We had tons of rain this year and the tomatoes are still late. I just got my first one (although I have limited sun and cooler temperatures). I think the first few split and rotted. I had to replant beans 2x before something stopped eating the baby plants (because they started eating the replanted cucumbers). Beans are now being eaten by squirrels (and possibly jays) before they grow more than an inch. Squirrels have dug up all of my broccoli/cabbage/sprouts. Basil is doing okay. I got my first carrots. I grew mizuna and kale for the first time and everyone loved it. It feels like gardening should have been golden this year (with all the rain) but I wonder if we needed more hot days? More sun/less clouds? Or maybe the squirrels have obtained a new level of sentience or a family of raccoons moved in somewhere. Re: gardening in zone 5. I am 4b but I grew up in 5. You can plant sturdy bushes and trees in the fall. It's worthwhile if you find a deal (a lot of places are dumping spring stock). However, if you're worried about it wait until spring. You do have to make sure they have time to root before winter. You have to make sure they're not dry or spindly before the cold...and they should be in protected spots (not open to the wind or salt from the road). Oh, and for Rosie...standard radish seeds (french breakfast, chinese white, watermelon) are just as good as the daikon seeds were last year. In fact, I like them better than a standard radish root because it's a smaller mouthful and tastes a little more juicy. Other positive: you can cut them and the plant will keep trying to flower. I think I'd rather plant the daikon next year (I got a root AND seeds) but it seems radish seeds taste like radish root over several varieties.

"I wouldn't change anything (x mistake), because then I wouldn't be who I am today." or "The past is the past." I want people to be able to accept who and where they are, but every time I hear this the person is abdicating any ability to reflect on what they've done and make changes for the future. And it's particularly lazy if it involves things which hurt other people. Consequences don't magically disappear because time went by and you don't want to think about it anymore.

Yes, they taste like the root...at least daikon does.

It's been an interesting Spring/early Summer. All the Springs plants are late. Then we had 2 super hot days and the Summer seeds popped. Now it's cool again and the peppers, basil, and tomatoes are miserable. I have to replant sunflower, pumpkins, cilantro, and chamomile. At least we have lettuce, spinach, and mustard greens, finally. The lettuce is strangely bitter this year, but I like the mustard greens which are a new addition. Anyone have some radish advice? They look great! So bushy and big leaves. No real roots. I've only ever had 1 successful radish in the 3 years I've tried to grow them. It's in a box so the soil is fairly loose, they have space, and I don't fertilize. When this lot finishes, I think I'll just grow daikon or rat tail for the seeds and stop trying.

Are you sure it's acidic? Usually sandy soil is more acidic and clay soil is more alkaline. One thing I like about gardening is that there's no real hurry. Don't do the whole thing this year. Amend a patch for greens. Buy some compost or soil at the store (some towns have compost available for free), a few bags, just a couple of inches over a some layers of cardboard/newspaper/leaves/etc., just enough to plant in...and do that much in greens. Then around it plant some flowers that do well in clay soil (monarda/bee balm, echinicea/coneflower, sedum.). I personally like leaf lettuce because it allows for small harvests, just what you need, and it keeps growing until it gets hard. I've also seen a thing where someone grew greens in a plastic container. They did it for winter lettuce but it would work like a planter if you didn't have a yard or wood for building. I've also seen straw bale gardening (gardening with very little dirt) too. Gardening is very flexible. I find trying small things and seeing what will work is the best. Will I eat this? Will it grow? How much work/water/space/sun does it need? Little steps.

Woodpeckers, especially Pileated, like suet. We have several over the winter, but we never had Pileated until we had suet up all the time.

Wisconsin here. I feel you. It's a skating rink as far as the eye can see. I sort of wish we had snow. I'm also jealous of all the sprouts, so I obviously need to go get my planting bench back into order. My husband has selected that part of the basement as his new office so I've put it off and decided to learn how to make a Planting Chart on excel instead.

I have what I call 'a moss path' which is really just a very mossy area in the back third of my lawn in heavy shade. I've been weeding out the grass and other shade lovers for the last few years and that's allowed what native moss I have take over. Moss is pretty easy to move if you have a good spot for it. I add on to my path by adding patches I get from other parts of my yard or the woods down by the train tracks. If you go for a walk you can collect some and start a test space. Maybe a seat with a moss patch in front of it or a fairy circle with some small ephemerals planted in moss. It's pretty simple to collect some, clear a space, and then keep it watered for a bit (I'll even pin it to the ground with a stick or something so I can see it and not walk on it for awhile. The bad news is if you have any plant warlords in your lawn at all, like creeping charlie,, bishops weed, or ajuga you absolutely will be weeding that thing possibly forever. At the moment I put on some headphones and tell myself it's meditative. Moss is very sensory. Have you read Gathering Moss?

