Nita

We planted a few PawPaw trees around 10 or so years ago. They only got to be about 2 feet tall, and never grew. We finally took them out last year. I like PawPaws.

Have had humming birds here in Sykesville for over a week now.

My daughter picks all kinds of mushrooms. She has canned over a hundred pints of them. She has picked oyster, hen in the woods, puff ball mushrooms, lobster, and others I can`t remember. She showed me what Shaggy Manes are, and I have picked them the last 2 years. Have them in my bottom yard. I picked some Friday, and they are delicious. You have to cook them right away, and pick them soon after they come up. They will turn black in a couple of days, and then get gooey. The daughter keeps us in mushrooms.

I don`t know the name of the yellow plant, but it reseeds itself real fast. It was in some wildflowers I planted one year, and it just kept spreading. I have to thin it out every year. I have another ground cover with purple flowers. I think it is called creeping myrtle. But it is real thick and takes over the area. It is in an area we don`t mow.

My daughter is on a nature kick. She has been studying about wild foods. She made jelly out of some wild berries last year. I don`t know what kind. She said some are wild gooseberries. I will have to tell her about those ones. She is into mushrooms now. She has identified several mushrooms. She picks berries, and all other fruits. She either cans them, or makes jelly, or the best pies I have ever had. She didnt learn the pie making from me, that is for sure. lol My brother in Wv also made jelly. He made it from Poke Berries. It is really good, and tastes alot like Elderberry. I know, I know, they are suppose to be poisonous. But they are not poison when you make jelly. The cooking does something to them. My Mom and I also fry poke stalks. You get them when they are small, and fry them like you do squash. They are good.

I use the homemade liquid detergent. I ran out, and haven`t used it for 2 weeks. I notice that the clothes seem not as clean with the store bought detergent. I need to make some more, but my Mom is in the hospital, and I have been running there alot.

Thanks. The one Picksbughfan posted is the one I really was interested in. My Aunt used to travel alot, and she made her own, and I forgot the ingredients. She made the paper towel one.

We have woodpeckers at our bird feeder. It looks like 4 of them. When one comes in, the one eating will leave. They are eating the suet block. It looks like 2 females, and 2 males. One male, and one female are larger then the other. Two have the red head, and the other 2 have white stripes on black. I took pictures, but I dont know how to put them on here. Is it normal for woodpeckers to be out now?

We got rid of a Rose of Sharon last week. We had to cut it down. It was about 7 or 8 feet tall. It grew in a rock garden right next to the house, and was blocking the water hose. Pulling it out would have uprooted other plants. The roots are real long. We have several small ones there also, and we pull them out, but they have about a foot long root. The trees are about 2 feet tall. They grow there every summer. I had to pull hundreds out. We transplanted many, gave them away, and threw them away. In out other rock garden there is a Rose of Sharon also. There are maybe 20 small ones too. Were probably over a hundred before i pulled them out. Hubby wants to transplant those, and get rid of the big one also. It is too close to the house, and causing rot on the porch. Too much moisture in the area. You may have problems pulling the tree out because of the roots.

Fabric Freshener or Air Freshener 2 c. warm water, 1/4 c. fabric softener(nice smell), 1 TB. soda. Mix together and put in a empty spray bottle. Use as any air freshener, or fabric freshener

Where do I find the Octagon soap and the castile soap in the DuBois area? I used to use the castile bar soap on my children when they were small. Haven`t seen it for quite a while. Can I use another soap as a substitute? Thanks.

I haven`t made my homemade washing detergent yet. I have made it in the past, and it works great. My daughter mrsc made some last week with Zote. She said it jelled real good, and smells good. I bought Zote also, and may use it this time. I googled it, and it can be used for laundry soap, dishes, scrubbing floors, and even as a bathing soap. It was mistakenly sent to Dollar General next to KMart. Zote is used in Mexico. I usually use Fels soap. Your clothes will have a fresh smell after using the homemade detergent.

My daughter and I have both made the homemade soap. I haven`t done it lately. But you can also use Ivory soap instead of the Fels. But I like the Fels better. It does get the laundry clean. I think i will make some next week. I notice it takes more of the regular detergent to get the clothes clean anymore. I don`t think the detergents are as good as they used to be.

We just came back from WV. The locusts were pretty bad there in some parts. They call them cicadas. The noise from them was very loud. Sounded like a constant whistling. I don`t ever recall seeing them before.

We saw tomatoes in a hanging bucket. The tomatoes were growing down from the bucket. They were upside down. We want to try it. How do we plant them? Do we drill holes in the bottom, or sides, and fill in the dirt around the roots or what? We are not sure how to go about it. Any information would be appreciated.

Is it too late to plant flower seeds inside to be transplanted later outside? Thanks

I pm`d you again. New email address.

Petee, I PM`d you.

Thank you for all he advice on the aloe plant. I am going to try to save it. It was 1 plant, but now it is 3 plants. So I have 3 plants to try to save. Thanks again.

I am good at killing the aloe plants. I usually end up watering them too much. Thanks for the potting tips. The plant actually has separated on it`s own. But where it separated, the area looks dried out. As if there is no root. Can i just put that part in the soil, and maybe it will develop a root? The main root is still intact. But I plan on repotting it. It wont even sit up, because the container is real small. I am just trying to save it, but with my luck with aloe, I don`t know if it will work. lol. Thanks

I have a aloe plant I got from an old house my daughter moved into. It looked kind of dormant, but still living. It needs transplanted, and separated. How do I do it? Do I just stick it into potting soil, or do I have to root it? Some of it has separated, but it is still living. Thanks.