steelnut

Dorothy M. Collins, Age 64, of Daugherty Road, Brockway, PA died on Friday, April 13, 2018 at her home.
Born on February 24, 1954 in Clearfield, PA, she was the daughter of the late Fred and Blanche (Gearhart) Baum.
On March 26, 1988, she married her husband of 30 years, Bradley J. Collins. He survives.
Mrs. Collins worked for Net Shape Technologies.
She was a member of the Brockway Church of God.  She was also a member of the Edward E. Rafferty American Legion Post 633 Ladies Auxiliary Unit, Brockway Sons of Italy and the James J. Patterson Post 813 Veterans of Foreign Wars. She loved to paint and studied at the Perry Winkler Art Gallery. She enjoyed fishing, hunting and kayaking.
Dorothy is survived by 3 children, Jack Volpe & his wife Penny of Hornbeck, LA, Amy O’Rourke & her husband Eric and Jess Collins both of Brockway, PA; 2 brothers, Lynn McCracken & his wife Ann of Albany, GA and William McCracken & his wife Francine of Barker, NY; 2 sisters, Frances Davidson & her husband Alan of Mahaffey, PA and Jeanette Starr & her husband John of Grampian, PA; 3 grandchildren, Ben Barber of Pittsburgh, PA , Emily Volpe of Hornbeck, LA and Callie Barber of Brockway, PA.
Along with her parents Dorothy was preceded in death by a brother, Norman McCracken and a sister, Pam Dickey.
Friends will be received on Sunday, April 15, 2018 from 3-6 PM at the Brockway Church of God, 85 Charnisky Drive, Brockway, PA 15824.
A memorial service will be held on Monday, April 16, 2018 at 11 AM from the Brockway Church of God with Pastor David Nagele officiating.
Burial will be in Beechtree Cemetery.
Memorial may be placed with the Gateway Humane Society, P.O. Box 678, 1211 Airport Road, Falls Creek, PA 15840 and/or the charity of the donor’s choice.
The Baronick Funeral Home & Crematorium, Inc. is in charge of the arrangements.
Online condolences may be sent to www.baronickfuneralhome.com

I checked my daffodils Saturday. The deer ate them all but 3 buds! 

You don't want garbage trucks running routes in daytime traffic, either

I don't want them either but I'm not sure what we can do about it. No fence is going to keep them out. There is a farm above us and they have permission to shoot them as they are out of the area where they were supposed to be confined. My guess is that strayed or not the Game Commission isn't  going to let us shoot them. 

If they ate enough of those daffs they are going to get at the least a stomachache and maybe dead. Daffs are usually deer proof as they are poisonous.  Tulips and crocus are deer candy. We've had an elk in the yard. I'm expecting real trouble this summer. 

Sorry, they were in the mood for something different!

Have not seen anything on this for sometime. Have been checking.

I don't guess there has been any news about this since the one year anniversary, but I wanted to fill you guys in on what is happening around the industry. Big changes nationwide this year, and the focus is beginning to shift from the landfills to the producers.  I have been on many conference calls, been in many meetings, talked to many drivers, and the most often repeated phrase is "that landfill up in Pennsylvania  "
 It may not be making much news up there, but it sent ripples across the entire country 

I wash them, crush them up and put around plants in the garden to keep cut worms away.

I waited until after St. Patrick's Day to start seeds this year. I usually have them in by the 17th of March.  The weather has been so bad that I couldn't see getting started too early. The broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage is up but doesn't have the true leaves out yet. The peppers are just breaking ground. The tomatoes haven't germinated yet but I put them in just last week.  Some of the odd things like herbs and cardoon are late also. I'll have to start getting the bigger ones into pots next week or the week after. I always do way too many. 

I wash them, crush them up and put around plants in the garden to keep cut worms away.

You Need to Stop Throwing Away Eggshells. Here's Why.
Taste of Home By Joann Pann, Freelance Writer2 days ago    
        Why you should put eggshells in your coffee TODAY :00  

(Via TODAY)  
Maybe it's just good old-fashioned thriftiness, but these days it falls on us all to take a second look at things we might have thrown away yesteryear. (It's one of the saving secrets we learned from Grandma!)  With this in mind, we've collected a few uses for that staple of trashcans everywhere: the egg shell.
 
