Mk Neal

The ostrich ferns in my yard spread further into the lawn every year. I think they actually do great in sun; it’s just that ther plants do well also so they have more competition.  They do not seem to compete well against plants with surface roots, we tried transplanting under a Norway maple and they really never thrived there.

I suspect that a patch functions as a single organism like aspens. Seems like it is rather difficult to get the first one to thrive, but once there’s a bunch of crowns they really set out runners and pop up all over.

I just tuck the edges of a flat sheet under the mattress on the bottom and sides. It stays in place (we have wool mattress cover under the sheet).

Breakfast was Stollen and Hutzelbrot plus sliced apples and Terry’s chocolate orange.  For Christmas dinner we are hosting 14. I am making fresh cranberry salad, whole baked pumpkin stuffed with wild rice, mushrooms, chestnuts and dried berries (it’s a Choctaw pumpkin grown by Blake Lenoir). Daughter is making deviled eggs and an orange-honey trifle. Hubby is making prime rib and Yorkshire pudding.

Just found this about current hydrogen engine cars and the fuel infrastructure needed for them:

https://carbuzz.com/2026-toyota-mirai-updates/

Hasn’t the barrier to hydrogen fuel adoption always been the extreme flammability of hydrogen? Remember the Hindenburg…

There has been talk about hydrogen vehicles at various points in 20th and 21st centuries, but never any commercial success. Not that I am saying it could not be done. Just that it is not a secret or forgotten technology so much as one that has been investigated repeatedly but not yet successfully developed.

I love “torshi ” Lebanese-style pickled turnips and beets. Same technique would probably be good on rutabaga. It’s a basic salt brine (de chlorinated water and non-iodized salt for best results). Torshi usually includes garlic and hot pepper for flavor.  Might switch that up for the rutabagas, maybe caraway and mustard seed?

Needs to ferment about three weeks for best flavor in my opinion.

Eric, have you ever been screened for ankylosing spondylitis? SI pain and kidney stones are both associated with this. I have mild AS, and other family members have kidney stones and gout.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6790921/

Nancy Reading wrote:I've realised I actually find it easiest to save seeds from biannual plants here (kale, carrot, parsnip...). Because they over winter and usually flower in spring, they have a chance to ripen when I get a bit of dry and warmth in summer, so I can harvest and dry them quite easily.
Plants that go to seed the same year are often a bit hit and miss as they ripen later in the summer or autumn, when the weather is getting cooler again, so drying is much more difficult. I'm hopefully selecting for earlier ripening seeds just by succeeding in saving the seeds!

Probably you are in the right climate for saving seeds from the European biennial root crops. Those of us in northern/central North America can’t rely on the roots surviving overwinter, which makes it more complicated to save seeds from beets/carrots etc.

John Weiland wrote:

John F Dean wrote:.....if I can only have one handful a year in present times, I will grab the candy corn for the flashback to my childhood.

Yet inquiring minds want to know:  When younger, did you nibble one color of each kernal at a time, starting with the yellow portion at the end and progressing to the white tip?  Somehow in those early years, my impressionable mind was convinced that the yellow portion tasted more buttery.... :-)

I still do! I like a little bit of candy corn at Halloween, but otherwise black licorice would be my choice.

I would carmelize onions, salt to taste, and mix with sour cream ( or labneh) while still warm. Then let sit some time before serving so the flavor permeates.