Reed, For me it is a choice about health. I'd rather have blemished food any day of the week than food sprayed with chemicals. And, like Helen, I have plentiful wildlife and don't want to do anything that will harm it. My dad used all kinds of chemicals in the 1960s and 1970s but by the 1990s had mostly given them up and, if anything, his garden's health was better after he almost totally eliminated pesticide usage than it was before. He still kept a bag of Sevin dust in his shed and might have used it occasionally, though I don't remember him using it in the 1990s and beyond. I kind of think he held on to it as a sort of security blanket just in case he might need it again. I have found that if I treat my garden as an ecosystem, it is chock-full of all sorts of living creatures, both good and bad, but about 75% of the time the good bugs and other creatures keep the bad bugs under control. The remainder of the time I try to ignore the pest damage as much as possible, and then use eco-friendly methods like hand-picking the bugs to gain some control over them. I'm in a wild rural area surrounded by thousands of acres of rangeland in its natural state so it would be impossible to wipe out all the garden pests even if I tried, and I don't try. I practically live in my garden, at least until the worst heat arrives, and I don't want to be in a chemical-treated garden. Different strokes for different folks, though, and I know some people are perfectly happy using synthetic pesticides in their gardens and yards. Helen, One of the great joys of being out in the garden is my enjoyment of all the little creatures out there with me. Sometimes the skinks do startle me in early spring, but I'd rather have them in the garden than have the venomous snakes. Turtles provide a surprising amount of pest control too, though turtles are less common in my garden than frogs and toads, which are simply everywhere. Every year we do have a turtle or two live in the garden and eat potato bugs. It is the easiest method of Colorado Potato Beetle control I've ever used. Susan, I haven't seen one in several years, so I am hoping that horrible summer was an aberration. Neighbors within a mile of us saw some last year, but they are significantly closer to the river so they always have more wildlife than we do. Venomous snakes also haven't been as bad in 2011 and 2012 as they were prior to that. I still see them, but mostly I've seen the water moccasins move into the lily pond after the local native creeks and ponds dry up, and haven't seen as many copperheads as usual. The timber rattler population seems unchanged, but I only encounter them maybe 4 or 5 times a year. I hate having the venomous snakes around, but suspect we'll have just as many 20 years from now as we have now. Actually, out here in the rural areas we need snakes and lots of them or we'd be totally overrun by field mice, voles, pocket gophers, etc. It is just that I don't want the venomous snakes in the yard or garden where they might bite a person or domestic pet. They can roam roughly 13 acres of our property however, whenever or wherever they please, but if the venomous snakes are found on the acre or acre and a half nearest the house, we shoot them. Dawn

Paula, Thank you for the offer but I don't collect gobs and gobs of seeds. I just collect a few seed heads of things I think others might like to grow and a few for myself for the next year if they are annuals. I shouldn't say this here on the garden web but I toss most seeds in the trash as I am cleaning up my gardens ( take a deep breathe, stop gasping...lol). I think this year I will collect more than usual because I feel like a cheap skate when I see some of the other seed packets in swaps...lol I have added the petunias to your gift package and again, thank you for the offer. I will pass this time though. Lisa

