On 10/2/2017 7:58 AM, George Shirley wrote:
On 10/2/2017 6:30 AM, Frank wrote:
On 10/1/2017 10:34 PM, songbird wrote:
Pavel314 wrote:
...
A friend of ours has several large black walnut trees in her yard.
She can't use them all so she invited us up to gather as many as we
wanted. We went up there last week and came home with three
five-gallon pails full. My wife is processing them; she says it
reminds her of her childhood in the mountains of eastern Tennessee.

Â*Â* there's a lot of black walnut trees around
here, the squirrels drop them in the road and
let people run over them.

Â*Â* last time i picked a bunch of black walnuts
and shelled them out i made some black walnut
cookies.Â* it was a lot of work but worth it.
i tried making walnut cookies with regular
walnuts, but they just weren't the same...

Â*Â* i will likely buy some black walnuts next
time i make those kind of cookies.Â* my hands
are too useful to risk more damage like that.


Â*Â* songbird


I made the mistake of planting a couple of English walnuts.Â* Never got
any nuts as squirrels would get to them before they even matured.
Early this year one got blown over and I had it removed but it
displaced the other and it is not tolerating it well so I have to have
it removed.

Been over 40 years ago that we moved into this house when it was new
and I am still correcting my planting mistakes with trees and bushes.
Been there, done that. Every house we've lived in has been spruced up,
the gardens done to our wants, then we move on to my next job as I
climbed the management of safety in chemical plants and refineries
around the world. I'm pretty sure we're going to stay in this house
until we're either dead or gone to a nursing home. Small property but
wife has most of the ground covered with flowers, etc. and our small
vegetable garden. At our age that's about what we can handle. I keep the
books, wife keeps the small lawn mowed, and takes care of the gardens. I
also do most of the cooking and cleaning. Can't walk well on uneven
ground but can get around with my cane in the house. Works well for us
and has been working well for a goodly amount of time.

George, up early to feed the dawg, as usual.

I have nearly an acre on a sloped lot. Very hilly neighborhood and most
of the neighbors on my street let back yards grow wild but wife likes
ours mowed which is getting increasingly harder to get mower down hill.
Too steep for a riding mower. I lucked out this year with a next door
neighbor cutting the back which he can access from his lot with his
rider. He does it for the cost of the fuel which in this instance is an
occasional case of Heineken. Unfortunately he is moving due to new job
for his wife so next year I may have to hire someone.

Will have three new neighbors on both sides and back next year. Most
important is one in the back to access back yard from his driveway
running entire length of my lot. Tree cutter has used it a couple of
times and will need it again when leaves are down in a couple of months.
Our son loves this house and would have bought it except for the 2-3
acres it is on are so sloppy and 700 ft drive is too much. I had
another neighbor down the road with 22 acres with a 0.4 mile drive. He
died at age 90 but was still an adjunct professor at U. of Delaware who
walked to work nearly 10 miles away, believe it or not.

On 10/2/2017 8:00 AM, George Shirley wrote:
On 10/2/2017 6:33 AM, Frank wrote:
On 10/1/2017 10:30 PM, songbird wrote:
Frank wrote:
...
I'm into chestnut season.Â* I don't save as many but like to shell and
freeze to use with stuffing turkey. I'll chomp on them in the evening
with a glass of wine but they last less than 2 months in the
refrigerator as they do not keep like fatty nuts such as peanuts.

Â*Â* i didn't think there were any of those
trees still around any longer?


I hate to leave them for the deer and the squirrels and saturate my
friends with them.Â* Invited neighbors over today to pick up as much as
they wanted.

Â*Â* in the days before the fungi they were a major
source of fodder for animals in the forest and
many people would let pigs run to fatten up and
then...


Â*Â* songbird


Mine are Chinese chestnuts.Â* The American chestnut is supposedly
returning and a few years ago I tried a few of these chestnuts and
they tasted the same.Â* I don't think the wood of the Chinese tree is
as good as the American tree.
I have never seen an American chestnut, don't think they grew in my part
of Texas. Have eaten Chinese chestnuts, do they have the same taste?

George

It's been years since I tasted them. I think taste was same as Chinese
chestnuts and they were slightly smaller. This was at friends hunting
camp in central PA. Guy that brought them in said they were American
chestnuts.

I tried to sell some to local market years ago but they refused as there
is a worm problem. There is a chestnut weevil that I have never seen
but it lays eggs on the hull and they burrow into the chestnut. I spray
with Sevin but can't reach the tops of both trees and often see a lot of
worms. These little buggers can even bore through a plastic bag. I'm
sure I've eaten more than a few. This year's crop appears clean. You
spray for 3-4 weeks weekly about 6 weeks before harvest.

