picture issuewith the end result point being to improve the quality of inspections.as well as the level of professionalism and accuracy that the buyer will receive." Reply: - I agree completely that its far best that the inspector do the inspection alone, eliminating many potential distractions, but like it or not, thats not how the vast majority of inspectors operate. By telling the OP "you want an HI who is going to give the inspection his undivided attention...and then show and tell afterwards", a lot of very good inspectors are going to be eliminated. Id much rather do the inspection alone, but do the typical "walk and talk" for a variety of reasons. As I mentioned before, the biggest benefit may be the rapport you build up with the client. They see how hard you worked for them, how dirty you got and just how much you really know about what youre doing, both through things said and the level of confidence and organization that you exhibit. Taking the buyer back through the house after the inspection can take a huge amount of time, plus, Im sure that Im not the only inspector out there who suffers from "fried brain syndrome after some inspections and might have a hard time recalling all of the issues again. Then theres the issue of what do you do with the buyer during the inspection. I wont start without a signed contract, so that means the buyer has to be there from the start. I dont want the buyer(s) wandering unsupervised through the house for hours while Im inspecting. A buyer that "gets it" really isnt much of a distraction. The ideal is no more that one or two people at the inspection, who are pretty much silent, asking appropriate questions at the appropriate time. That happens maybe 10-20% of the time. Ive had many fewer problems since I started emailing buyers a courteous letter asking them to limit the number of people they bring, not to mess with things in the house and giving tips on how not to cause unnecessary distractions during the process. Still, I do relish those inspections for out of town buyers, when Im there alone and can give the inspection my total attention. Logic wrote: - "(Joe wrote: "And also make sure the inspector is a member of one of the two "legitimate" inspector organizations.") In PA this would be ASHI or NAHI. The last I heard, NACHI was still "qualified" by PA as a "legitimate" organization. Has that changed?" Repl: - Im not going there. From reading your posts, I know youre savvy; Im sure you know the issues. The OWNER of one of the orgs can be very vindictive. Im not saying anything specific on a public forum. Logic wrote: - "Be that as it may, in PA this indeed a requirementas they have no other regulatory process....they still allow the profession to police itself. :-( Howeverin the grand scheme of things it is meaninglesswhich is why licensing of HIs in PA is in the works. Membership in all the "legitimate" orgs is on the honor system.and therefore basically meaningless to the consumer." Reply: - I havent heard anything lately about Senate Bill 359, introduced last March. I assumed that it just died with the end of the 2007 Legislative session. Is it still active? Logic wrote: - "BTWthe birthday indicated is the default if one does not enter a different datebut thanks for the good wishes nonetheless." Reply: - Jeez, I never knew that. I looked and saw that my Birthday is also January 1. What are the odds of that? :-) Logic wrote: - "The PA set up is basically a fox guarding the henhouse dealand those who formed PHIC (Pennsylvania Home Inspectors Coalition) that decides who and how many aspiring HIs they will take on ride alongs for training (AKA controlling their competition) seem to basically spend an most of their time arguing and suing over which org is the best" Reply: - You might want to do some research on PHIC and the Mentoring Program. You seem to be ignorant of the facts. The PA system IS a fox guarding the henhouse deal, but dont blame PHIC or the Mentoring Program. Far from being a means to "control their competition", the Mentoring Program was created as a means for prospective inspectors to achieve the minimum of 100 inspections required by Act 114. It removed a barrier to entering the profession; it didn't add one. On what do you base your statement that those who formed PHIC "spend an most of their time arguing and suing over which org is the best". If you knew what you were talking about, you would know that Joe Kelly was on the receiving end of a lawsuit, not the other way around.

That looks like the hubcap of your car. see the lugnuts toward the bottom? Another beauty is long pond.