Free Republic

Bao Sinh Dog-Cat Resort is testament to changing times Relatives offered words of comfort to a teary-eyed woman paying her last respects as an undertaker slammed shut the door of the cremation chamber and flames engulfed the small coffin of a cherished family member. The hastily arranged prayers, cremation and scattering of ashes in Vietnam's capital was for Capi, a 13-year-old dog that died that day after a battle with diabetes. Capi's owner had called Bao Sinh Dog-Cat Resort, a one-stop shop with services rivalling anything on offer to humans. "I'm so glad this place exists. Otherwise I wouldn't know...

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. This thread is non-political, although you will find that most here are conservative folks. No matter what, you won’t be flamed and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack the Weekly Gardening Thread. There is no telling where it will go and... that...

The Arizona Game and Fish Department is reminding residents to be aware that Halloween pumpkins, as well as fall decorations like gourds or squash, attract wildlife when displayed outdoors. “Javelina, coyotes, deer and even bears eat some of the vegetables that are part of traditional holiday displays,” said Regional Supervisor Raul Vega of Game and Fish in Tucson. “When displayed outdoors, they may attract wildlife to homes, potentially creating conflicts with people.” The department recommends that decorated pumpkins and cornucopias be displayed indoors, on window sills to be seen from outside if desired, and then discarded securely to help prevent...

Where's the weekly thread? Anyone have more members of the list?

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. This thread is non-political, although you will find that most here are conservative folks. No matter what, you won’t be flamed and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack the Weekly Gardening Thread ... there is no telling where it will go and...

Several sadomasochists eagerly responded to an advert posted by an Austrian woman farmer seeking clients. But they didn't get the punishment they had hoped for. Instead, they found themselves doing farm labor in fetish gear, while paying for the privilege. To sadomasochists keen on fresh air and the country life, it must have seemed like a dream come true. A 35-year-old woman advertizing herself as a dominatrix promised strict discipline to paying clients on her farm in the northeast of Austria. Some 15 men responded to the advert posted in the Internet, and two or three took up the offer....

A river clean-up project this weekend in San Jose had a message of peace and tolerance as well. Dozens of Jewish teenagers worked side by side with Muslim teenagers, picking up trash along the Guadalupe River. They were part of a youth inter-faith group organized by the Jewish Federation of Silicon Valley and the Muslim Association of America. Organizers said these events teach kids and adults valuable lessons. "Everyone's introduced themselves to each other and got to meet people they didn't know and learned more about working together in our community," volunteer Diane Fisher said. Among the things picked up...

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. This thread is non-political, although you will find that most here are conservative folks. No matter what, you won’t be flamed and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack the Weekly Gardening Thread ... there is no telling where it will go and...

Conservationists working on its return are celebrating a milestone after the bee nested for the first time. The bee vanished from the UK in the 1980s, having suffered declines over the previous 60 years as its wildflower-rich grassland habitat was lost, and was officially declared extinct in 2000. A reintroduction project has brought queen bumblebees over from a healthy population in Sweden and after two releases of queens at the RSPB's Dungeness reserve in Kent, offspring worker bees have been recorded at the site for the first time. Nikki Gammans, who leads the project, said: "This is a milestone for...

Arizona Highways magazine today announced its October 2013 issue features an item on page 13, in which the fly agaric mushroom is identified as being edible. The fly agaric mushroom should not be consumed in its raw form because of its unpredictable psychotropic and physical effects. “This issue will not be sold on newsstands, and we are alerting our subscribers to the mistake. We regret the error,” said Win Holden, publisher of Arizona Highways magazine.

This year, as always, I grew a boatload of taters. Three or four varieties, plus I always have a few stragglers coming up from the previous year. Most of the plants flowered, and on a few of them I got pods, sort of tomato-like, but they have (I guess) potato seeds in them. Does anyone know is it safe to grow potatoes from seed? I seem to recall reading that the solanum type plants tend to cross breed and can pick up wild pollen - the thing I'm wondering is if I might somehow end up growing some truly killer...

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. This thread is non-political, although you will find that most here are conservative folks. No matter what, you won’t be flamed and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack the Weekly Gardening Thread ... there is no telling where it will go and...