© Provided by Taste of Home eggshells 1. Fertilize the Garden
Rinse and remove the clear inner membrane of eggshells. Store dry eggshells in a large, secure container. We promise it won't stink. (If you're eating these tasty omelettes regularly, the jar will fill up quickly!) Mash them down to fine bits with a steel or wooden spoon. Then you can load up on eggshells again. Once the spring temperatures soften the soil, you can sprinkle and mix the ground eggshells you've been saving into your garden for a great source of calcium carbonate for the soil. An added bonus: they reduce soil acidity.
Here's 9 more ways to grow a greener backyard.  
 
2. Create a Non-Toxic Abrasive Cleaner
You vowed to steer clear of powdered household and industrial cleaners (goodbye, Ajax!) but have no clue what to use instead of these powerful chemicals. We spotted a non-toxic and gentle-on-your-nose cleaner on RealFoodRN.com.
Firstly, collect the eggshells of about a dozen eggs. Once you're ready to prepare the cleaner, wash the eggshells and line them up on a baking sheet. Dry the shells outside in the sun or on low heat in the oven for a few minutes. Use a mortar and pestle, coffee grinder or high-speed blender to blend into a fine paste. You should have about 1 cup of powder. In a mason jar, add 3 cups baking soda to the eggshell powder. To clean, just mix the powder with vinegar (or water). Use this formula on pots and pans (with baked-on food), shower doors (with months of gunk), toilet bowl rings and grout.
Try 50 clever ways to clean with baking soda.  
 
3. Start the Herb Garden of Your Dreams
Daydream about covering every inch of your winter home with happy, green indoor plants? Here's one step to realizing that dream. For your next weekend brunch, cook up a super yummy egg dish (eggs benedict casserole is always a winner). When cracking each egg, cut the top of the shell and pour the egg out of the shell to preserve most of the length of the eggshell. Gently rinse before storing. Remember to save the egg carton—this is where your herb starter plants will grow.
Once the shells have dried, use a sharp needle or awl to poke a hole in the bottom of each (for water drainage). Place an eggshell in each carton divot. Fill each most of the way with soil. Place seeds into soil, according to seed-sowing instructions. Mist soil with spray bottle and keep carton in full sun. Water regularly and keep an eye out for sprouts. Once it's time to transfer into a pot or garden, you can transplant as-is. Psst! Learn how to start your garden using Starbucks cups, here.
 
 
4. Remove Stains From Thermos
If you use a metal thermos, you've totally experienced this problem: A brown film on the inside of your favorite beverage container. And no matter how hard you scrub, there's no diminishing the patina. Here's a solution…you guessed it: eggshells. Add a combination of warm or hot water and crushed eggshells about a third of the way. Close thermos and shake well for a few minutes. The mixture should help break down stains.
 
 
5. Make DIY Sidewalk Chalk
Win the best mom award (for the millionth time, right?) and attempt homemade sidewalk chalk with these recipes from The Children's Museum of Indianapolis. The main ingredients are eggshells, flour and food coloring. We can promise it will be fun—but we can't promise it won't be messy.
 
 
6. Add to Coffee Grounds to Mellow Out Brew
If your roommate (or husband) complains about the coffee being too bitter—but you still have a pound of coffee in the pantry, try this tried-and-true hack. Mix in a crumbled eggshell (that has been throughly rinsed in vinegar and then water, and dried) to the coffee grounds tomorrow morning. The eggshells, rich in alkaline calcium carbonate, help neutralize some of the coffee's acidity.
 
Psst! Here are more surprising things to add to your cup o' joe.
 
7. Feed the Birds
You can also be an incredible neighbor to your local birds with this great tip from Birds and Blooms. When you have enough eggshells to cover a baking tray, bake them at around 250 degrees until dry. They will be brittle enough to crush easily. Spread the mixture in a feeder or on the ground for birds to munch on. It's a great source of calcium for the birds—especially for females during the spring, prime time for laying eggs.
With all these great ways to recycle empty eggshells, you're this much closer to a more sustainable household.                                                                                                                                                                   SEE VIDEO ;  
         

The radishes, not me! 

I LOVE blue herons!! We usually see them on Sabula Lake, on the northern section where the pine trees are. He/SHE is either in the water or hanging out a pine tree.
At Stevenson dam, at the boat dock where everyone looks for the eagles, walk over to the tall dirt mound dam. There is a pond, a couple years ago we saw close to 50 herons in there. We were told that it was breeding time.

They are amazing! My first encounter with one was on a fishing expedition.   I thought I was about to be attacked by a pterodactyl.  

