-=> Ruth Haffly wrote to Dave Drum <=-

 RH> We stopped growing tomatoes when we realised we were gone most summers
 RH> when they came ripe. Could have done it this past summer, just never
 RH> got 'round tuit. We tried, at the rental house, but deer got to them
 RH> just as they came ripe.

 DD> As I don't travel much that's not a problem for me.  Bv)=  And we
 DD> don't have much of a deer population - Buick bumpers seem to keep
 DD> their herd size low. Main pains here are tree rats (squirrels) and
 DD> raccoons. But with the raised beds the 'coons cease to be a problem.

 RH> We've got lots of squirrels. The deer are there but we don't see them
 RH> that often. The town keeps clearing out their habitats to build more
 RH> and more housing so it sort of surprises me that we don't see more than
 RH> an occaisional one.

Tree rats are like mice - they breed quickly and often. I'm fighting a
battle with mice right now. I discovered their entry point and got that
sealed off. Traps and D-Con baits are thinning their numbers. But Mickey
and Minnie are stiil with me. Fortunately the dogs don't eat mice so I
don't have to worry about second hand poisoning one of them.

Deer seem to adapt to urban living. I remember a picnic at the late Dale
Shipp's place in Columbia, MD and watching a doe and her fawn grazing in
Gail's flower beds. 

 DD>      88

 DD> It didn't smell funky when I punctured the plastic. So, Jasper (the
 DD> pit bull mix) enjoyed it very much. With no side effects.

 RH> Good that the dog had no reaction. We've had older stuff in the freezer
 RH> but kept frozen, it hasn't gone bad so we've eaten it with no problem.

 DD> Had that sausage been in the freezer it would have become the basis
 DD> for a nice red gravy toput over pasta. I bought it on special offer
 DD> intending to do just that but got sidetracked then forgot about it.
 DD> Senior moment.

 RH> Seems like we're all getting more and more of those. (G)

They're called senior moments. THey can be disconcerting when you're in
a conversation and can't remember a name that is *very* familiar to you.
Or a location. Then 30 secoonds later it pops, unbidden to the foreground
of your toughts and conversation.  Bv)= Or when you're on your way home.

 DD>      88

 DD> As I said - regular carbon steel knives are a piece of cake. But the
 DD> stainless steel chef's knives and santoku are beyond me. Never thought
 DD> of scissors. But, then I don't sew all that much.  Bv)=

 RH> Count up how many pairs of scissors/shears you have for normal
 RH> household/shop use; you might be surprised at the total. Some years ago
 RH> my younger brother cleaned out an aunt's apartment. He was surprised to
 RH> count 35 pairs of scissors/shears (35) but she also sewed. A while
 RH> later, I took some of her things and when we got back to NC, started to
 RH> go thru them. I found another pair of scissors but didn't tell him. (G)

 DD> One big "tin snip", one set of kitchen shears (big scissors), a beard
 DD> trim scissors in the bathroom and four scissors from 6" length to 10".
 DD> Not to mention an old (and unused big pinking shears that I inherited
 DD> from my mum.

 RH> I've got my grandma Weiss's sewing scissors; Mom had them but Dad told
 RH> me to take them when Mom went into the nursing home.

Weiss is the brand on the pinking shears. The other scissors are newish
enouogh the they're probably from the land of dim sum and pork fried rice.

 DD> One reason to raise your own tomatoes:

 DD>       Title: Green Tomato Pie DD>  Categories: Pies, Pastry,
 RH>  Fruits, Citrus DD>       Yield: 6 Servings

 RH> Looks interesting, might try it next year.

 DD> In normal years my 'mters produce right up to frost time. But the last
 DD> few years we've not had a killing frost until sometime in December.

 DD> errrrmmmm .... Ground Control to Donald Trump - That's climate change!

 RH> I think we had our killing frost a couple of weeks ago.

We've just had the one which signaled the grass on the front lawn it was
time to sleep until spring. And prompted the big maple to begin shedding.
One more trip round the yard with the mower to mulch the fallen leaves -
then we're done for the year.

Just looked at the 10 Day Forecast on my Weather Bug. Supposed to get 
down to 31§F Friday night the back to the low 40s at night thru Turkey
Day weekend. My phone told me when I plugged it into the charger that 
snow will start here in 30 minutes (05:30) but the outside temp is 
currently 34§F - so it will just be messy and won't stick. (I hope)

 DD> This year we've had one frost - just enough to tell the grass in the
 DD> yard that it's time to stop growing and take a nap. Yesterday we had
 DD> rain all day. I had a customer (for wiper blades) at the Zone who was
 DD> crying about all the rain so I asked him what month we were in. Then
 DD> said "Think what that could be." Followed by "We've got a cart right
 DD> over there with ice scrapers, snow brushes, collapsible shovels and
 DD> ice melt for your sidewalks." I didn't tell him that AFAIK we've not
 DD> made a sale other than starting fluid from that display this year.

 RH> Give them a few weeks and the cart will empty out fast, every day. (G)

At least the AutoZone merchandisers hope so. I told my manager we ought
to stock umbrellas, too.

 DD> This was supper last night - promoting it from "archives" to DD>
 DD> "kitchen". It's a keeper. And Jasper (the big dog) liked helping
 DD> clean the baking DD> vessel.  Bv)=

 DD>       Title: 3-Ingredient Lemon Chicken
 DD>  Categories: Five, Poultry, Citrus, Vegetables
 DD>       Yield: 4 servings

 RH> Looks good to me. Tonight I'm going to bake some chicken thighs and an
 RH> acorn squash, have them with some garlic/parmisan scones Steve made
 RH> last night (from a mix).

I [icked up a couple of locally grown acorn squash at Humphrey's Market
yesterday. I'll do one of them this evening. Since it's just me and Mr.
Dithers I'll cut the recipe in half and serve it with stuffed pork chops
done in the crock-pot.

MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06
 
      Title: Butter-Nut Acorn Squash
 Categories: Squash, Breads, Nuts, Herbs
      Yield: 4 Servings
 
      2    (1 lb ea) acorn squash
    1/3 c  Butter
    1/2 c  Fine bread crumbs
    1/3 c  Chopped walnuts; English or
           - American (black)
      6 tb Brown sugar; packed
    1/2 ts Salt
           Ground nutmeg
 
  In 2 cup glass measure, melt butter on maximum power for
  one minute.
  
  Wash squash, pierce and place on a microwave safe plate.
  Cook on maximum power for two minutes. Let cool a bit.
  Cut in half lengthwise. Remove seeds and fibers. Place
  cut side down on 12" x 7" x 2" microwave safe baking
  dish. Cook on maximum power for six minutes.
  
  While squash is cooking, add remaining ingredients to
  melted butter and mix well.
  
  Turn squash cut side up; divide crumb mixture among 4
  halves. Cook, covered, on maximum power 6 to 8 minutes or
  until squash is tender. Remove cover and let stand 5
  minutes before serving.
  
  Makes 4 servings.
  
  Uncle Dirty Dave's Kitchen
 
MMMMM

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