That's a BIG part of the problem, too, Scott (and I'm agreeing with Sandy, here)... FAR TOO MANY "unseen fathers." I know that even in this day and age there are still more men acting as primary breadwinners and women as primary caregivers in families, so it's often true that it IS the mom who is present when the child is acting out of control... However, there are also SO MANY ABSENT FATHERS... A man can "spread his seed" and leave. If the woman doesn't terminate what the two of them started, she ends up with a baby 9 months later, and if the two of them aren't married or at least living together, then we have another child with a single mother and no father or guiding male influence in his life. In some segments of society, this has become epidemic -- to the point, even, that Congress is now PAYING many people who have children together but aren't married to get married. Surprisingly, too, this idea didn't come from the liberals... it came from Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback, who is so conservative that, well... let's just say this is the first thing he's EVER done I'm aware of that didn't make me want to scream and throw stuff at the TV. There used to be so much STIGMA attached to "unwed mothers" that it was a major shame, and most girls or women who found themselves in that predicament moved to another town when it came time to have the child so nobody would know they were never married... That was maybe TOO MUCH STIGMA, but then things swang so far the other direction that it seemingly became almost a status symbol in parts of our culture for unwed girls to have a baby, and that's created an AWFUL LOT of our current social problems, or at least made many of them much worse. So I guess it's good that maybe things are swinging back the other way at least a little bit. I think any child should have two parents, if possible... for their sake, if not for the sake of the parents' mental health, as well. And when he CAN BE, Dad should be there to BE the parent, as well, not just some dude who brings home a paycheck.

Thanks so much and so timely!!! I just reopened a bag of mulch, found this and didn't know what to do about it. Thanks! I did Google and here's a couple of really nice sites y'all might enjoy: Dog vomit slime mold : The Chicago Gardener http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/chicago_gardener/2007/06/dog-vomit-slime.html Slime Mold Photos http://waynesword.palomar.edu/slime1.htm

I love reading these posts - I'm a Yankee who rediscovered veggie gardening down here in GA and continue to be amazed at the variety of veggies I can grow and that not everything is dead at the end of September. :) I've become a lima/butterbean aficionado, partly because of reading the passion for beans on this board. I grew Gigandes from Harry (Flintknapper) last year - O.M.G! I think those are our favorites and they are really best eaten as shellies - simmered until tender then put in an Italian type Olive Oil based marinade. But next favorite is Christmas limas right off the vine and into the pot - simmered long and slow with that bacon grease that McLeod recommends. I love all the butterbeans. The German Red Limas (bush) that I got from Harry are a close third. And of course the Black Jungle Butterbeans. I stored some dried beans this year and so far have only done some BJBBs from dry - they are so very different than fresh from the garden. As Ted said - the flavor wasn't there... But the texture was radically different. I freeze straight from the garden - no blanching. And so far I haven't seen a problem with the butterbeans. They're not quite as good as fresh, but enough that I plan to freeze more next summer. :) Green beans are another story. Thanks for this thread! Cindy

Our kids usually go with their biological dad to their grandmother's on Christmas Day. One year my wife and I, left with the decision about whether or not to fuss with a large Christmas dinner, decided to make the drive north to some acreage I have on Lake Huron that we use for hunting & recreation, some 70 miles away. We decided it would be fun to spend a few hours feeding the dozens of birds I'd tamed to the hand there, and then enjoy a nice Christmas dinner on the way home at one of our favorite restaurants on the shore of Lake Huron. Well, on the return trip we discovered that not only was the restaurant not open, but that neither were there any other eating establishments of any stripe open - not even a Subway; and The Lord knows we passed enough of those in our little jaunt. We ended up returning home & thawing a quart of frozen (but at least homemade) spaghetti sauce from the freezer and dining on that. Two good things came of that day, aside from the joy of feeding the birds. We ended up with a good story to tell that always offers a laugh, and it raised awareness of our situation to the level that we ALWAYS get invited to Christmas dinner at one of my sibling's homes. ;-) My teacup (sugar maple) tree, located on the property and another interesting (green ash) tree with a burl Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all. Al