ROTFL!!! Donka, all I can say is "Giddayup". I need to clean out the fridge, so I'm going to make soup base for the freezer with the turkey carcass, leeks, rutabega and carrots. I got some lasagna noodles, so I'm going to slice up some yellow squash that needs using, and the fennel bulbs I just got, and whatever peppers I have, and oven roast them, to layer with the ricotta. I have a little tzimmis left which I think I'll puree into the ricotta. I got some shallots, too. And I got some lamb shanks to braise with baby carrots and pearl onions and leftover sweetish red wine. And a chicken. It's a really big chicken. They tried to tell me it was a fryer, but it's 4.5 lbs.!! I think I'll roast it with the heels of my multigrain bread if it's not gone moldy, and an orange. I can try out the probe because I have no idea (other than the butcher's recommendation) how long to cook this big a not turkey. JRueter, I'm in Gelsonsland, so it has to be an amazing farmer's market to be really tempting. And yes, some of them are more about the social thing than cooking! The worst is being at a dinner party where the hosts are name dropping the truck farmers like they're best friends rather than customers. Needs, keep us posted!!! I'm keeping a good thought for Thursday!

Barron it seems to me a crime & shame that the previous owners planted crud like privet and jap-honeysuckle when they could've planted something like loblolly pines, sassafras and possumhaw. I never get that. Possumhaw would be nice replacing that privet and that viburnum you planted is a good native start. You have to wonder what kinds of trees they cut down. When we drove up there to Lowell and Rogers I saw some pretty amazing native trees but it was the miles of wildflowers that really made me gasp. I swear, miles and miles of them with whole areas red with Indian Paintbrush. I wish I could go back with a paper bag when it all goes to seed. We actually got some rain last night, finally got some of it when it was on its way to you. I've got my stash of poison ivy/brush killer ready to go when it dries out here (!@#$!), gotta do the yearly ordeal on the new hackberry seedlings which are now a good 3 ft tall. They kept predicting rain and then it misses us so I've held off the war. I guess if I'd really wanted it to rain I should have gone ahead and sprayed the stuff. I'm wondering if it would be best to just cut them and paint the tips left or spray the leaves, I usually spray the leaves but started thinking it might be easier to cut and save brush killer. What do you think? If you drive through the longer scenic route sometime could you take a look out the car window and see if you can ID that thick tussock type grass growing on the sides of the mountains. I saw lots of it but only in that scenic area on the way to Lowell, its a really nice looking grass with fine blades that weep nicely. I tried to look it up online with no luck. There was also some kind of tall grass-like plant that had weird cottony looking tops on them, they stood out and were like nothing I've ever seen before. Very weird plants, wish I'd taken a picture. My friend GW in Berryville says everywhere he cultivates his land theres rocks buried. I'm wondering if yours is like that? He's got quite a collection now that he's dug up but it makes cultivating challenging and he gripes about it a lot. Maybe all those potholes in your yard are where they dug up rocks?

Hopefully the tree is still standing and the developer has not damaged any roots yet. In most states, a landowner may trim any branches or roots that grow across the property line, but they can only cut up to the property line. In addition, they can be held liable if the trimming causes the death of the tree or creates a situation where the tree is so weakened that it may fall and cause damage to any dwellings on the property of the tree's owner. If the tree is still standing then immediately contact your insurance agent and notify them what is happening, or about to happen, to the tree. The insurance company will likely send them a letter informing them that they will be held liable for any damage to your property should the tree fall on your property and damage your house or cars. Now you know why they are offering to cut the tree down, once it's cut down they no longer have any liability from a fallen tree.

One creating a landscape would never use a silver maple. They are messy, weak, not long lived and don't have spectacular fall color. A sugar maple is all around better (with harvestable wood if you ever get hard up for a new dining table.) :-) in such a wide open space single trees would seem "lost" until canopies got large and trunks got thick. Clusters of trees would be more meaningful. Don't think of it as "one" or "three" trees, but as a large foliage mass held aloft by 3 "columns" as opposed to one. in the large space 3 trees each side would be a stronger, better proportioned statement. I show them in a semi-circle layout but as an alternative you could also arrange in triangular form. To be worked out in plan view. I would drive some highly visible poles or tall sticks in the ground to represent planting locations and drive by them for a few days to see if it needs adjustment