Great blue herons
By WADE ROBERTSON Special to the Era  Mar 31, 2018   Great Blue Herons are one of the areas largest birds and a fascinating one as well. Luckily, they are not a stranger to the areas waterways and if you have the opportunity to closely observe one it will be worth your while to do so. The author presents some basic information about this great bird.
Photo by Wade Robertson   There’s no doubt spring is on the way I guess. More and more robins are showing up, great flocks of geese pass overhead, flocks of ducks whistle by at high speed and the cardinal is singing his fool head off every morning, a sound so dear to my heart. Even better I saw my first great blue heron flapping slowly and purposely across the sky.
Great blue herons, Ardea Erodio, have always been a favorite bird of mine. They are so connected with fishing I suppose they couldn’t help, but be. Floating the river especially, you turn a corner and disturb a heron in the shallows hunting intently for dinner. With a loud and displeased “rauck” they bend at the knees, spring upward and beat their great wings gaining just enough altitude to dive slightly and pick up speed, then just feet above the water fly downriver half a mile before landing and resuming their hunt.
Adult great blue herons have a wingspan of around 66 to 79 inches. That’s 5.5 to 6.5 feet across and those wings are not only wide, but thick from front edge to back. Anyone who has seen a heron knows they stand quite tall. A smaller heron’s head is 45 inches above the water and a larger birds will be up to 54 inches high.
Herons are a sleek creature, tall and thin, weighing when mature about five pounds, a bag of flour or sugar. Five pounds is a lot to get airborne especially when you consider a heron’s gangly shape when it comes to flying.
First, they have practically no tail. If they had a long tail it’d be constantly dragging in the water as they waded the shorelines. Not only would it be constantly wet, but dragging those heavy, waterlogged tail feathers into the air wouldn’t be fun. I guess Mother Nature decided that practically no tail is better than a wet heavy one.
A heron's legs are also very long with 3 to 4-inch toes and wide feet to keep from sinking in the soft sediments of the shoreline. Additionally, we can’t forget that long, snake-like neck and sabre-like beak.
Aerodynamically a heron presents a problem to get and keep in the air. To offset the lack of a proper tail, the long neck, tall, dangling legs and big feet the herons wing are, as described above, very wide and long to give lift and stability to its ungainly form. When compared to the wing size of a robin in relationship to the body a heron has a much greater wing area for lift.
However, things do balance out as nature is a perfectionist. The long dangling legs in back offset the heron’s big neck and head in front. Throw in an oversized set of wings and presto; the bird flies. Stately and slowly, but it flies.
Herons eat anything they can catch. Their long, yellow bill is a dagger the heron operates with a deadly precision. I’ve seen them pick up small pollywogs delicately from the surface or suddenly dart and spear a large fish. Anything that moves is considered fair game. Fish, salamanders, frogs, small mammals, unwary baby birds, snakes, you name it, a heron’s appetite covers anything moving.
Herons can be a pest if you have a small pond with fish. Once they know this little puddle has food they’ll keep coming back until its empty. Stringing crisscrossing rope across the pond to interfere with their wings can slow down or stop there depredations.
If the opportunity comes along to watch a heron hunt you should definitely take the time to do so, it’s fascinating to watch.
When a big, old, 747-sized heron lands it’s quite a sight. Immediately, they stand erect, every sense on alert for danger. When they’re sure the areas safe they flick their wings and arrange their plumage a bit to settle down and then begin to hunt.
First, the sharp eyes scan the area close to them and if nothing is seen a step’s taken. Each step is a very deliberate affair. The leg and foot are carefully lifted straight up, paused if necessary, then deliberately moved forward and set gently and soundlessly back in the water. The heron body is leaning forward, the long neck back, the head tilted slightly down as those piercing eyes scan for food.
Any motion in the water close to them causes the bird to react instantly, the long neck striking forward like a snake or the heron freezes, waiting with infinite patience for the creature to reveal itself or move within range.
If prey reveals itself several feet away the heron watches intently and when it deems the time ripe, will stalk carefully and quickly forward, the long seemingly ungainly legs as smooth and silent as a cats waiting for the perfect moment.
Once a heron‘s belly is full they like to stand in the shallows, head settled, one foot up and soak in the sun. They may also stand on a log or even fly up in a tree for their siesta.
Herons are a common bird and their presence gives character, variety and delight to the streams, rivers, lakes and ponds of our region. Their huge size, distinctive squawk and stately flight will always be so closely associated with fishing to me. It couldn’t and wouldn’t be the same without them.