On 10/2/2017 8:36 AM, Frank wrote:
On 10/2/2017 7:58 AM, George Shirley wrote:
On 10/2/2017 6:30 AM, Frank wrote:
On 10/1/2017 10:34 PM, songbird wrote:
Pavel314 wrote:
...
A friend of ours has several large black walnut trees in her yard.
She can't use them all so she invited us up to gather as many as we
wanted. We went up there last week and came home with three
five-gallon pails full. My wife is processing them; she says it
reminds her of her childhood in the mountains of eastern Tennessee.

Â*Â* there's a lot of black walnut trees around
here, the squirrels drop them in the road and
let people run over them.

Â*Â* last time i picked a bunch of black walnuts
and shelled them out i made some black walnut
cookies.Â* it was a lot of work but worth it.
i tried making walnut cookies with regular
walnuts, but they just weren't the same...

Â*Â* i will likely buy some black walnuts next
time i make those kind of cookies.Â* my hands
are too useful to risk more damage like that.


Â*Â* songbird


I made the mistake of planting a couple of English walnuts.Â* Never
got any nuts as squirrels would get to them before they even matured.
Early this year one got blown over and I had it removed but it
displaced the other and it is not tolerating it well so I have to
have it removed.

Been over 40 years ago that we moved into this house when it was new
and I am still correcting my planting mistakes with trees and bushes.
Been there, done that. Every house we've lived in has been spruced up,
the gardens done to our wants, then we move on to my next job as I
climbed the management of safety in chemical plants and refineries
around the world. I'm pretty sure we're going to stay in this house
until we're either dead or gone to a nursing home. Small property but
wife has most of the ground covered with flowers, etc. and our small
vegetable garden. At our age that's about what we can handle. I keep
the books, wife keeps the small lawn mowed, and takes care of the
gardens. I also do most of the cooking and cleaning. Can't walk well
on uneven ground but can get around with my cane in the house. Works
well for us and has been working well for a goodly amount of time.

George, up early to feed the dawg, as usual.

I have nearly an acre on a sloped lot.Â* Very hilly neighborhood and most
of the neighbors on my street let back yards grow wild but wife likes
ours mowed which is getting increasingly harder to get mower down hill.
Too steep for a riding mower.Â* I lucked out this year with a next door
neighbor cutting the back which he can access from his lot with his
rider.Â* He does it for the cost of the fuel which in this instance is an
occasional case of Heineken.Â* Unfortunately he is moving due to new job
for his wife so next year I may have to hire someone.

Will have three new neighbors on both sides and back next year.Â* Most
important is one in the back to access back yard from his driveway
running entire length of my lot.Â* Tree cutter has used it a couple of
times and will need it again when leaves are down in a couple of months.
Our son loves this house and would have bought it except for the 2-3
acres it is on are so sloppy and 700 ft drive is too much.Â* I had
another neighbor down the road with 22 acres with a 0.4 mile drive.Â* He
died at age 90 but was still an adjunct professor at U. of Delaware who
walked to work nearly 10 miles away, believe it or not.
I can believe that, my Uncle Gus lived to be 91 and was blind and deaf
then. He was my father's next down brother and a good man, was a member
of three different unions and worked until he was in his late sixties
and didn't want to retire then but was forced out. He didn't want to NOT
work, not many people can say that. I retired at 65 as a lone wolf
safety professional, was very sick, docs said I would be dead soon. Gave
my business to a very good friend who couldn't afford to buy it but we
got gifts every month for two years, not asked for but given for thanks.
He grew the company to ten times the income I had pulled in but I didn't
want to work to much. G Now his two sons are running the business and
doing well. Makes me feel good that I started something that keeps
paying off to the people I like. Nowadays I nap a lot, read lots of
books, watch tv, brush and bathe the dog, cook meals for us, do the
grocery shopping, then more naps. My body is not doing much for me, to
many years of climbing towers, hauling loads, arthritis, diabetes, heart
disease, etc. (all of which run in the men of my family) but I can still
teach the grands and great grands, and, I hope, the great great grands
if I can still keep going.

On 10/2/2017 11:21 AM, Frank wrote:
On 10/2/2017 8:00 AM, George Shirley wrote:
On 10/2/2017 6:33 AM, Frank wrote:
On 10/1/2017 10:30 PM, songbird wrote:
Frank wrote:
...
I'm into chestnut season.Â* I don't save as many but like to shell and
freeze to use with stuffing turkey. I'll chomp on them in the evening
with a glass of wine but they last less than 2 months in the
refrigerator as they do not keep like fatty nuts such as peanuts.