A plant-hopping insect found in gardens across Europe - has hind-leg joints with curved cog-like strips of opposing 'teeth' that intermesh, rotating like mechanical gears to synchronise the animal's legs when it launches into a jump. This image shows cog wheels connecting the hind legs of the plant hopper, Issus. Credit: Burrows/Sutton Photograph of an Issus nymph. Credit: Malcolm Burrows The finding demonstrates that gear mechanisms previously thought to be solely man-made have an evolutionary precedent. Scientists say this is the "first observation of mechanical gearing in a biological structure". Through a combination of anatomical analysis and high-speed video capture...

Knowledge is something that takes time to develop, so we need to start teaching the next generation now. In case God forbid, our children are left to fend for themselves or we are injured or even just to make your family more apt to survive, every child must learn these survival skills so they can pull their own weight and contribute as much as they can. If yourfamily learns now to be a well oiled machine, you will be more likely to survive any type of collapse. Grow vegetables from seedsHave local edible and medicinal plant foraging skillsKnowledge of dietary...

Crop rotation is the practice of growing different crops, on the same land, in sequential planting cycles ranging from 2 to 8 years...

A praying mantis interacts with Florida players during today's Marlins/Nationals game. Some enjoy the mantis's company, other are less than amused. One freaks out when the mantis jumps on him which sends the announcers into a laughing fit.

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. This thread is non-political, although you will find that most here are conservative folks. No matter what, you won’t be flamed and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack the Weekly Gardening Thread ... there is no telling where it will go and...

A number of intestinal pathogens can cause problems after antibiotic administration, said Justin Sonnenburg, PhD, assistant professor of microbiology and immunology and the senior author of the study, to be published online Sept. 1 in Nature. Graduate students Katharine Ng and Jessica Ferreyra shared lead authorship. "Antibiotics open the door for these pathogens to take hold. But how, exactly, that occurs hasn't been well understood," Sonnenburg said. In the first 24 hours after administration of oral antibiotics, a spike in carbohydrate availability takes place in the gut, the study says. This transient nutrient surplus, combined with the reduction of friendly...

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. This thread is non-political, although you will find that most here are conservative folks. No matter what, you won’t be flamed and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack the Weekly Gardening Thread ... there is no telling where it will go and...

More than 128,000 Giant African Land Snails have been found and eradicated in the two years since the highly destructive creatures invaded the Miami-Dade area, Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Adam H. Putnam says. While it's too soon to declare victory, "we are confident that we will win this fight," Putnam adds. Part of the credit, officials say, should go to "canine detector teams" that are sniffing out snails in places that are tough for humans to search. According to South Florida's WTVJ-TV, one of the Labrador Retrievers out hunting snails is Bear — a U.S. Department of Agriculture canine who...

AUGUST 29--A South Carolina couple was arrested yesterday for having sex inside a display shed at a Home Depot, police report. Emily Craig, 20, and Shaun Bowden, 31, were nabbed after cops were called to the store in North Charleston around 8:40 AM. Officers were dispatched to the business “in reference to an male and female entering a display shed on the property, closing the door behind themselves and remaining inside,” according to a North Charleston Police Department report. An inspection of the outdoor sheds turned up Craig and Bowden. Craig, cops noted, was “partially clothed; the top of her...

A natural bacterial colonization process could end the proposed regulation of agricultural nitrate and taxation of fertilizer in California. Energy costs to produce synthetic nitrogen fertilizers could also be eliminated. It could also eventually render unnecessary overkill stormwater regulations in Los Angeles County, as well as put a damper on the market for organic food products. Nitrogen Fix book coverResearchers at the University of Nottingham Center for Crop Nitrogen Fixation in Britain have announced a breakthrough that could make it unnecessary to use potentially polluting and energy intensive fertilizer to grow crops. The process occurs naturally and does not involved...

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. This thread is non-political, although you will find that most here are conservative folks. No matter what, you won’t be flamed and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack the Weekly Gardening Thread ... there is no telling where it will go and...

Pop lids, add juice, re-water bath? Keep as is, drop sealed jars into pressure canner? Live dangerously?

A new study has warned that Europe’s forests are showing signs of reaching saturation point in their ability to absorb carbon dioxide. … Forests currently soak up about 10 percent of Europe’s emissions, but woodlands from Spain to Sweden are getting older and are packed with trees that are less efficient at soaking them up. … The information comes in a study published in the journal Nature Climate Change. …

Justine and Brian Denison sat they adhere to all the growing practices required for organic certification, yet if they label their beans and tomatoes "organic" at the farmer's market, they could face federal charges and $20,000 or more in fines.