Thanks for the photo!
Was this actually taken from a yearbook you have?  What year was this?

Guess who!  Peek A Boo!

They do not fight with each other, but they do have a pecking order.  My daughter has a wonderful heart for animals and they know it so they follow her around like dogs.  They are primarily pets.  The hens are a little more stand-offish.  She's finally using some of her chicken eggs.  At first her family didn't want to eat "brown" eggs, (sorry, I did raise her although I never taught her that) but now she's more used to them and is using them a lot.
I think I'm going to do a late hatch in June-July with some of her eggs, and I'll try some of your eggs at the same time.  I'll let you know.
As you can see, she lives right in the middle of huge apple orchards and has lots of room for them to range.  Her only neighbors like the chickens (even the crowing) and she makes sure they all get eggs and baked goods with eggs!

Four Common Problems Growing Radishes and What to Do About Them
BY MARIE IANNOTTI
Updated 09/28/17
SHARE SharePIN PinEMAIL Radishes can be one of the easiest vegetables to grow and they certainly are one of the fastest, but there are a handful of problems that can plague home gardeners when trying to grow radishes, such as being too hot to eat, not forming a bulb or growing tough, woody, and/or cracked. There is not much you can do about these problems once you have harvested your radishes. Luckily, all of these problems are avoidable if you grow your radishes in good conditions. 01of 04 How Do I Keep My Radishes from Getting Too Hot to Eat? Photo: © Marie Iannotti This is one of the most common radish growing problems. The "hotness" of radishes results from the length of time they have grown rather than from their size. The radishes either grew too slowly or are too old. Radishes like cool weather, but it needs to be warm and wet enough for them to fill out before the weather heats up. They need to grow fast and be harvested as soon as they reach their mature size. Unlike carrots and beets, they do not get sweeter if stored in the ground.

If the...M
02of 04 Why Do My Radishes Crack Open?
Tetra Images / Getty Photos Sometimes radishes simply split open as they mature and get older. However very often cracking is the result of uneven watering. Trying to make up for a period of drought with a lot of water all at once will cause the radish to grow too rapidly and split open. Make sure your radishes are getting at least 1 inch of water per week.
Just because the radish bulbs have split does not mean they are no longer edible. If it is just a cosmetic split or two, you can still enjoy them in your salads. 
03of 04 Why Do My Radishes Get Tough and Woody?
Photo: © Marie Iannotti Radishes need to grow quickly, to ensure they are tender and plump when harvested. If radishes don’t get the cool temperatures they need and lots of regular water, they will start to get hard and dry.

Spring and fall are the easiest times to grow radishes. Some radishes, like 'Black Spanish', prefer being grown in the shortening days of fall. They are left in the ground over winter and harvested in the spring. Black radishes look tough, but the skin is actually quite tender. 
04of 04 All I Have are Green Tops. Why Aren't the Radish Bulbs Forming?
Photo: © Marie Iannotti The most frequent cause of radishes growing only greens is hot weather. Once the weather warms up, the radish plant bolts and tries to set seed.
Planting too thickly and not thinning to about 1-2 inch between plants will also cause radishes not to develop. They are too crowded and don’t feel they have room to plump up, so again, they will go to seed.
Another cause of under development in radishes is not enough sunlight. Radishes can handle a little shade, especially if the temperatures are hot.

You're welcome. Let me know how they grow. I just can't grow radishes no matter what I do. 

Season ribs the way you want. Smoke them for 3 hours at 225 than spray them with apple cider vinegar wrap with aluminum foil and continue to cook at 225 for 2 hours then unwrap apply your favorite BBQ sauce or just spray with apple cider vinegar again and cook at 225 for one more hour. Remove from smoker. Pull the bones out. They slide out easily slice up an onion. Cut boneless ribs into sub bun length add ribs onion cheese and more BBQ sauce to a sub bun and you will never have a mcrib sandwich again. 

On our way home from DuBois last night, about 7:20, we saw the Eagle sitting in a tree. It was the dead tree in front of the tree with the nest. We really wished I had my camera on me, but all I had was my kindle.
For the ones who are lost, this is across from the Unilec building at the eastbound ramp/lights for I-80 on Rt 255.

You came into our home 16 yrs ago and today we had to say goodbye.....we will miss you badly