Â*Â* i didn't think there were any of those
trees still around any longer?


I hate to leave them for the deer and the squirrels and saturate my
friends with them.Â* Invited neighbors over today to pick up as much as
they wanted.

Â*Â* in the days before the fungi they were a major
source of fodder for animals in the forest and
many people would let pigs run to fatten up and
then...


Â*Â* songbird


Mine are Chinese chestnuts.Â* The American chestnut is supposedly
returning and a few years ago I tried a few of these chestnuts and
they tasted the same.Â* I don't think the wood of the Chinese tree is
as good as the American tree.
I have never seen an American chestnut, don't think they grew in my
part of Texas. Have eaten Chinese chestnuts, do they have the same taste?

George

It's been years since I tasted them.Â* I think taste was same as Chinese
chestnuts and they were slightly smaller.Â* This was at friends hunting
camp in central PA.Â* Guy that brought them in said they were American
chestnuts.

I tried to sell some to local market years ago but they refused as there
is a worm problem.Â* There is a chestnut weevil that I have never seen
but it lays eggs on the hull and they burrow into the chestnut.Â* I spray
with Sevin but can't reach the tops of both trees and often see a lot of
worms.Â* These little buggers can even bore through a plastic bag.Â* I'm
sure I've eaten more than a few.Â* This year's crop appears clean.Â* You
spray for 3-4 weeks weekly about 6 weeks before harvest.
We tried growing everything without sprays, etc. and damned near died
from what all was eating our gardens. Now we just spray and then wash
stuff from the garden. It's hell trying to grown things "naturally" when
the world is full of things that want to screw up your garden.
Particularly when you're close enough to the harbor for Houston and all
the junk the ships bring in. Some have destroyed crops that have been
grown for a very long time. Then the gubmint says "You can't spray that,
it might hurt the atmosphere or something else." Heck, I used to flag
crop dusters as a kid with just a bandana tied over my face. I think all
that "poison" is why I'm still around, sort of like being petrified or
so0mething. VBG

On 10/2/2017 4:55 PM, George Shirley wrote:
On 10/2/2017 11:21 AM, Frank wrote:
On 10/2/2017 8:00 AM, George Shirley wrote:
On 10/2/2017 6:33 AM, Frank wrote:
On 10/1/2017 10:30 PM, songbird wrote:
Frank wrote:
...
I'm into chestnut season.Â* I don't save as many but like to shell and
freeze to use with stuffing turkey. I'll chomp on them in the evening
with a glass of wine but they last less than 2 months in the
refrigerator as they do not keep like fatty nuts such as peanuts.

Â*Â* i didn't think there were any of those
trees still around any longer?


I hate to leave them for the deer and the squirrels and saturate my
friends with them.Â* Invited neighbors over today to pick up as
much as
they wanted.

Â*Â* in the days before the fungi they were a major
source of fodder for animals in the forest and
many people would let pigs run to fatten up and
then...


Â*Â* songbird


Mine are Chinese chestnuts.Â* The American chestnut is supposedly
returning and a few years ago I tried a few of these chestnuts and
they tasted the same.Â* I don't think the wood of the Chinese tree is
as good as the American tree.
I have never seen an American chestnut, don't think they grew in my
part of Texas. Have eaten Chinese chestnuts, do they have the same
taste?

George

It's been years since I tasted them.Â* I think taste was same as
Chinese chestnuts and they were slightly smaller.Â* This was at friends
hunting camp in central PA.Â* Guy that brought them in said they were
American chestnuts.

I tried to sell some to local market years ago but they refused as
there is a worm problem.Â* There is a chestnut weevil that I have never
seen but it lays eggs on the hull and they burrow into the chestnut.
I spray with Sevin but can't reach the tops of both trees and often
see a lot of worms.Â* These little buggers can even bore through a
plastic bag.Â* I'm sure I've eaten more than a few.Â* This year's crop
appears clean.Â* You spray for 3-4 weeks weekly about 6 weeks before
harvest.
We tried growing everything without sprays, etc. and damned near died
from what all was eating our gardens. Now we just spray and then wash
stuff from the garden. It's hell trying to grown things "naturally" when
the world is full of things that want to screw up your garden.
Particularly when you're close enough to the harbor for Houston and all
the junk the ships bring in. Some have destroyed crops that have been
grown for a very long time. Then the gubmint says "You can't spray that,
it might hurt the atmosphere or something else." Heck, I used to flag
crop dusters as a kid with just a bandana tied over my face. I think all
that "poison" is why I'm still around, sort of like being petrified or
so0mething. VBG

When your trees are fairly isolated from similar trees all the enemies
surround them nearby. I had trouble with apple worms and fungus when I
had apple trees. I used to bicycle past an orchard on Sunday mornings
and saw them spraying. Bet there was not a bug or fungus within a mile
after they were done. I also suspect they did not have to spray that
often as it would take awhile before they were invaded by surrounding bugs.

