Harriet05, Yes, it does make sense! I live on the out skirts of Youngstown and about 50 min. From Twinsburg. My DH works in Twinsburg. I'm grateful my Mom is still with me, she is taking my Dad's death hard, but they have been divorced for 13 years. My Step Mom is the one who did most of his care and she is lost without him. I hope she finds something to do to keep her busy! I love her but at a distance because there has been some hard time in our relationship. I know she loved my Dad cause she stayed and put up with his crabbiness and all his suffering. If she didn't love him she would have been gone. They married in 98 and he got sick in 99. I have good moments and some not so good, trying to stay strong for my kids, the little one is taking it hard but he is doing pretty good. He went to calling hours and the funeral and so far no nightmares. I told him we had to say buy to Pappy and he would look like he was sleeping, but he wasn't breathing and he has no heartbeat. He would be laying in his heaven bed, and he seemed ok with that. He isn't letting us out of his sight though! He is 4. I guess that's not so bad! Annie the chicks and ducks are doing good. coop is almost finished the run is separate right now and they seem to be ok in there. We think we decided that when they get older they will get the goat pen and we will make a bigger pen for the goats!!! We have room but a wooded lot, so a lot of clearing has to be done, and we have cherry trees all over the place. I can't tell yet what my chicks are, I have a hunch we may have more than one rooster!! I don't know. I also just learned that if we do have mascovy ducks that if they breed with the mallards we have, then their babies will be infertile. So now I'm really freaking out, cuz we want some babies to raise and I certainly don't want to create a bad breed or something! I don't remember my Dad having these worries, but then he only raised one kind of duck, and one kind of chicken! Tonight we got stuck in the barn because of a sudden thunder storm, so all the birds and the 3 goats were in the same pen! Goats were insulted. I got to hold and hand feed the birds though and my li'l guy did too, he was thrilled can't say the bird was thrilled! LOL!!! Yeah, parents are never to be without a job! Thanks Brenda

I doubt there'll be any from Armidale. Ours are more or less finished, with just a few straggling fruit. They all came at once, no spread of maturities at all. I guess it must be the short intense summer that does it. I'll try planting over a longer period next year. That won't help Marysville of course. We'll just have to be satisfied talking tomatoes instead of tasting tomatoes.

Good stuff, Grub. They would be safer travelling with Ray. Don't know how the locals would take to ripe green toms. They're still getting their heads around the promised mahogany of Cherokee Chocolate. They're fond of a green tom, though, in their salads. They just harvest early for the purpose. Can't say I get off on the taste.

Well done PP. Great to see your hard work being shown off. I am not sure they appreciate the effort that you have put in to produce those babies but eh, thats the way of the world we live in. I could ramble on here but... ok...Ray, Adam, I will by kind. Hi Mabb and all, re Mabbs query on blacks.. I have grown a few blacks and for me they are a bit iffy. This past season I grew Carbon, Paul Robeson and Cherokee Purple (if you consider this a black). Last year I grew Black Krim and Cherokee Purple. Cherokee Purple is a winner re; taste, but I cant get it to produce more than One truss of fruit. Carbon this year produced lots of fruit where others didnt but the flavour was just umm. Paul Robeson, well, I cant give a report on this one cause I think I had a dud. Small mahogany bits of yuk that the chooks loved. Black Krim , last year was a late sowing from a seedling I got from a garden show here. I let it sprawl where it wanted and it pumped out some lovely , really black fruit and it has stuck in my mind as a "must give another go". That is until I read on other forums that Black from Tula is better than BK. So, bugger it. I am going to grow both, and side by side in identical pots this coming spring. I will report back NOW bakkto tha foooty