We are landowners who "lease" land to a neighbor farmer who needs more land for hay and field corn. This is very common in our area of New England. We have a hand shake agreement. The farmer gets all the produce from the land and is responsible for all fertilizing etc. In return, our land is in good use. The corn field is popular with deer and wild turkeys providing us with a nice view. I believe the former farmer leased the land for $100 a year from the former owner. This was a token amount. The corn field on a slope was having serious erosion problems. A second field required travel over a culvert which was breaking down. When my husband told the former farmer it would be necessary for him to replace the culver, the farmer balked and said it was too expensive, etc. Since his equipment was the only equipment traveling over this culvert with the exception of an occasional passenger vehicle, it was his fault the culvert needed to be replaced. My husband decided it was time to end the relationship and gave the farmer notice that it was his last year. After 2 or 3 years, my husband was approached by another farmer to use this land with the agreement that the farmer would be fully responsible for restoring the fields to proper condition and to restore another field that had been fallow for decades. The farmer is also a professional logger and had the crew and equipment to remove trees and bushes that had encroached on the fields. This was an enormous amount of work but also generated some good pine lumber and chips. It was agreed that the farmer deserved to keep and re-sell the lumber and chips since he and his crew had done all the work. Keep in mind that if the farmer isn't taking care of the acreage, the landowner has to. (i.e. brush hogging, field mowing) If handshake agreements weren't customary in our area, I would fully advise a written agreement that defined the responsibility for soil fertility and general maintenance of the property. It should also specify what kind of pesticides are allowed and, yes, who gets the fruits and vegetables. Attention should be given to who is allowed to pick. My sweet young granddaughter does damage to sugar snap pea vines when she picks pea pods to snack on. If the landowner has pets, this should also be considered. A friend's dog tore down his sweet corn, not raccoons. A family pet might be a serious nuisance.

I haven't and can't offer too much in the way of advice for making a quality extract (maybe someone else can), but I do know of one product, a syrup, that can be had that is made from violet extract and does indeed smell and taste just like sweet violets. It's made by Monin, and I've purchased it online from them before (they ship out of Florida); it contains artificial coloring in addition to sugar and violet extract, but I think this is difficult to avoid in a product that isn't priced accordingly higher :) I recall running across old recipes for syrup of violets in the past, but not having tried them myself, I can't vouch for how well they extract the flavor and color. I hope someone who has experimented will chime in for you. In one of the violet societies' magazines (International Violet Society, I think), they used to publish recipes, but I'm not sure if any of that is still online to be read.

Hi Pam!! I'm here!! I just made the salad again for our Christmas feast-there are pics of the salad on my FaceBook page! The recipe is on my old computer so I just wing it and use all sort of salami, ham, provelone-toss in some raw veggies such as bell pepper, celery and onion for crunch. I only use Barilla tiny bow ties for the pasta-I just like the way they look and they are the perfect size. toss everything together with Jardines Muffeletta Spread and there you have it!! I'll most likely make it next time Amy comes home. Cheers! Susie

My 13 year old granddaughter will be wearing one of these Herbst appliances very soon, but it's not intended to correct an overbite or underbite. She had been experiencing headaches for about the past two years, and for over a year her jaw has been making a loud clicking sound as she opens and closes her mouth causing her pain each time. She was finally taken to a dentist who then referred her to an orthodontist. They thought it may be TMJ, so the doctor ordered an MRI of her jaw area. It was not TMJ. The right side of her jaw isn't even connected, and the clicking noises are coming from left side of her jaw . The orthodontist said he has never seen a case so sever as this in a child before...only saw cases like this with adults who have been in a traumatic auto accident, or who have had a forceful blow to their face. Her mom doesn't recall any such things ever happening as she was growing up. But I do remember when she had a root canal and cap done at the age of 3 or 4 years old. I distinctly recall how she cried in pain for hours afterwards and I couldn't find a way to comfort her. I even drove her back to the dental office where it was performed that same day and they insisted nothing was wrong with her. The orthodontist who just recently requested the MRI be done, said she has a smaller mouth than most others. I have a gut feeling, and from after talking with others about this, that there's a possibility that when they did the root canal procedure it may have partially dislocated her jaw and that her jaw never went back into the normal position as she was growing all these years. The Orthodontist does not guarantee that wearing the Herbst will even solve her problems in the end, which is heart wrenching to even think of. It's even more heartbreaking to know the pain she is going to have to endure wearing this appliance. But worse, if it doesn't work, they said surgery is the next option. I've heard that with surgery nerves will be cut and loss of feeling in the chin area occurs causing the person to always drool. That would be so traumatic for any teenager to have to deal with. This is so difficult to even imagine what might happen in the long run. I just pray that wearing the Herbst will completely correct her condition. Please, if there is anyone else who has had this similar condition, please let me know how your results were with wearing this appliance.