Mourning doves - I don't have any dense evergreen cover here so maybe they only come over here to eat when they can't find corn. Usually I'll see 6 or 8 of them up on the wire in the backyard or waddling around under the feeder.
Sally - oyster soup? I make a Polish Easter soup for Christmas Eve - I know, out of synch but I don't necessarily care for all things Polish. This one starts with sausage cooked in water, then add flour, an egg, sour cream, sugar and vinegar. Can't taste the sour cream but my kids love the sweet/sour flavor (which is probably incorrect balance according to tradition) but I never have any leftovers. Garnish with chopped cooked potato or chopped boiled eggs. Good for cold, sore throat or stuffy sinuses.

Right now it's 2 8 hr days and 3 10 hr days a week. Some Saturdays which usually is voluntary but occasionally mandatory. Makes for a long week. I have a long weekend off ahead of me due to the place being closed for Christmas.

Over 50 for a high today and cloudy with occasional sprinkles or mist.

Gosh, this thread moves faster than the roadrunner! I can't keep up.

Sorry to hear about everyone's problems. I hope things brighten up soon for you all.

All the food and baking talk has made me hungry, lol! Sunday and Monday will be heavy baking and cooking days here. Poppyseed and walnut rolls and mushroom soup and something we call noodles and nuts for a traditional Hungarian Christmas Eve dinner.Thankfully my niece has taken over cooking for Christmas day. Takes a lot of pressure off of me.

Still warmer than usual here and some intermittent sunshine. There will be no White Christmas for us this year. We finished all the shopping yesterday and today was house keeping day. Company arrives Saturday and still tons to do!

Warm again today. I'm getting used to this Glad you liked the picture of the baked goods

It is quarter to ten P.M. and 33 degrees, crappy weather.
It is supposed to start getting colder, still above normal but one weather kahuna is warning of a nasty arctic blast with temps. below normal.

Absolute --itty news as with no snow cover that will reek havoc on plants of any type.
I loathe warm winters with a passion.

Missed a lot on here apparently.

I hope everyone had a good.

Last bloom of the year.




Some Lilium Henryi scales I am attempting to convert to tetraploid.


Some plants from tissue culture. Gotta baby these fellas along.

Some interesting crosses have started to germinate. Soon if will be going crazy in the basement with seedlings, all too wait to see the first bloom.

Over Yonder, IL
46°/48°/33° Showers early then a steady light rain for the afternoon. SSW winds shifting to NW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 80%.

Up Yonder, ME
20°/42°/34° Mostly sunny. Winds light and variable.

Cats fed. Thinking about coffee. Thinking about reading. Thinking about listening to music. Thinking about just going back to sleep .

36/36/35 mostly overcast and fog
Youngest son and girlfriend coming up from MO today for the holidays?
Making Krumkake today for the holidays, celebrating the holiday on the 23, youngest daughter working on the 25.
Oldest son coming back from Europe today on an AF trip.
Should be a great week!

42/25 and cloudy today. Caffeinating now

Dave I'm anxiously awaiting to see what those babies produce for blooms Pretty impressive

Rj so glad you'll have that much family home. How many children do you have?

Mac I like your thinking

Legalily said:Mac I like your thinking

I believe my sense of humor comes under the "warped" classification .

was 44 degrees now 42 going the wrong way

I cleaned up wood debris from the plum tree I cut down , took all the time I had outdoors yesterday , waiting on rain today ,

Mac Space science (light file ) zoom , warp speed problem ,,, All them G's leave the mind behind ,,

I've been accused of having a warped sense of humor myself
Morning Jim 🙋‍♀️

Warped or just wrapped around something different?

Actually Ginny , I do feel pretty good this morning ,

You have a good morning also


I was up around 5 went back to sleep for an hour or so ,
Here is 12 or 13 pounds of fluff that got the correct idea ,

Good morning. Gray, overcast here, overnight temp around 40 and might get to upper 40s today. Don't think we'll get any rain til later tonight - staying to the west for a while. Misc to-do list for me this morning while DH makes his angel wings. He's also doing candied pecans - yum!
Dave - what fun to have a bloom this time of year and working with plants. Currently just keeping things watered here until after the holidays.
Jim - "warp", "Gs" -

Everything baked (and frozen) for Christmas has been eaten. Busy day the 22nd. Hubby wants refrigerator salad. Goodness knows where he found that recipe. Has to overnight in the frig. My birthday is the 23rd (they all have to play Sheepshead with me, after all, I am from Wisconsin) and we're doing Christmas on the 24th, so hot ham, cheesy potatoes and bbq meatballs (Christmas must), cheese, sausage and crackers will be the menu for two days. And I have to make my poppyseed coffee cake, as it wouldn't be Christmas without it. Oh, and Chex mix. Nobody here suffers from cholestoral (sp) problems here LOL yet. No sit down. Grab what you want and find a seat.

That brisket sounds good. I want to smoke one, but when I tried smoking a pork roast it was so smoky it tasted like smoked fish! (Yuch!)

Weather sucks. Rain. (And I have dogs.) I'm in Wisconsin! I should be snowmobiling! If it warmed up any more we'd be mowing the lawn.

And then we wait for what January brings us. Hope it goes fast. Coleus has popped up! One month closer to planting!

@skits The secret is to smoke the brisket for a few hours, depending on the size, then finish in the oven. Apple wood is good for brisket but don't overdo it. Mrs puts a pie pan full of apple cider in the smoker to help keep it moist. Fill as necessary, depending on smoking time.

skits - noooo, smoked brisket doesn't taste like the smoked fish I had up in the UP (blech!). DH uses electric smoker (maintains constant heat better) and has an array of different types of wood chips. Only puts smoked meat on the grill if he's going to add sauce, like BBQ ribs. He has used apple juice/cider to enhance flavor sometimes.
Last Christmas present wrapped and just need to pick up a couple of GCs. One birthday present left to wrap. DH is doing the angel wings but haven't seen the first one yet for me to sample. Leftovers for dinner so I don't have to worry about getting him out of the kitchen.

Today my Paper White bulb in water bloomed 2 very tiny buy smell good flowers.....wonder if the blooms will enlarge?, is this typical? Tiny. Too embarrassed to take a picture.

Yes, the blooms are small. About fingernail sized if I remember right.