Can a veggie gardener tell me something about peas? Until I saw vgkg's photos, I couldn't imagine what a pea plant (bush?) looks like. How many plants does it take to result in the 12 ounces of petite peas I find in a bag in my grocer's freezer? Do the plants yield only a single crop? How long does it take for the plants to produce?

When DS was a toddler, we planted a few peas. I think we got three pods.

Chisue, it takes a lot of pea plants to get a bag of peas. I usually only grow snow peas because I prefer them and you can eat the entire pod. You can also eat the pea leaves and tendrils, which I've had in stir fries and salads. The more you pick the peas, the more they will produce blooms and keep producting. When you wait for a normal pea pod to mature, less likely it's going to make more blooms. My snow peas produce over a longer period of time since I'm constantly picking the tender young pods.

I think the days to maturity is about 60 days for a normal pea plant.

Chisue, in the pea trellis pic I posted above (will load again below) it's a 25 ft long trellis with peas planted on both sides. The pea variety is "Frosty" and I planted them in early March here in central Va and I'll start picking them this weekend (approx 60 days as Kathsgrdn says). The plants will produce pea pods for about a 3-4 weeks before they top out (they don't like the summer heat). That 50 ft row (includes both sides) will produce enough peas for the 2 of us with about 20 meals. I'd venture to guess that 1 row of peas just 4 ft long would give you more than 12 oz easily over 3-4 weeks.

After the peas are done I'll compost the vines and re-plant the trellis with late Corn on both sides. Once the corn is done I'll compost the corn stalks and re-plant the trellis with Autumn Turnips on both sides. During the winter I'll add compost to that row and use the appropriate amount of fertilizer during each veggie transition. Been doing this succession planting method for about 10 years without any problems.

Amen, Lucille. There are forces interested in destroying the blessings we enjoy. Let us not be fooled by the sound and fury, and instead, consider the motivation behind what would inundate us.

Happy birthday and many happy returns of the day!

Happy Birthday to one of our favorite people. How nice to have a May birthday -- hope this one comes with sunny weather and May flowers.

I wish you a very Happy Birthday and thank you for your kind thoughts.

Have a fun day!

Years ago I was reading a British mystery, "Wire in the Blood", when I had some sort of epiphany. The nasty, depraved characters were examples of what could only be called evil. Why was I inviting Evil (writ large) into my life? I'm anything but religious, but this really hit me.

Why breathe life into Evil?

BTW, I don't like 'thrill' adventures either -- no roller coasters, cliff jumping...bar fights. <grin>

I avoid graphic depictions of violence in shows, no matter the nature of the violence, and also shows that revolve around bad people being bad. I agree with Chisue, I do not need that stuff in my memory. I have watched GoT and Outlander, but there was enough storyline in each to keep me watching, so I became adept at fast forwarding through the scenes of torture and violence.

Nicole_, my "watch when I can't get back to sleep easily" shows are Escape to the Country and the Bob Ross channel. Escape to the Country is pretty mindless - the house shoppers always want pretty much the same thing, and usually find something wrong with every potential house... but I like seeing the old structures and the various areas of British countryside.

I used to watch Grand Designs then also, but I realized that I enjoy the show too much to be watching when I need to be asleep!

Another non-fan of violence and gore as entertainment. I don't find it scary, just disturbing and depressing, and I'd rather not have that stuff kicking around in my brain.

I prefer comedy, musicals, fantasy, farce and more heartfelt fare.

Hubby loved Dexter, and The Sopranos too. I missed out on much of such popular stuff, but I do know about it

As for creepy, I couldn't watch Tim Burton's Charlie And The Chocolate Factory because I found it way too creepy - turned that off pretty quickly. I managed to get through Poor Things, tho - I think because its imagery is so fantastical - and Emma Stone is so talented.

In recent memory, I have enjoyed a couple of series that were very gory at times, but they had other redeeming qualities: Counterpart and Maniac.

And I spend a lot of time on IMDB.com looking up movies, shows and people - it's such a great resource.

Ninapearl -- You don't live in bear country, do you?

My DH once did a story about bear research in the Carolinas. It was early spring, and one of the scientists he was interviewing said, "The bears are breaking hibernation. Quick! Send blueberries!"

I love all your bird info and photos. Nina — is that an indigo bunting? Love them! About where in the country are you located? Tenna?

Thanks for that link, Annie.!

petalique yes, indeed! when they first started coming to my feeders, they only stayed a couple of days. now they're here for most of the summer. they are so beautiful!!

i'm in west central illinois.

I've been feeling too *serious* lately. I collected, then put aside, Dorothy Hughes' The Expendable Man after just two pages. Instead, I've read most of Ray Bradbury's collected short stories, A Medicine For Melancholy. 4 Stars. What a treat. I'd forgotten that Bradbury was a famous 'local' -- Waukegan, Illinois. Sweet stories of another era (mine), originally published 1948 - 1959 -- one of them in Playboy. <ha-ha> This copy (1971) has certainly been through the wars.

