Other flowers in the yard right now this last one is a squash plant a friend gave me the seems to be on its way to taking over the entire garden and perhaps the entire back yard.

I was thinking it looked like Cousin It. Susan, I love the color of your coneflowers. I haven't seen any that dark red before. Very striking. My picture is an update of my backyard bunny buddy. He is growing up fast.

murraysmom, my mother used to parboil them just long enough to soften them up a bit. Then she would cut them in half, scoop out the squash meat and mix it with ground beef or pork, chopped mushroom, onions, bread cubes like the ones used in stuffing, a little garlic powder and salt and pepper. She'd then fill the shells with the mixture and bake (I'm guessing around 350) until cooked all the way through and kind of toasted on the top. They were delicious!

I admit I'm a touchy-feely fruit and vegetable buyer. I only bought one of the Florida variety years ago and I selected it based on its firmness when held gently in my hand. I use the same formula with the California and Mexican avocados. Lately I've had a couple of bad choices with the Mexican avocados so I'm sure it wasn't your/our selection process. I, too, was surprised when I opened them. They may have been picked too early and synthetically aged for market. A difficult process to control. Overall...so far this year, our market here in the northeast has been less than its usual excellent quality and there isn't the abundance of produce that we usually enjoy. I'm blaming it on the global weather problems of last year. And sobbing at the prices the markets are charging for what is available. I never attempted guacamole with the Florida avocados. My instincts told me then that the fruit was too watery to make a good blend. But I readily admit to being a fussy guacamole eater. :-) If you decide to try it...please let me know how it turns out.