Posted on 09/01/2026 5:40:17 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
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Delicata squash is a great one!
I will be mowing this weekend and I’m guessing probably 2 more times, maybe 2 weeks apart. The grass has really slowed down. I may be mowing just to chop up the leaves that are falling like crazy - I don’t think we’re going to have much color this year. The leaves are pretty much either green or brown. Mom always wants to rake leaves .... nope, not doing it. She has no business raking leaves at 93 & my back just won’t take it, so Clyde the Chopper is what I use ... it’s also good for the lawn to put the chopped leaves back in the soil.
This year, Clyde & Little Red are going to be put away clean & ready to go next Spring ... if I can get our little power washer going. I have been putting off dealing with it (and the basement floor cleanup), but the “time” is coming when I have to face that floor. Clyde is a muddy mess - I had to mow in the mornings with wet grass when we had our horrific heat wave & company was coming. Clyde still has grass stuck everywhere in addition to the mud. Little Red doesn’t look quite as bad. Another issue with Clyde - the wasp nest inside his control panel (throttle, height adjustment knob, starter, etc.). There is a side panel that looks like I can get it off and get in there to clean out at least one nest - they’ve nested in there twice, last year & this year. That should be an “interesting” project, but it won’t happen until the mowing season is over so if I mess anything up, I have time to get Clyde to the shop.
For next year, I am going to have to figure out how to keep the wasps OUT ... I can block off the entrances ‘up top’, but when I did that, I saw one wasp exit from underneath. I’ll block what I can & then I’m thinking I’ll try the boric acid/apple juice method - kills the entire nest. It’s very scary when you pull the mower into the barn & have a phalanx of bees hovering, waiting for your arrival (and their nest!). Two or three mowings ago, they came swarming out of the control panel when I started pulling Clyde out of the barn & chased me all the way to the shop & I had to bail off Clyde & run for the wasp spray back in the barn to fight them off. This situation has got to be resolved!
Great to have you back, and great to know the problem was not major - except for the time it took to get a repairman out to ya’! I will say, our local telco that is our ISP IS pretty good about getting service crews out to fix problems - unless there has been a storm* and they get overwhelmed. Then again, our service (still have a landline + internet) is a bit pricey.
*Most of their lines are now fiber-optic and underground, but Mo’ nature thinks up other ways to create problems...
The catnip I planted out by the garden draws our tomcat out there some, which has helped but not eliminated our squirrel problems. My daughter took the tabby, who was by far the more active hunter, to her new place, and the squirrels have figured out the tom is very lazy...
The same system should bring us some rain, mainly Friday morning, but today and Thursday we should hit about 91 deg. F. Today we actually have a negative heat index (maxes out at 90 deg.) Golly, what a day for a swim at the lake, but I have no time for that - gotta take advantage of this weather here, while it lasts. AND water the plants -- breezy, hot and dry will wilt 'em in a hurry if I don't water them.
Speaking of which, yesterday I learned that lemon trees and related citrus, like wifey's Calamansi plant, need dry spells to trigger flowering / fruiting, and by manipulating the soil moisture, one can get 3 or 4 crops per season. So, while it is still warm enough for the calamasi plant (bush) to be outside, I should not water it, and cover it for this rain. Luckily, I bought 4 cheap 5' x 7' tarps on sale at Menards a few days ago!
I wonder what other plants might benefit from such scheduling of their soil moisture...
26 Best Delicata Squash Recipes to Try This Fall - Say hello to your new favorite fall vegetable - The Pioneer Woman
Of personal interest: Delicata Squash Tacos with Black Beans!
https://www.thepioneerwoman.com/food-cooking/meals-menus/g33756124/delicata-squash-recipes/
Thanks for the recipes!
My in-laws (both now gone) always spent a good chunk of the winters in Panama City, FL. They loved it there. MIL especially loved the PCB Wheel.
You could not pay me to ride that! Or to try the Delicata Squash with Kale recipe. LOL. BUT I am going to make the Roasted one with turkey sausage one today. It sounds delicious and I have homemade turkey sausage to boot. A few weeks ago we took a frozen 12 pounder turkey from our freezer - we always made turkey sausage out of those. I bought it last fall. The most work is stripping the carcass. I bought it last fall. Used our hand crank meat grinder. Added onion, spices, and two packages of local smoked bacon ends from the freezer. I refreeze and use as patties as breakfast meat. And I had put two of those squash on the counter to bake today. That recipe brings it all together. Thanks again.
Look like some lovely delicata recipes for me to try. Thank you!
My Mom was hugely pregnant with me and she and her brother Jim got stuck on a malfunctioning Ferris Wheel for a number of hours. Of course, being pregnant, she had to pee the whole time, LOL!
I have a special affinity for Ferris Wheels. :)
Something tells me you would not have enjoyed the “Big Shot” or X-Scream at the top of the Stratosphere Hotel in Las Vegas...
Hmmm... That often does not seem to apply to our cat!
I’m sure not, don’t even like a low level rollercoaster. No control.
The only ride I would ever get on were the “bump cars”. I thoroughly enjoyed wrecking my brothers :-) If they had them, I would also get on live ponies for a couple of trips around the circle.
I liked those too but my goal was to escape and not get bumped. Would not bump anyone. I did and many times the last 1 or 2 left.
After my 5 hour* marathon upright freezer & fridge cleanout, I had 2 nice corned beef briskets. I decided to try Nagi’s Slow Cooker Beef Brisket with BBQ Sauce with one of them & ignore that I was dealing with a corned beef brisket. It was in the crockpot on low for 8 hours and oh my, did it turn out wonderfully. I was going to make her “No Mayo” Cole slaw to go with it, but neither Walmart or Food Lion had fennel & I didn’t like the suggested substitutes when I googled so I went without - will have it for the next brisket.
* most of the 5 hours was spent washing all the plastic containers that I dumped
After rearranging the fridge, I am super happy because I can easily see a lot of things that were previously “out of sight, out of mind”.
Also, a year or so ago, I bought giant ice cube trays - each cube is 1/4 cup of liquid. I am currently thawing leftover broth & refreezing as 1/4 cup cubes. I put 4 in a quart bag for 1 cup total, but can easily take out smaller amounts. The cubes also melt quicker than a 1 cup block of frozen broth.
Next ‘annoying’ kitchen project is decluttering & organizing all the plastic storage containers. Mom tends to collect containers from prepared food she buys & that doesn’t help the situation. I bought myself some nice glass containers that I primarily use & keep stored & organized separately, so that’s all good.
You and I are on the same wavelength. Cleaning out the fridge and the kitchen freezer is on my To-Do List for tomorrow - supposed to rain ALL day (2” or more!) and we’ll all be stuck inside (Me, Dolly, Boyd & Eva).
The chickens will probably be happy with scarps I find for them, but with Beau back here in the coming week, I need to throw together some serious meal plans.
I can do this...
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