DH is raving about the audio version of Towles' new fiction, Table For Two. If I start John Crowley's Little, Big (538 pages), my request for the book version will surely be filled the next day.

Recently read The Measure by Nikki Erlick. This story opens with everyone over the age of 22 waking up to a small box outside their front door. Inside the box is a piece of string. The length of the string determines how long you will live. Some people want to open the box while others do not want to know their fate. Once you know how long you will live, what life decisions will you make? Will people treat the short stringers differently? Goodreads gave it 4 stars and I agree. Should be an interesting bookclub discussion.

I also read After Annie by Anna Quindlen. This story is about a young mother of 4 children who dies suddenly. Over the next year, the oldest daughter Ali attempts to care for her younger brothers, as well as her father in hopes of keeping their lives as normal as possible. This transition year is difficult, but offers some hope as the family grieves and grows. It was a sad book, but I enjoy Anna Quindlen’s writing.

I just finished The Last Bus to Wisdom and wow. What a great book. I was kind of savoring it. It was so wonderfully written, so sweet, so touching, and at parts so funny.

I rate it 5 stars.

I think the only other book I've read by the author, Ivan Doig, is The Whistling Season which I adored. He had written quite a few, so I intend to read more of his books.

I quit when our DS was an infant. I was thirty and had smoked for ten years. Because I never smoked more than a few cigarettes a day, I didn't believe I was *addicted*. HAH! I was chemically addicted, and I was habitually addicted -- used to smoking at certain times that I'd learned to associate with smoking. (Pavlovian!)

After quitting, I realized that I'd smoked to reward myself with a 'break'. It took time to go through all the little gestures: getting a pack out; selecting a cigarette; finding a lighter; lighting up; minding the ash; extinguishing the cigarette. it. I couldn't really DO anything else for those minutes. So much better to simply take the break, minus the props.

*You* can let yourself watch TV... without a cigarette prop.

I love the drink and pee idea -- it'll keep you busy! Also the nut or seed cracking. After all, "Idle hands are the devil's workshop." <smile>

I love how supportive you all are. I watched tv last night with Myben on my lap. She kept me focused on her so I wasn't thinking about rolling or lighting up.

Tomorrow is Thursday. If there are any cigarettes get rid of them now!! Have your game plan in mind for tomorrow. Good Luck!!

carolb -- Glad to have a name for that! One hot summer we were amused by a family of raccoons that lolled in the various 'vees' of some cottonwoods across the creek from our house. Raccoons are so cute anyway, but these guys were really entertaining. We never saw that again, but now I know the correct term: splooting.

IMO, it often seems like an irresistible impulse to unleash simmering, misdirected hostility - IOW, knee-jerk reactions.

I also wonder whether some people might have been drinking 🤔

That had not occurred to me — interesting point😵‍💫

Jandip! Where did you get that picture of my dog, Cinder? Of course, it could be one of his many descendants. He was quite the Romeo; no 'scent' was too far for him to travel for courtship.

Rusty

Gorgeous house! Funny, through the years, as you talked about caring for your mother adamantly 'aging in place', this is not house I pictured. Talk about stereotyping: My image was closer to a Victorian than this special modern home. No wonder your mom wouldn't leave.

Congratulations, You 'done good'-- all around good.

Jsk, Iwas so lucky that the buyers kept the baby grand piano. It would have broken my heart to have it dumped.

Yes, you were! And lucky buyers to have a baby grand!

I suspect a baby grand is more desirable than some off brand upright, but I was surprised to find out how hard it was to dispose of it. And how expensive. But I needed it gone.

Landfill comes in so many forms...at least this is small.

You wear it as a ring and catch stink bugs with the sticky part.

(Anyone else innundated this year?)

Every year!

But I like it. Maybe it's a cicada ring?

Wishing you a good buyer and a good price! I think your market is still strong.

Ask me why we didn't wait out Covid to list our Maui condo! No, don't. The condo association is still sending us news, including listings and sales. Nearly identical units have sold for nearly twice what we got. (Dropping a little now from 2023.)

It will save me time packing not to worry about whether something is a duplicate or not, and the duplicates that I have for the kitchen will not take up that much space. I prefer to decide which of the duplicates to keep when I have both of them in hand, and in many cases, I will choose to keep both.

I’m like you Lars. It’s easier to decide in situ.

I'm sure I considered that wallpaper for my kitchen when I had the St Charles Kitchen *steel cabinets* spray painted *orange* and removed the stainless steel counter top that ran the width of the room. I even had orange stoneware plates -- and a butcher block kitchen table. This was mid seventies. I still have some of the Corningware pots from the then-new glass cooktop. I think the fridge with in-the-door water and ice was a new thing too.

