butter AND bacon! (and sometimes a pinch of sea salt, or tamari). Summer savory for beans, basil for tomatoes and summer squash, cinnamon for yams, and acorn squash (and BUTTER), pepper on potatoes, butter is good on corn, mirin on mizuna, with sesame seeds, vinegar with cabbage (with perhaps a little butter, too). And, if you grow your own grains, with a little molasses from some island down south, toasted Anadama bread with butter melted into the nooks and crannies is nice. Tomatoes don't need butter, but they really enhance mayonaise, and are a nice accent for sea salt. We eat well on the right coast, too.

Tom, I was trying to say the Chinese are entering the "carrier" game a little late. Carriers will be the next battleships to go extinct. Too big, too clumsy, too slow, too obivious and the perfect psychological target. As for WW2, both sides made so many mistakes that I sometimes think pure luck determined the winner of that one. The Chinese will not crush us economically because they would be shooting themselves in the foot. Why destroy their best customer when that customer is faithfully paying their bills with worthless promissory notes (dollars) and promising to buy even more stuff if the price is always cheaper than it could be bought elsewhere? Why would China want Taiwan (buncha rebels), Japan (Fukushima and more earthquakes), Australia (and more rebel types) and depleted oil wells. I hate discussions like this. I can't type as fast as I can think and it all has already been said much more eloquently by so many others. Think I'll just plant something tomorrow and let the really smart leaders figure out what I really think. Maybe Ricky gave me some ideas of what to plant. Medicinal uses only of course.

I found last spring directions, just in case.:) The address is 404 Macchi Ave, Oakland, FL 34787. The town is between Winter Garden and Clermont. If you are approaching from the Florida Turnpike (aka Ronald Reagan Turnpike), the exit is 272 for "Winter Garden." When you get off the highway you would go East towards Winter Garden. The first light East of the the exit is Tubbs St (aka 4th Street), you turn left at that intersection (you know it is the right one because there is a Chevron Gas Station). Then go to the first stop sign and make a right onto Oakland Ave. Then, a few blocks down go left on Winters Landing. Macchi Ave is the last street and you turn left again. The house is third from last on the street on the left. For those of you coming from Deland, your best bet is taking 1-4 West, then 414 West, then 429 South. The exit off 429 is Exit 23 toward Winter Garden. When you get off the exit, you are going right (West) on Colonial Rd (aka Highway 50). Drive for 3.7 miles and turn right at 545/Avalon Road (there is a 7 eleven there), then turn left at the stop light onto Oakland Ave. You will go down for .7 miles and turn right onto Winters Landing. From there, go to the end and that is Macchi Road. Then you make a left onto Macchi and the house is the 3rd to last on the left hand side. Silvia

Excuse the typos. Im on my iphone Im in milwaukee and winters i typically get chickadees cardinals downy woodpecker Sparrows (avoid adding Millet to suet) and the occasional Junco. Haven't seen chickadees this year as of yet, possibly Due to warmer winter. Purchased a squirrel proof suet feeder from menards. Saves Me lots of suet, I just give squirrels a spoon of Peanut butter every day as they're hungry too use chunky peanut butter. Lard and white or wheat flour I also add the following ingredients until mix Turns into easy texture to press into 9x18 cake pan, freeze Then cut to size with spatula. Rolled Oats Cream of wheat Wheat germ Corn meal Crushed fritos (Attracts juncos) Crushed cereals Chopped dried fruits - apples cranberries raisins Nuts- sunflower walnut peanut crushed Syrup or molasses or honey or all three Sugar Sometimes I add strained bacon grease w/lard I added millet once and it attracted a lot of sparrows Which tend to chase other birds away so I stopped Using millet. I tried rendering the real suet once and birds Preferred the p-butter suet mix, happy me it's much Easier. Getting a platform feeder will attract a wider variety Of birds. Juncos like to feed closer to the ground So I put suet crumbs in a pie pan on top of my Central air unit near my suet feeder, but they also Visit my hanging feeder that I keep near brush so they Have shelter from predators. I hang suet feeder On shepherds hook outside my window. At our cottage about two hours north With the same suet I get a lot of juncos Chickadees red bellied woodpecker. Downy woodpecker Nuthatch and cardinals. Do a search for Sialis + bird suet and you'll find A number of recipes there. I sort of "wing" it and Add a bunch of ingredients until I get the desired Texture. No pun intended.