Probably same for squirrels when I tried to raise English walnuts. If
an orchard knocked their population down it would take a much longer
time to recover than my trees surrounded by woods full of squirrels.

I may be a chemist but do not believe in the liberal use of chemicals
but in their judicious use.

On 10/2/2017 5:54 PM, Frank wrote:
On 10/2/2017 4:55 PM, George Shirley wrote:
On 10/2/2017 11:21 AM, Frank wrote:
On 10/2/2017 8:00 AM, George Shirley wrote:
On 10/2/2017 6:33 AM, Frank wrote:
On 10/1/2017 10:30 PM, songbird wrote:
Frank wrote:
...
I'm into chestnut season.Â* I don't save as many but like to shell
and
freeze to use with stuffing turkey. I'll chomp on them in the
evening
with a glass of wine but they last less than 2 months in the
refrigerator as they do not keep like fatty nuts such as peanuts.

Â*Â* i didn't think there were any of those
trees still around any longer?


I hate to leave them for the deer and the squirrels and saturate my
friends with them.Â* Invited neighbors over today to pick up as
much as
they wanted.

Â*Â* in the days before the fungi they were a major
source of fodder for animals in the forest and
many people would let pigs run to fatten up and
then...


Â*Â* songbird


Mine are Chinese chestnuts.Â* The American chestnut is supposedly
returning and a few years ago I tried a few of these chestnuts and
they tasted the same.Â* I don't think the wood of the Chinese tree
is as good as the American tree.
I have never seen an American chestnut, don't think they grew in my
part of Texas. Have eaten Chinese chestnuts, do they have the same
taste?

George

It's been years since I tasted them.Â* I think taste was same as
Chinese chestnuts and they were slightly smaller.Â* This was at
friends hunting camp in central PA.Â* Guy that brought them in said
they were American chestnuts.

I tried to sell some to local market years ago but they refused as
there is a worm problem.Â* There is a chestnut weevil that I have
never seen but it lays eggs on the hull and they burrow into the
chestnut. I spray with Sevin but can't reach the tops of both trees
and often see a lot of worms.Â* These little buggers can even bore
through a plastic bag.Â* I'm sure I've eaten more than a few.Â* This
year's crop appears clean.Â* You spray for 3-4 weeks weekly about 6
weeks before harvest.
We tried growing everything without sprays, etc. and damned near died
from what all was eating our gardens. Now we just spray and then wash
stuff from the garden. It's hell trying to grown things "naturally"
when the world is full of things that want to screw up your garden.
Particularly when you're close enough to the harbor for Houston and
all the junk the ships bring in. Some have destroyed crops that have
been grown for a very long time. Then the gubmint says "You can't
spray that, it might hurt the atmosphere or something else." Heck, I
used to flag crop dusters as a kid with just a bandana tied over my
face. I think all that "poison" is why I'm still around, sort of like
being petrified or so0mething. VBG

When your trees are fairly isolated from similar trees all the enemies
surround them nearby.Â* I had trouble with apple worms and fungus when I
had apple trees.Â* I used to bicycle past an orchard on Sunday mornings
and saw them spraying.Â* Bet there was not a bug or fungus within a mile
after they were done.Â* I also suspect they did not have to spray that
often as it would take awhile before they were invaded by surrounding bugs.

Probably same for squirrels when I tried to raise English walnuts.Â* If
an orchard knocked their population down it would take a much longer
time to recover than my trees surrounded by woods full of squirrels.

I may be a chemist but do not believe in the liberal use of chemicals
but in their judicious use.
I made my living for sixteen years making chemicals, but not the type
you're thinking of, just little stuff like benzene, etc. G After the
16 years as a grunt I moved into management with several different
chemical plants and refineries. We were careful in handling the stuff
and what we sold off to other companies had the proper paper work for
handling them. Unfortunately lots of small companies made really bad
chemicals for bugs, etc. that were two steppers, get a good bit of the
chemical, walk two steps and fall over dead. Like you I am cautious
about any over the counter or home made chemicals and read the cautions
part four or five times. Breathing some of that stuff fifty years ago or
so didn't help my health. Anyone that handles any kind of chemical, even
the ones under the kitchen sink, needs to be fully aware of what happens
if you breath it, drink it, or get it on you. Amen!