After we'd moved in, neighbors told us that the original owner -- before our seller -- was paranoid. She had all the electric switches reversed "to confuse 'them'". If you wanted to turn on the east lights in the LR, the switch was on the west side of the room, etc. She took a hammer to the yellow tile in the MBA, looking for microphones. The replacement tiles were just a tad different color. When we replaced the furnace we found $20 bills hidden in the ductwork.

What nice karma to have people you like as the new owners of your family home. I'm happy for you.

The design is giving me contact paper vibes! My sister had wallpaper in her room in a very similar pattern, but royal blue, lime and purple. Ahh, the things parents put up with!

Congrats on the sale!

Caftan that I really like. Inspired by the wallpaper?

When can we stop using this pollutant?

DS recently bought a small car, rather than keep fueling an SUV (AKA truck) for trips around town. Chicago gasoline taxes are stiff.

food -- Yes, that's my position. Gasoline can't get expensive enough to suit me. That has worked to some extent in other nations. Another nudge is taxing commuting vehicles where there is viable public transportation. Now that more office workers are being required to be present in workplaces, I see more housing springing up closer to those offices. Perhaps the exodus to the suburbs enabled by work-from-home jobs will reverse.DGS's schools have sponsored students designing better cities; all feature more walkable communities and public amenities. Seems to me a key is public safety...or a reduced perception of danger everywhere.

Yeah, race fuel is different, I just posted it because it’s the only ethanol free gas near me.

98% of US gas has ethanol in it and has for nearly 20 yeara. Personally I think it’s a waste to spend more for ethanol free for a modern automotive engine that’s designed to run on today’s fuel. But like I said earlier, I use it in small engines, motorcycles etc. which are either carbeurated or sit around for longer periods of time. There it’s made a demonstrable difference.

Dang - makes the OP look cheap!

I AM cheap, my two bicycles use zero gas :)

Well I'm certainly not going to read it, but this review of Danielle Steele's latest is hilarious: https://wapo.st/3Jz3HZB. A sample:

I experienced déjà vu so often while reading “Only the Brave” that I worried I was losing my mind and then began to hope so. Typical example: On Page 110, Steel writes, “Hitler’s generals, led by Göring, were preparing the Final Solution, to eradicate all Jews from the face of the earth.” On the facing page, we’re told, “The Führer and his generals were obsessed with this plan, called ‘the Final Solution,’ to obliterate all Jews from the planet.” This is the kind of book you can read while watching TV. Or operating heavy equipment.

Robin (including me 😃)=dunce (or bird brains!)

Doves are the dumbest birds I've observed.

Woops! Missed this. Fooey.

Somebody please tell chisue ... "where to go" ... (with a smile, please).

At the grocer, early covid, a masked person used to direct us to which was preferable checkout, and sometimes I said "It's nice to sometimes have someone tell you 'where to go' - with a smile!"

On one such occasion another person in the waiting line asked "what do you mean - "With a smile - you can't see her face for the mask?!"

I said "You can see her eyes".

So sad. I get the idea, though, that this family knew how to LIVE, not just let the days pass by. That's some small consolation in this time of sorrow. Your friend is lucky to have you -- and you to have her.

I am so sorry to hear about your friends son. So very hard for his wife and kids.

My brother died at the same age of a brain aneurysm and I don't think my mom ever got over it.

I don't use enough flour to keep in a big canister. Sugar, coffee, cereal, crackers etc are in clear plastic containers with snap-on lids. (Remember...I don't actually *cook*.)

In my dreams! And he wants me to get rid of the kettle.

Does he cook?

The only time I've been near a tornado was in the 1960s. I was driving to work when a minor tornado appeared. There had been no warnings. I drove my little Healey into a low spot beside the two lane road -- not quite a ditch but lower than the road -- and waited as it whipped past. Weather was dry everywhere else. It was very minor, quickly gone, no serious damage.

LOL @ Elmer

When my son was about three, a friend of mine was in a new job at the local radio station. It was his first day "live" on air, and the tornado sirens went off while driving home from work with my son in the truck.

My friend lost his cool a bit, and exclaimed something like this ... a tornado is on the ground! Take shelter immediately!

My son instantly became just as excited, loudly proclaiming ... Mama! A tomato is coming! A tomato is coming! Go home, Mama!

Well that just can't be true! Glenda has always been here at the KT with her great attitude toward life and her wonderful recipes. As time goes on, I'm sure we'll still be seeing someone post that they're making one of her dishes. We were lucky to have known her.

I am so sad to see this. I had lost contact with Glenda since leaving the KT, but thought of her often. I have several of her recipes and they have become treasured ones,

Rest In Peace sweet lady.

I am so sad to see this.

Since leaving the KT I had lost contact with her. But thought of her often.

Rest In Peace sweet lady!