You won't go wrong with Q. nuttallii and/or Q. michauxii. About Q. nuttallii, Dirr says it is "one of those rare discoveries that excites the pragmatist and researcher because of aesthetics and cultural adaptability ... it develops a full canopy at an early age, rapidity to caliper, greater range of pH adaptability, wet soil tolerance, ease with which it can be dug in early summer ... in short, it is a nurseryman's oak." The leaves turn crimson in the fall, "followed by complete leaf drop ... a grower's tree as well as a gardener's tree. Use as a specimen and street tree ..." Grows 40-60 feet high. Zones 5-9. Q. michauxii is another favorite, Dirr describes "groveling" under these trees to collect acorns for propagation. In maturity, "it is a mammoth tree, rounded in outline, with 4-8" dark green leaves ... small trees are transplanted without difficulty and grow exceedingly fast ... I believe this is, like Q. lyrata, Q. nuttallii and Q. prinus, a noble tree for southern landscapes. Grows 80-100' high and wide. Zones 5-9. i don't know if you are interested in large quantities (50). If you are, both are / were available from the Indian Mound Nursery in Texas (link below, click "Hardwood"). The seedlings of both are very large - about 4 feet and well branched. They are getting low on stock but I think they still have Q. nuttallii. Here is a link that might be useful: Indian Mound Nursery Online Store

Hot peppers. I just put a bunch in a freezer bag and freeze. If I want a few for chile or something I take them out, rinse and chop. I don't even wash before freezing because the rinse in warm water thaws just enough to make the chopping easier. Pine nuts. I find them on sale every so often if we're up in Flagstaff. Roasted peppers. I buy several pounds of fresh roasted peppers at a local Mexican market and divide into bags for cooking my green chile stew. I will have to peel and chop when I thaw.

Beautiful hostas, beautiful garden, happy accident! (Yes, just last week I found a large gold corrugated hosta smushed behind a big blue and completely overtaken by rampant daylilies. If I remember, it was labeled "Krossa Regal" -- which clearly it is not -- purchased several years ago at a late season clearance and tucked into the garden at the last minute before winter in a spot where all this adversity has not daunted it one bit. I'm eager to see what it will do when it has its own space. Let the remodeling begin! :-)

We have one cat that went camping with us, but it wasn't on purpose. We were on our way to go camping, and stopped at a convenience store to buy drinks. I was putting the drinks in the ice chest, with the front door and the side door open to our car. I started hearing what I thought was surely meowing. I asked DH, "Do I hear what I think I hear?" Yes. I looked around and down just as a little gray long-haired kitten jumped into our car. I picked him up and sat down on the seat. He immediately cuddled up to my face and licked me on my nose. Oh, dear, I thought. He was just a little thing, maybe 10 weeks old. I looked around, but there were no houses around, just traffic and businesses. I took the kitten inside the store and asked if the clerk knew who's cat this was, but he claimed he'd never seen it before. A customer piped up that it was "your' cat now. What were we to do, with cars coming in and out of the parking lot and no houses in site? He went camping with us. We bought him some food and some litter, and headed out. He rode in the car like a pro, stretched out on the back of the seat sometimes, curled up in one of our laps sometimes. We did keep careful watch over him, but he did get to run around a bit. He stayed very close to us the whole time. He even went bird watching with me, perched up on my shoulder while I looked through binoculars at birds. The rangers came by, and were a little concerned, but very amused. They just cautioned us about the dangers facing the kitten, and the dangers the kitten posed to the wildlife, but understood the predicament we were in. That was almost 3 years ago. He has not gone camping with us any more, but then, we haven't been camping since, either, unfortunately. His name became traveler, and we meant to continue to train him to ride in the car, but didn't end up doing so, and he now hates the car. Oh, well. All that being said, I agree with the others that it really isn't a good idea. When we just went on an extended trip, we hired a pet sitter recommended to us by a local rescue group. You might check with the rescue groups in your area. I figure if a rescue group trusts someone, they ought to be good. Sally