Time to hit the Sears cataglog, Black and Decker, or DeWalt tool listings. They all have what is called a Sawzall. A must tool. Either cord or cordless. Very usefull for cutting all kinds of things with metal or wood blades. Avoid China made, they don't last. I have three 55 gal drums that I think at one time had swimming pool chemicals in them. By the time I got them they had been emptied and it was several years ago and back then I rinsed them well and since have caught rainwater in them, added mosquito pellets and/or capped them and used the water when there is a lack of rain. Unless you are part gorilla I don't see how you could reach all the way down into a 55 gal container from the top but I would think if you have an open area far from plants etc, you could fill them and then siphon off the diluted chemical. Or lay them on their side and run a hose into them. They have a screw cap on top, don't they?My guess would be that you have diluted the chemical enough to be ok. Of course I'm from the old school where you did what you had to, not what was always politically or environmentally correct. One of my three containers had the top completely cut off and I catch garage runoff in it. I cut a small hole near the bottom and screwed in a small tap that I can turn on/off to let the water out. Gets a little scummy if I leave it too long but we get regular rain so I don't have to leave water in it too long.

Nancy: We have an over abundance of rain this year. At least every other day we have rain. Today, Friday, its raining again. I think I will ask Edward to have his Daylily Ark stop on down here. Very interesting display on the set-up you did. Do you use a soaker hose to water or are you restricted on how much water you can use? Julia

Bon, I hope it isn't the kind of ice that sticks to power lines and trees! I hope it is just hitting the ground and not things that will break. Betty, I'd never experienced thundersnow or thundersleet until we moved here. I think the first time we had thundersnow was February 2004. I was at the vet's office and we were standing and watching it snow and you could occasionally see lightning and hear thunder. It was so freaky that first time, but I am more used to it now. Lately, it seems we have thundersnow, thundersleet or both just about every year. I think it is cool mostly because it is fairly rare. Down here it is only very light rain this morning, but I can hear thunder occasionally. I'm grateful for every drop of anything wet that falls. I just wish we could store it up and save it for summer. We've had about 3.5" of precipitation in the last 30 days, so right now everything is muddy and every car that slides off the highway (or other roads) in the rain is instantly bogged down in the wet ground. That's already happening today, so the cops and towing services are going to be busy...and it is barely raining at all! Why can't people here drive in rain? Because it rains so seldom they've forgotten how? : ) I have angry cats looking at me and saying "What is this crap? It's raining again?" After being dry for so long, they've rediscovered how much they dislike having cold, wet paws. I wouldn't mind if it raining at light to moderate rates every day for weeks and weeks to replenish our soil moisture, if only it would stop in time for us to get our potatoes and onions planted on time.

Lynn, he's sorta cute. Sorry he's such a pest, though. Happy BD to Rick. He won't see this today because he's in Okmulgee. Kim, how are you doing? How did your appointments go? We've had a decent day. An acquaintance came over to pick up horseradish roots that I didn't use in the fire cider and some goldenrod oil. I used a cup of the oil to make salve, but had 3 cups left! I kept a cup and gave her two. The salve making went pretty well. It was a first for me. I might have used a bit too much beeswax. I experimented in the kitchen some this evening. My falafel failed. I was so disappointed. The flavors were great but they disintegrated in the hot oil. My homemade hummus was very good. And the tahini was decent. You know what's annoying? Buying herbs like dill and parsley from the store. I'm used to having them in the garden, but it's winter. Obviously. Last night I realized I was missing a chicken. (I count them when I tuck them in for the night) I thought it was Jonquil. She is a buff Minorca. She often sneaks out and misses getting into the coop before dark, so will roost on cinderblocks behind the coop. In those situations, I pick her up and put her in the coop. BUT, last night she wasn't on the cinderblocks. I couldn't find her anywhere. Tom remembered seeing our neighbor's dog in the field next to our property. This dog has taken our other neighbor's chickens to his house. He's killed several. So, Tom went to where the dog lives and looked around. No chicken. No chicken this morning. Then, later that morning Tom banged on the window and said "hawk". So, I went out and put the flock into their enclosed pen. He saw a hawk over near the kitchen garden and compost bins. He walked over and found the chicken. The hawk had started eating it, I think. BUT, it would have already been dead. She was missing since last night. Another neighbor said she heard a ruckus in our flock in the early evening yesterday. I think the dog killed my chicken and left it and the hawk found it this morning. THEN, I saw Jonquil out running around this afternoon. That only means one thing. The dead chicken is Stella. Those of you who have listened to me ramble on about my chickens know that Stella is one of my originals. She is also a buff Minorca, but looks slightly different from Jonquil. She would have been 8 years old this March. I feel sad about her loss. She was the flighty and loud chicken of the originals. She would always give very loud egg announcements and was hard to catch. I do have her daughter. Eve is the chick who hatched out of Stella's egg. She has a lot of Stella's personality traits. The past few months, Stella has come into the coop after feeding time in the mornings. She would stand next to me and I would give her a little extra food while scooping the droppings boards. I did notice this morning that she didn't come into the coop for her special treats. Aw well. I'll miss her silly self. I have one original left. A black production hen named Ida. For those of you who are thinking about chickens. The black production ones seem very hardy. I have a few and have had zero issues with any of them. Even Ida who is nearly 8 years old. The red production birds seem to get reproductive issues and have shorter lives. It's just something I've noticed in my experience with keeping chickens.