This would seem to embody the USDA’s advisory, “Know your farmer, know your food,” right? Not exactly. For the USDA and its sister food regulator, the FDA, there’s a problem: many of the farmers are distributing the food via private contracts like herd shares and leasing arrangements, which fall outside the regulatory system of state and local retail licenses and inspections that govern public food sales. In response, federal and state regulators are seeking legal sanctions against farmers in Maine, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and California, among others. These sanctions include injunctions, fines, and even prison sentences.

My tomatoes are just producing ALOT of leaves and LITTLE TINY Yellow flowers but NO "fruit" yet. Is this normal? All you FreeRepublic Gardeners have any answers for me? I Live in W/ Iowa(Council Bluffs).

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. This thread is non-political, although you will find that most here are conservative folks. No matter what, you won’t be flamed and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack the Weekly Gardening Thread ... there is no telling where it will go and...

I posted an article earlier today detailing some of the latest "successes" of the Summer of Recovery ver 5.3 There are a lot of FReepers who don't seem to be sharing in the munificent economic blessings of His Most Worshipfulness, Lord Buraq the First. It occurred to me that it's been quite awhile since I posted a thread on Money Saving ideas to share. So here ya go. Please share your ideas for saving money with your fellow FReepers. Here are some ideas to start the thread that I don't recall posting in the past. 1. If you have Verizon...

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/08/06/NYC-heThe Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. This thread is non-political, although you will find that most here are conservative folks. No matter what, you won’t be flamed and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack the Weekly Gardening Thread ... there is no telling where it will go and...

About the Holiday Inspired by the "Submit an Entry" form in a copy of Chase's Calendar of Events, Roy and his wife, Ruth, have launched several creative holidays. A few suggestions from Tom Roy's "Top 20 List for successful sneaking of Zucchini or otherwise ridding yourself of unwanted surplus summer squash:" (Note: Allrecipes does not endorse any of these activities.) •Look for out-of-the-way places which have signs posted, "Clean Fill Wanted." •Under light of full moon, either stark naked or wearing full army camouflage, carrying a machete or any garden implement, run amuck in your zucchini patch, cutting and slashing....

Eco-couple told to pull down their 'hobbit home' made entirely out of natural materials . . . but without planning permission Family of three is made homeless by planning inspector's decision They built their home from scratch, but have been ordered to tear it down The couple admit they built it without first getting planning permission Their labour of love was branded 'harmful' to the countryside A young couple have been left heartbroken after planners ordered their unique 'hobbit home' to be bulldozed, effectively leaving them homeless. Charlie Hague and Megan Williams, both 25, built the roundhouse from scratch with...

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. This thread is non-political, although you will find that most here are conservative folks. No matter what, you won’t be flamed and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack the Weekly Gardening Thread ... there is no telling where it will go and...

Whatever happened to loving thy neighbor? An unidentified Iowan woman — “Crazy rhubarb lady,” as the Internet hath dubbed her — has rocketed to online infamy this week when video appeared online of her shouting a long string of profanities at a homeowner who caught her removing rhubarbs from a patch that had found its way outside the limits of a fence. Apparently “Crazy Rhubarb Lady” has made a habit of plucking rhubarb from a neighbor’s patch, and has been confronted multiple times, but only when the cameras are rolling does the public get a glimpse into the hilarity of...

A giant fungus the size of a tyre has been found by villagers in China's Jianshui County. The large clump of mushrooms, which weighed more than 15 kilograms and measured nearly a metre in diameter, was proudly put on display by the finder. It is not known what type of fungus it is or whether the mushrooms are safe to eat.

Today was our first full day in Singapore and there could not have been a more beautiful introduction than our tour of the Botanic Gardens. Singapore Botanic Gardens are known for their orchids and in 1957 the country began to name selected orchid hybrids after State Visitors to foster closer ties between nations. As an avid gardener, I am honored that they chose to name a deep purple Dendrobium orchid the “Joe and Jill Biden” during our visit today. We’ll bring some “Joe and Jill Biden” orchids back to DC to display at the Vice President’s Residence. After leaving the...