My gold raspberries have no more than 4 hours of direct sun (most probably less). Anne is the cultivar. They're 'everbearing' (basically summer and fall), really mild, and not very seedy. It took a few years but they are now *very* productive, especially in September. I also have Latham for the reds but they don't grow nearly as well in partial shade as the Annes. Are we watching the same Youtube videos?? You might like this documentary film series about forest culture (specific episode about mushroom growing).

I have one red currant which has survived and prospered in heavy shade. Gooseberry will also (supposedly) do well, but the deer eat it down to the ground every year (and it comes back the next). It should be a solid one though. I had 2 in heavy shade and only 1 survived. I'm in the process of propagating that red currant and the slips will only take in partial shade. I put in pink and black currants in partial shade last year and they grew well all summer. For other shade perennials for eating...rhubarb is very hard to kill....shade, partial shade...I've experimented and wow...I can put it almost directly under arbor vitae. I can't get raspberries to take in shade that heavy, but they will thrive in partial shade with only 4 hours of direct sunlight. I hear blackberries are similar, but I killed mine by going too far into the shade.

We live in a cold climate (US zone 4) in an area with sandy soil and many, many trees. We have currants, strawberries, gold everbearing and red summer raspberries, honeyberry, rhubarb, and some cold-bearing cherry bushes developed by the University of Saskatchewan. I have some tall grow boxes on the back porch (only sunny spot). I usually only do succession planting there (leaf lettuce, spinach, radish, cilantro, basil, green onion). I have 2 other beds in partial sun where I have mostly perennial herbs (oregano, thyme, chamomile, feverfew, nasturtium, marigold, marguerite, valerian, and whatever new thing I try to get started indoors) and the other has a cattle panel arch (sugar snap peas, beans, more beans, cucumber, tomatoes). I stick summer squash, potatoes (usually just sprouted ones from the grocery store) and daikon radish inbetween things in the more shaded beds. How they do is...variable. It's hard to kill zucchini so usually 2 survive which is more than enough, daikons do fairly well and we tend to just eat the seed pods. Potatoes...well, you have to keep covering potatoes to get anything out of them really. <shrug> Last year was my herb garden and garden arch year. This year I want a plum tree (ordered). I think I want another arch. I really liked the one I had this year. The black beans took over. I want to start a ton more basil then I did last year and probably keep it on the deck in the sun. The Cardinal basil wasn't nearly productive enough in partial shade. I didn't even get the flowers. I want to continue my medicinal garden in the lawn and see if it can out-pace the creeping charlie and ajuga. New tries this year: dahlia, from seed rat tail radish rose mint hyssop purple tomatoes purple beans sweet peas parsnip mizuna mustard greens caraway meadow rue black cohosh My general garden philosophy is less total food production and more invest in things you will snack on. That's why we started with fruit. If you get fruit started, a lot of them need very little attention during the year. If I take a year off, we'll still have raspberries, strawberries, and currants. If I don't pick them, the birds will.

Entry level: Peter Reinhardt in general, but specifically his Bread Baker's Apprentice. A lot of people use Ken Forkish's Flour Water Salt Yeast, but since I read Reinhardt first I've only browsed that one since it fills a similar niche. Both are good with explanations. Intermediate: Jeffrey Hamelman's Bread. My go-to for recipes. Very professional and he scales up for larger bakes. I also enjoy reading Daniel Leader for background on European city breads, but I've had trouble with a few of his recipes so I think he has some he bakes professionally himself and some he's collected on his travels.

It is very hard to say. Often it goes badly. Occasionally it will work. It's a lot of work either way.

My youngest has a severe seizure disorder and has qualified for MAW for many years. Whenever we talk to him he is extremely adverse to going anywhere or talking about it at all. In general we've respected that and only brought it up once or twice a year to see if he's changed. Well, he's 17 now and we're receiving pressure from his neurology team and MAW to really try to push this forward. When I try to talk to our Wish coordinators, they are very optimistic and tell me not to worry, it doesn't have to be travel, we'll figure it out, but I'm not that person. I've been the one bridging this conversation for a decade and I need some new ideas or we will be sitting on Zoom while he shuts down and eventually we all agree to something silly like some new Switch games. No offense to that as a choice, but he won't appreciate it and I would rather they save their money for a Wish that impacts someone. See where I am right now? BTW, this is not a 'just talk to him' situation. He's developmentally disabled and I have talked to him at his level. He just doesn't like change or transitions, and has trouble imagining something outside of his experience. He shuts down the conversation. So what I'm looking for: *suggestions for Wishes (relevant background at bottom) *applicable experience *any other advice, talking points, experiments, or tweaks Relevant background: He's obsessed with birds. He likes Star Wars, Micky Mouse, and animal rescue shows. He was a big Lego fan but is slowly outgrowing it. He likes to draw. We've tried to suggest Disney World, Legoland, or a visit to the rescue centers on Alaska Animal Rescue (a show he really enjoys). He has no interest. Maybe a bird rescue center closer to home or to help at a zoo...he always says no. I have no interest in getting an inside bird right now, and outside birds are not allowed.

