Trash Pandas

This subject has come-up before.

There are simply too many of these buggers on the landscape....

 

 

Semiquincentennial

On the road to independence it is worth noting a couple of key events  occurring here and abroad.  The Seven Years' War - sometimes called the French and Indian War - was a global conflict (1756-1763) between Britain and its allies against France and its allies.  Here, in North America, it was a battle against the French and their Native allies for territorial control. Britain emerged victorious and gained control over all of Canada and land east of the Mississippi making it the dominant power in North America.

Nevertheless, not all was good for the British Empire.  The conflict nearly doubled Britain's debt and in order to pay it off Parliament and the Crown imposed new taxes on their colonists.  The Sugar Act, Stamp Act and Townshend Acts and tighter enforcement of foreign trade encouraged the growth of colonial resistance.

In order to avoid conflict with Native Americans, at the close of hostilities, Britain restricted any further westward settlement.  Eager to expand into new lands the colonists were angered by the crown imposing this limitation. 

The war also involved the cooperation of colonial forces with British regulars imparting a significant measure of military training for civilian farmers and merchants.  Coincidentally, this training forced the colonies to cooperate with one another politically and otherwise; thus laying the groundwork for future collaboration against Britain.  The war also left troops in North America and a standing army was viewed by the colonists as an occupying force. 

Following the death of King George II, King George II acceded to the throne in 1760.  He was only 22 years old and his reign marked a turning point for the colonies as his policies and ministers made George a central target for colonial blame and resentment.  

He came to be viewed as a tyrant. 

Word of the Day

Enshitification - Cory Doctorow coined the term to describe how platforms decay over time - starting great, then optimizing for profit until the experience collapses. But I think it goes deeper. It's not just digital platforms that are enshittifying - it's how we treat creativity, education, care, and even community.

October Astronomy

October's full moon will occur this evening and tomorrow night.  It is traditionally called the Hunter's Moon.  

Before European settlement Native Americans knew it as that time of year when people would hunt deer and other animals to lay-up stores of food for the winter. The Anishinaabe people knew it as the Falling Leaves Moon while the fall bird migration led the Cree to refer to it as the Migrating Moon  With the arrival of frosts it has also been called the Ice Moon or Freezing Moon. 

Image credit: Starry Night/Chris Vaughan

This full moon will also be the first and smallest of three consecutive supermoons in 2025. It will appear about 4% larger and 13% brighter than an average full moon (shown by the red circle), cross the sky from sunset to sunrise, and will produce large tides around the world. Because this full moon occurs nearest to the autumnal equinox in 2025, it is also the Harvest Moon.

On the evenings around its full phase, the moon normally rises about 50 minutes later than the previous night.  But the shallow slope of the evening ecliptic (and the moon's orbit) around the equinox causes Harvest Moons to rise at almost the same time each night — only delayed by as little as 10 minutes, depending on your latitude. This phenomenon traditionally allowed farmers to work into the evening under bright moonlight — hence the name.

Join the discussion LIVE as you learn: what makes a full moon a Harvest Moon, the science behind supermoons, tips for observing the Harvest Moon in your sky. 

This livestream is perfect for beginners, stargazers, and anyone curious about the night sky. 

Learn everything you need to know before the moon rises!  

Cuppa Joe

If you're like me you likely enjoy a steaming cuppa joe; maybe two.  And you're sorta cheap frugal.   

Anyway, if your favorite morning beverage is an Americano or a Latte - coffee drinkers are steamed. 

Roasted coffee prices at the grocery store are up 22% in the past year, more than any other item tracked by the government. Prices at some coffee shops are going up too. $10 latte, anyone?   

The price increases are due to bad weather in the world’s coffee-growing regions and the Trump Administration’s 50% tariffs.

If you're paying $8 for a cup of anything only once a day you can save over $2500 per year by making it home. That vacation trip might be realistic if you buy your own beans and a Mr. Coffee.

Today’s challenge: Learn how to make a cup of coffee at home. I know you can do it. Be strong.

Can't Beet This Treat!

Growing-up on the northwest side of Milwaukee my dad and I raised beets in the garden out behind the garage.  He counted on my help with their care - weeding, thinning and finally the harvest and pickling.  Roasted beets are good - pickled beets are better.  Dad never met a pickled beet he didn't like.  Same for my mother-in-law.  She's almost a hundred years old and most visits with her include a pint of home-grown pickled beets.  Come to think of it - all of the old timers in the family like pickled beets.  Me too.

 

If you really want to trip down memory lane after you've graciously dined-upon your pickled beets DO NOT discard the remaining contents of the jar.  Instead, go to your fridge where, if you're like me, you generally keep a stash of hard-cooked eggs in the shell.  Peel as many that will fit in the jar and place them in the reserved beet brine returning it to the fridge.  Let them set for a couple days.  Et voilà!  You will have perfectly purple pickled eggs.  Yummy!

If you’re looking for an extra-special treat cut some of the tender-young beet tops early in the season. Soak in cold water to remove any grit, rinse and drain. Sautéed beet tops are not only delicious - they're chock-full of vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants. They are also Gluten-Free. 

Anyway, in the early days of the Door County garden I suffered a stretch of years that my beets failed.  They either germinated and died or never germinated.  Sometimes the deer ate the delicious beet tops.  Sowing your crop at regular intervals results in continued production while avoiding an overwhelming harvest. If you like pickled veggies here's a step-by-step guide to pickling your own beets.  They're a terrific side any time of year – especially when entertaining during the holidays and awesome on a toasted peanut butter sandwich. Enjoy!

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Pickled Beets
A bunch of garden beets
2 large sweet onions – peeled and sliced on the larger size
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 sticks cinnamon
1 T whole allspice
1 ½ t canning salt
3 ½ cups apple cider vinegar
1 ½ cups water
 

Hose-off your beets on the grass. 

 

Trim-off the tops leaving a couple of inches of stem and the tap root. Reserve the tops from the smaller beets for sautéing greens. 

 

  

Soak the beets in a sink-full of cold water to remove the remaining grit. Transfer them to a pot of boiling water and cook about an hour - give or take - until tender.  Add your beets to the pot beginning with the largest first.  

 

 

At five minute intervals progressively add more beets from largest to smallest with the last of them added at the 30 minute mark.  This way they will all be cooked-thru at the same time. Transfer the cooked beets to a sink-full of cold water to cool.  Combine everything else except the onions in a non-reactive pot and bring the brine to a slow boil.  Simmer 15 minutes. 

 

Returning to the sink slice-off the beet tops and tap roots allowing the skin to slip-off.  Set aside your whole beets. Keeping the residue of beet tops, skins and roots in the sink makes clean-up a snap.  Slice the beets with a mandolin and pack into pint jars.  

 

 

Apportion your sliced raw onion as you fill.    Remove the cinnamon from the pot and ladle the hot brine over the contents of the jars leaving 1/2 inch of head space.  Add lids and rings and process pints 30 minutes in a boiling water bath.   This batch yielded sixteen pints - I doubled the brine recipe and still came-up short and had to mix a 1/3 size batch to fill the last four jars.  

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Pro Tip - Use non-reactive cookware. When canning - cleanliness is right up there with Godliness. A dishwasher will sterilize your jars on the ‘Sanitize’ cycle. Boil water in a Pyrex measuring cup for sterilizing your lids. Make sure your lids have 'popped' before storing the pasteurized jars in your bunker.

 

Velvet Bucks

I suppose by now the buckaroos have shed their velvet.  Naturally, If I got off of my lazy keester and sat in a deer stand with a bow I could verify that personally.

Same location, almost the same time, two different deer...