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. This thread is non-political, although you will find that most here are conservative folks. No matter what, you won’t be flamed and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack the Weekly Gardening Thread ... there is no telling where it will go and...

Korea is rapidly losing its “kimchi sovereignty” to China. The country's exports of kimchi to Japan have plunged this year, with China taking up the slack. More alarming is the fact that Beijing has “banned” the import of kimchi from Seoul by radically toughening regulations on imported food. No domestic kimchi maker has sold its product into the Chinese market so far this year, according to the Korea Agro-Fisheries and Food Trade Corporation (aT). Japan is the biggest buyer of Korean kimchi, followed by the United States and China. Last year alone, the neighboring country’s imports amounted to $84.58 million,...

WASHINGTON — The long wait is finally over for visitors who have been yearning for a whiff of a giant flower that smells oddly like rotting flesh.

The long wait is finally over for visitors who have been yearning for a whiff of a giant flower that smells oddly like rotting flesh. The giant rainforest plant known as a “corpse flower” for its terrible smell began blooming Sunday afternoon at the U.S. Botanic Garden next to the Capitol. Experts had been anticipating its bloom for more than a week and have extended the garden’s hours for visitors. …

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. This thread is non-political, although you will find that most here are conservative folks. No matter what, you won’t be flamed and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack the Weekly Gardening Thread ... there is no telling where it will go and...

<p>Honda, in conjunction with Top Gear magazine and racing outfit Team Dynamics, has built a high performance ride-on lawn mower capable of reaching speeds up to 130 mph.</p> <p>And, yes, it can still cut the grass.</p> <p>The so-called Mean Mower started out as a production Honda HF2620 Lawn Tractor before the team replaced its stock 20 hp motor with the 109 hp 1,000 cc V-twin from a Honda VTR1000 Firestorm sport bike along with its six-speed transmission and reengineered the suspension to handle a set of ATV wheels and tires.</p>

There are no plans to impose a hosepipe ban despite the heatwave affecting much of the UK, the BBC has been told. Water UK, which represents all major water companies, said there was no need to panic as reservoir levels were where they should be. Many parts of the country are looking parched after more than a week of hot weather, and the situation is set to continue for another week. Meanwhile, commuters have been facing more disruption because of the heat. Train services in and out of London's Waterloo station are back to normal after severe delays on Monday...

An old man lived alone in West Virginia. He wanted to spade his potato garden but it was very hard work. His only son, Bubba, who used to help him, was in prison. The old man wrote a letter to his son and mentioned his predicament. "Dear Bubba, I am feeling pretty bad because it looks like I won't be able to plant my potato garden this year. I'm just getting too old to be digging up a garden plot. If you were here, all my troubles would be over. I know you would dig the plot for me. Love,...

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. This thread is non-political, although you will find that most here are conservative folks. No matter what, you won’t be flamed and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack the Weekly Gardening Thread ... there is no telling where it will go and...

The English colonists who landed at Jamestown 400 years ago undermined an ecosystem and changed the continent forever. It is just possible that John Rolfe was responsible for the worms—specifically the common night crawler and the red marsh worm, creatures that did not exist in the Americas before Columbus. Rolfe was a colonist in Jamestown, Virginia, the first successful English colony in North America. Most people know him today, if they know him at all, as the man who married Pocahontas. A few history buffs understand that Rolfe was one of the primary forces behind Jamestown's eventual success. The worms...

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. This thread is non-political, although you will find that most here are conservative folks. No matter what, you won’t be flamed and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack the Weekly Gardening Thread ... there is no telling where it will go and...

Elaine Silets is a train lover like no other. Not only did she make a career out of building model train displays but her expansive estate is an homage to the locomotive. And over the weekend, Silets did something she does but once per year: she opened up her gardens to the public and something like 6,000 curious train lovers descended on her home. With10 acres of gardens, waterfalls, lakes, trestles, bridges, and replica towns and pastoral scenes, her Glorée & Tryumfant Garden Railway in North Barrington, Illinois, it’s no wonder they call her the Train Lady. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2354273/Thousands-flock-tour-Train-Ladys-massive-model-train-filled-estate-garden.html#ixzz2Y0XtGBOq

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. This thread is non-political, although you will find that most here are conservative folks. No matter what, you won’t be flamed and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack the Weekly Gardening Thread ... there is no telling where it will go and...