My go-to hat patterns are the WWII watch cap and the Bankhead pattern. Both are free on Ravelry. Both are ribbed patterns. Neither uses Mistake Rib, but I think it would be interesting to adapt it and see how it works. Neither has ear flaps, but they have long bottom ribs which can be folded higher where you need it higher and lower over the ears where you need lower.

My husband's grandmother was essentially orphaned (her father did live, but he lost himself in alcohol) by the 'Spanish' flu. She never knew her mother. She was a baby when she died. She was raised by her father's sister and moved around the country with her. Aunt Carrie even lived with her after she married and had children. My FIL, the youngest of family, has many good memories of her.

Congratulations on another year! Yes, I feel this deeply.

Bonus for the Myths and Legends. One of the first I listen to when it's available. Fall of Civilizations Dan Carlin's Hardcore History Ologies with Allie Ward Twenty Thousand Hertz

Nearby town has added some lighted displays along the park roads the last few years. This year they set a time and did fireworks. While cars waited in line to enter, you could watch the fireworks and listen to recorded Christmas music.

My youngest son is going through growth hormone treatments. Standard procedure is to get a referral to an endocrinologist from your primary care doctor. They'll do blood tests and maybe a bone age scan. If his bones read younger, they may chose to revisit the issue in a year or two. If he's closer to puberty, they may do a trial test run with growth hormone to see how his body reacts. If he reacts positively they may offer hormone injections. The injections are daily, but are subcutaneous so it's not at all like getting blood drawn (my son doesn't like blood draws but will do these). I'd say, unless it bothers your son and is something he wishes to pursue, wait for next year. Almost all of mine were delayed. 🤨Seriously, the next oldest sibling was shorter and younger-looking than almost everyone until 15. Bam! Then it hit like a freight train. Doctors like to have everything within a neat window and were talking to us about delayed puberty since 13, but they were still fine with us waiting until over 15 to start treatment.

Given: I gave dh Tiny Towns, a game where you collect resources to build buildings on a card grid. It has a great puzzle aspect to it because each of the buildings has special powers you can maximise. We gave dniece Fauxcabulary because she loves it. Received: DH gave me Islebound (Ryan Laukat!), Bosk, Terraforming Mars, the Feast of Odin expansion, and Mystery of the Abbey. I guess he got a good deal and didn't think he could otherwise get them in the house. 🤨 Played: We played Bosk. DH described it as a less 'take-that!' version of Photosynthesis. Both are forest games with stand-up trees where you are taking over a forest. Photosynthesis takes over with tree reproduction and is limited by sunlight. Bosk takes over area with tree placement and leaves being moved by the wind. I like them both, although I need to play Bosk a few more times. We've also played Tiny Towns, which is very puzzley. I love puzzle games where you have to maximize resources and space. Friends came over and brought Trekking the National Parks, which I would describe as Ticket to Ride but moving around and collecting national parks. Over the break we've also played: Cottage Garden Lost Cities Pyramids Kung Fu Zoo Azul Tash-Kalar Claim It! Roam Fauxcabulary and half a learning game of Feast of Odin

Thirding or fourthing In Our Time. Fall of Civilizations Tides of History (end of the Roman empire and up through the middle ages right now...I was really curious about the time period and enjoyed this take) History of Ancient Egypt and History of England are both individual place/people podcasts that I enjoy. The hosts are personable and good instructors. A Brief History of Mathematics (bbc) Dan Carlin's Hardcore History is excellent, but definitely hardcore. Minimum 4 hours for an episode. Sometimes multiple parts (4+ hours each!). Great for longer drives/projects. On the lighter side: Most Notorious! (interviewing authors about their non-fiction histories, generally gangsters, local drama, murders), Our Fake History (history around fake beliefs/bad history), True Crime Historian (synthesis of news stories from yellow journalism papers...dramatically read)

The Upward Spiral...brain chemistry and depression with small, positive, evidence-based changes you can make Wild Swans: Three Women of China...late 19th century-the Cultural Revolution history of China following one family of women Color: a Natural History of the Palette...history of engineering color for art/craft, focuses more outside of Europe than in The Little Book of Talent...great grad book with short chapters focusing on productive habits for life Forest Forensics: a Guide to Reading the Forested Landscape...very short but interesting look at how to read the ground and trees in a forest to estimate human habitation/farming/clear cutting/fires in the area. Really succinct with most of the book as a guide. And if you think that's interesting, you may enjoy Botany in a Day (great book to break down plant categorization) or Nature's Garden (in-depth plant foraging).

Not super unusual, but I like to theme gift for my nieces and nephew. This year it's udon noodle bowls...a patterned bowl with space to rest chopsticks (a divot and a hole at the top).

Honestly, we get the biggest bang for Monikers, which is a Charades style game, but each round uses the same cards with less communication (1st round-everything but words, 2nd round-1 word, 3rd round-only gesture, etc.). The funny thing is that the limited pool of words means you're creating in-joke kind of communication with later rounds building on what came before. Some not safe for children material and pop culture stuff but it's easy to remove things before play.