David, Fair enough. Yes, Ive seen the dustbowl, and know about "The Year Without a Summer", and I also know that the last time the earth was as warm as projected in 100 years, the forest prairie line was not near OKC down to Dallas, but much further west near Lubbock Texas. It is also thought that the over all winters were milder. Which actually gives me a big of hope so to speak. Though,hard data is lacking during that time. And FTR, I do think the current issues are partly caused by the natural cycles of NA climate. Specifically negative PDO, La Nina during a negative PDO, and unusually warm Atlantic (actually warmer than would be indicated by past climate) Have been saying that from the start. BUT hardly all of it. There was no May snow in Arkansas during the 30's. Nor did the Arctic ice melt as it is now. What's more, many of those records are now being broken. Lastly, those extremes tended to be one sided i.e. drought and heat, not lurching back and forth from one en to the other with basically no transition. I appreciate, you coming back to clarify, but I do disagree that we can't know for sure. inge, Do nothing is exactly what it sounds as though you are saying. It's thought that the Chinese lose more than 10% of their annual crop production due to reduction in sunlight intensity sunlight alone due to pollution, and that was in the 90's. Pollution has gotten far worse since then, so the number is certainly higher now. Where is there not pollution? Where do people not live and travel to and from? Some claim the atmosphere is too big to affect. If that were true why does it only weight on 14.7 pounds are sealevel? That is all the mass of the entire atmosphere above you at the very bottom of that atmosphere. Hardly an insurmountable amount The biological/climate system is only a thin skin around the earth, exactly where we live. To think that 7,000,000,000 people can't have an effect on climate contained in 14.7 pound columns of mass above them is simply ridiculous . Arktrees

Show off all you want! It's such fun to see what surprises appear in other people's gardens. Are you going to take photos of its growth towards its blossom? How big does the blossom get on this plant? Of course, if it's the first time...we'll soon find out! Do you live close to the ocean in NY or inland more? I'm always amazed at how people like you are able to grow these plants under what is a hostile environment, not only for plants, but often for people as well as we have seen. I'll be looking forward to seeing a photo of a fully opened blossom.

Ascorbic acid, also known as Fruit Fresh, is used only to prevent oxidation of peaches and apples. Once these fruits are pealed and cut up, they start do darken some. Peaches take longer to dfarken, so they need less speed than an apple. Even for that, som apples have enough of the acid to remain light colored for a while. Dip the peaches in boiling water a minute or two, then into cold water. The peels usually fall right off. Cut them up into slices and remove the pits. If you wanting to freeze them, just add some ascorbic acid to the natural juices and peaches. If you want them to be loose in a bag in the freezer, larger slices or quarters would be more of a choice as they do get quite soft and can break down once frozen. Anyway, spread out on a cookie sheet and sprinkle the ascorbic acid granules all over them, then turn each over to get more of the acid to cling to each slice. Once frozen on the sheet, they may be hard to remove due to the juices also leeching out. If they are firm and dry, then a small amount of water and plenty of ascorbic acid is used as a 30 second dip for each slice. Essentially, ascorbic acid isn't as strong an acid as citric, so the peach flavor will not get destroyed by the ascorbic acid. Usually the ascorbic acid in a VItamin C capsule also contains things like corn starch, or other chemicals used to help keep them stable. True ascorbic acid is a granulated product and mixes well with most any liquid. If you do find the ascorbic acid in some garden supply stores, be sure its food grade. I bought a 2 pound bag cheap, only to discover it was used as a foliar spray for disease control, and was not suitable for food preservation.

Here we go: this bed in front of the pigeon loft was just a weedy mess of different plants. Now it's all cleaned up with just one clump of 'Fruit cocktail' shrimp and a brug from Carrie that just got a nice dose of fish emulsion after a summer of unintended neglect ...The little seat is very sittable ... The three wonderful water stations that genius Bob set up in different parts of the yard did not miss getting a slap of the brush either!