Here's some info that I got on that subject for future reference (I've not done any). Two different parties. One with labels not covered, and the second has the option of having the labels covered (this one sounds really interesting). Party One Lay a table with eight to 12 cheeses, at least three different wines, bread, crackers and fruit accompaniments, and perhaps a bowl of olives or some nuts in the shell for guests to crack. For a more formal tasting with real cheese lovers, make individual tasting plates and serve two or three courses of cheese with selected wines and accompaniments; for instance, you could start with a selection of cow's and goat's milk soft and semisoft cheeses, strawberries or peach slices and a baguette with a dry white or light-bodied red wine. Follow with an interesting array of aged firm and hard cheeses, dried figs and apricots, and hearty rye bread, accompanied by a full-bodied red wine. Then serve a plate of blue cheeses, pear slices, walnut bread and a glass of port. Finish with a dessert of Medjool dates accompanied by a fresh cheese, such as mascarpone. ******************** Party Two Cheese Party Forget serving cheese as a simple hors doeuvres  this culinary delight makes an exquisite entrée at any party. Read on for ideas and tips on how to make your cheese party a crowd pleaser. Invitation Ideas For the perfect cheesy invite, cut yellow card stock into a triangular shape. Using a hole punch, make several holes in the slice of cheese, so it resembles Swiss cheese. A cheese party is perfect at cocktail hour or later. Decorations Keep the décor simple, yet elegant, taking inspiration from a European vineyard. YouÂll want the wine and cheese to be the highlight, so use white linen on the tables and accent with red, burgundy, green (use dried grape vines and a variety of washed grapes as a centerpiece) and silver or gold (think napkins, napkin rings, wine glass charms and coasters). If you live in a home with several rooms available for the party, decorate each room with by theme (France, Italy, England) and serve corresponding wine and cheese in each area. Label each cheese with a ceramic or metallic label, or to improvise, use "Hello my Name is" stickers (stick two together on either side of a toothpick). If youÂre serving a variety of cheese from various countries, try a miniature toothpick flag for each cheeseÂs origin and handwrite the name of the cheese on the flag. Playlist Ideas Match your music to your menu by playing music from the countries of the cheese you select. For inspiration, try these: French: Serge Gainsbourg, Air, St. Germain-des-pres-Café collection, Amelie soundtrack British: Coldplay, Franz Ferdinand, KT Tunstall, James Blunt, Kate Bush Italian: Andrea Bocelli, theme from Life is Beautiful, La Dolce Vita soundtrack, Il Postino soundtrack Canadian: Sarah McLachlan, Sarah Harmer, Daniel Powter, Chantal Kreviazuk, Ron Sexsmith, David Usher, Shania Twain, Our Lady Peace, Melissa OÂNeil, Barenaked Ladies or Sloan Cocktail/Menu Ideas Cheese plate: A gourmet cheese plate will impress guests and let them mingle as they try a variety of cheeses (set each cheese at a different table or room). Select five types of cheeses  and just adjust the quanity of each depending on the number of guests. Try to choose at least one type of cheese from each category (ripe, semi-soft, semi-hard, hard, blue) and type (cow, sheep, goat). Tip: Let cheese sit at room temperature at least an hour before serving (unwrap from plastic or paper first) and serve cheese whole, allowing guests to cut their own piece. Beverages: For a sensational experience, pair each cheese with a complementary wine. For example, match soft cheese with champagne or white wine, blue cheese with port, hard cheese with fuller-bodied reds. Tip: the more pungent the cheese, the sweeter the wine should be. Try to match the region of cheese with a similar wine (ie Italian Amarone with Parmigiano-Reggiano or an Ontario wine with Thunder BayÂs Thunder Oak, an artisanal gouda). For a non-alcoholic option, serve apple cider or low-acidity tea (avoid fruit teas), both of which can be served hot or chilled. Cheese fondue: In addition to the cheese plate, set out a cheese fondue [link to Foodtv.ca recipe] using a medium-sharp cheese (such as English cheddar). Arrange fondue spears or long wooden spears to dip artisanal bread, crudités (pickles, baby carrots, mushrooms, picked cauliflower), cubed ham and fingerling potatoes. Dessert Cheesecake makes a thematic end to a savoury meal by adding a touch of sweet. Try Mocha Cheesecake or Philadelphia Lemon Bumbleberry Cheesecake for a twist on the traditional, or, to give guests variety, make miniature cheesecakes (in mini muffin pans), and set out bowls of toppings (blueberry, strawberry and cherry sauces) for guests to create their own concoctions. Party Activities To get guests in the spirit of all things cheesy, test your guests knowledge by not labeling the cheese and having them guess the variety or each, or make a playlist on your iPod of cheesy 90s musicians (Kenny G, anyone?) and have guests guess the artist. Favour Ideas Tie pretty fabric ribbons in a variety of wine-and-cheese inspired colours (think merlot, silver, gold, dark green) around an assortment ornate cheese knives and place them in a wire basket so each guest can help themselves to one when they leave.

rob, Ashley's all time favorite burger was something called an "aloha burger" at Applebees. They took it off the menu and she found something similar at Red Robin just so I could taste it and try to replicate it, LOL, so your Hawaiian burger looks much like the one she liked. Blizlady, here's the zucchini candy recipe. Unfortunately, it seems that the thermostat must have stuck on my very old dehydrator today and it just melted the inside, so my current batch of experimental dried zucchini chips are toast. Well, they're actually encased in melted plastic, but you get my drift. Now I have to buy a new dehydrator. Sheesh. Zucchini Candy 10 cups peeled diced zucchini 1/2 inch cubes ( I use "worms" about 3 inches long and 1/12 inch thick and wide. The little dice would be good in muffins, though. 3 cups water 2 pkgs. unsweetened Koolaid 2 1/2 cups sugar Peel zucchini, diced, removing seeds. Mix the liquid syrup together. Add zucchini. Bring to a boil and them simmer for 25 min. Drain. Put on dehydrator trays. Dry 14 hours at 125 degrees. Turn pieces over and dry another 4 hours. This will feel dry and not sticky when done. Store in jars or other tightly sealed containers.If you dip in sugar when you turn them, they will be more like "gum drops" on the outside. You can do the same thing with the zucchini but use 48 oz. pineapple juice 2 T. pineapple extract 2 1/2 cups sugar 1/4 cup lemon juice Have fun! Annie