Posted on 08/01/2025 6:03:57 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
That redbud wood is very pretty. If I were handier, I might see if I could make that into a vase or a bowl or a cutting board. Alas, I’m not that talented!
It never occurred to me that eastern redbud would be a good wood for projects, but it is. The pieces we have that aren’t rotten are too small for bowls, etc. The larger trunk pieces are mostly full of rot as you can see in the pictures. I hate to cut them down because they still bloom on some live branches, but that is early spring only & for the rest of the year, they have really become unsightly overall.
Interesting info on eastern redbud wood:
https://easternredbudtrees.finuvol.com/eastern-redbud-wood/
The link mentioned tools, among other things. (The bowl that is shown is beautiful!)
A few years ago we went to a Mennonite farm market in SE Tennessee. I bought a food sized mallet from there. Hubby balked at first, but he LOVES it now. He uses it to pound meats to thin them. Usually chicken, but sometimes beef and pork. It’s his go to tool before he gets them on the grill.
I bet a piece of redbud would make a great food mallet.
Ok, so a couple of weeks ago, after we had gotten our dangerous 180 year old hickory tree down, we had a landscaping contractor come out to talk about helping us with flagstone installation and possibly making a water feature from said tree. Well, we got his bid today. It’s WAY more than twice was I was thinking. Either I’m a terrible estimator (quite possible), a total cheapskate (also possible) or the company wants to take advantage of how much income he assumes we make (also a possibility).
Nevertheless, using them is now a hard NO. Maybe down the road, but it would be the last part of the project that we might award. Maybe next Spring.
In the meantime, I’ll be working in the meditation garden a little bit every day. Weeding, leveling the ground, and making plans. I expect that a bit of sweat equity will help me stay on budget out there, as usual.
I guess I assume anybody on the garden threads would recognize “TPI”. I don’t know what plant experts actually call it on leaves & Dad’s long gone. (He would know.) Serrations per inch?
Thanks - I’ll give that a try this weekend!
The same (I think) ripple in the atmosphere is still trying to get something here. NWS bumps it to 14% max chance overnight.
I made my 1st spaghetti sauce of the season using some of our tomatoes. Tanginess was spot on (I used mostly the Golden Jubilees and Cherry Falls fruits), but I didn’t add enough spices. A dash of “Slap Your Mama” fixed that. Next time I’ll try adding my wife’s Thai Peppers one at a time, if I have time to let the mix simmer a good while. I’d like to try bits of Jalapeno’s, but one plant is dying and so far the other, while it looks good now, has only produced one pepper, which (since there’s only one) I’m retaining for seed. The idea is not to make the sauce “hot” - just give it a slight hint of “zip”.
BEEF-TIPS AND RICE
Just put it in the oven and you have the rest of the day to yourself.
Ing 2 lb beef stew meat 2 cans french onion soup 2 cans cream of mushroom soup
2 pkg quick microwaveable rice or 1 bag dutch egg noodles, cooked and drained
In ovenproof casserole, stir first three ing. S/p well. Bake uncovered 275 deg 4 hours.
Pour over cooked rice or noodles; serve w/ a dollop of sour cream and garden vegs on the side.
DUNCAN HINES CHEESE CAKE
Ing--1 pkg Duncan Hines yellow cake mix 2 tb oil 2 8 oz pkg cream cheese, softened
1/2 c sugar 4 eggs 1 1/2 c milk 3 tbl lemon juice 2 tsp vanilla 1 can cherry pie filling
Reserve 1 cup dry cake mix. Combine rest cake mix, 1 egg and oil (will be crumbly). Press on bottom/3/4 up sides of 9x13" greased pan. In same bowl blend cr/cheese, sugar, add 3 eggs and dry reerved cake mix. Beat a min on med. On low, slowly add milk, flavoring, mix smooth. Pour into crust. Bake 300 deg 45-55 min til firm. When cool top with pie filling. Chill before serving.
Toothed evidently but without spacing given. I see toothed in my Wild Edibles of Missouri book plus description of poison ivy on wikipedia.
They probably don’t give spacing because it varies by the size of the leaf even on a single plant. I know that book like many plant books has illustrations. I think descriptors like alternate or opposite leaves, number of leaves on leaflet and most of all flower color and description are the things used to ID a plant.
No more rain here and I doubt the .011 inch was even enough to rinse the dust off the leaves on the sides of the gravel road.
18V impact wrench with 4.0 Ah battery is on the way. My old Ryobi tools are about to run like they haven’t run in years. Pole saw will probably be next in a couple of weeks because it’s something else I could use right away.
I see they make a dual voltage charger in 18 & 40 volts and since the 18V impact gun and eventually a 40V chain saw will live in the truck, it would be nice to just keep a single charger in the truck as well.
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