On 10/2/2017 8:03 PM, George Shirley wrote:
On 10/2/2017 5:54 PM, Frank wrote:
On 10/2/2017 4:55 PM, George Shirley wrote:
On 10/2/2017 11:21 AM, Frank wrote:
On 10/2/2017 8:00 AM, George Shirley wrote:
On 10/2/2017 6:33 AM, Frank wrote:
On 10/1/2017 10:30 PM, songbird wrote:
Frank wrote:
...
I'm into chestnut season.Â* I don't save as many but like to
shell and
freeze to use with stuffing turkey. I'll chomp on them in the
evening
with a glass of wine but they last less than 2 months in the
refrigerator as they do not keep like fatty nuts such as peanuts.

Â*Â* i didn't think there were any of those
trees still around any longer?


I hate to leave them for the deer and the squirrels and saturate my
friends with them.Â* Invited neighbors over today to pick up as
much as
they wanted.

Â*Â* in the days before the fungi they were a major
source of fodder for animals in the forest and
many people would let pigs run to fatten up and
then...


Â*Â* songbird


Mine are Chinese chestnuts.Â* The American chestnut is supposedly
returning and a few years ago I tried a few of these chestnuts and
they tasted the same.Â* I don't think the wood of the Chinese tree
is as good as the American tree.
I have never seen an American chestnut, don't think they grew in my
part of Texas. Have eaten Chinese chestnuts, do they have the same
taste?

George

It's been years since I tasted them.Â* I think taste was same as
Chinese chestnuts and they were slightly smaller.Â* This was at
friends hunting camp in central PA.Â* Guy that brought them in said
they were American chestnuts.

I tried to sell some to local market years ago but they refused as
there is a worm problem.Â* There is a chestnut weevil that I have
never seen but it lays eggs on the hull and they burrow into the
chestnut. I spray with Sevin but can't reach the tops of both trees
and often see a lot of worms.Â* These little buggers can even bore
through a plastic bag.Â* I'm sure I've eaten more than a few.Â* This
year's crop appears clean.Â* You spray for 3-4 weeks weekly about 6
weeks before harvest.
We tried growing everything without sprays, etc. and damned near died
from what all was eating our gardens. Now we just spray and then wash
stuff from the garden. It's hell trying to grown things "naturally"
when the world is full of things that want to screw up your garden.
Particularly when you're close enough to the harbor for Houston and
all the junk the ships bring in. Some have destroyed crops that have
been grown for a very long time. Then the gubmint says "You can't
spray that, it might hurt the atmosphere or something else." Heck, I
used to flag crop dusters as a kid with just a bandana tied over my
face. I think all that "poison" is why I'm still around, sort of like
being petrified or so0mething. VBG

When your trees are fairly isolated from similar trees all the enemies
surround them nearby.Â* I had trouble with apple worms and fungus when
I had apple trees.Â* I used to bicycle past an orchard on Sunday
mornings and saw them spraying.Â* Bet there was not a bug or fungus
within a mile after they were done.Â* I also suspect they did not have
to spray that often as it would take awhile before they were invaded
by surrounding bugs.

Probably same for squirrels when I tried to raise English walnuts.Â* If
an orchard knocked their population down it would take a much longer
time to recover than my trees surrounded by woods full of squirrels.

I may be a chemist but do not believe in the liberal use of chemicals
but in their judicious use.
I made my living for sixteen years making chemicals, but not the type
you're thinking of, just little stuff like benzene, etc. G After the
16 years as a grunt I moved into management with several different
chemical plants and refineries. We were careful in handling the stuff
and what we sold off to other companies had the proper paper work for
handling them. Unfortunately lots of small companies made really bad
chemicals for bugs, etc. that were two steppers, get a good bit of the
chemical, walk two steps and fall over dead. Like you I am cautious
about any over the counter or home made chemicals and read the cautions
part four or five times. Breathing some of that stuff fifty years ago or
so didn't help my health. Anyone that handles any kind of chemical, even
the ones under the kitchen sink, needs to be fully aware of what happens
if you breath it, drink it, or get it on you. Amen!

No question. I am often telling my wife to be careful with her use of
bleach and need for ventilation when cooking.

I am very familiar with toxicology and have worked for years with
toxicologists and their labs. Now retired I have written and been
responsible for thousands of safety data sheets in my consulting.

When working, my company often refused to sell chemicals to companies
that could not handle them responsibly.

On 10/2/2017 7:22 PM, Frank wrote:
On 10/2/2017 8:03 PM, George Shirley wrote:
On 10/2/2017 5:54 PM, Frank wrote:
On 10/2/2017 4:55 PM, George Shirley wrote:
On 10/2/2017 11:21 AM, Frank wrote:
On 10/2/2017 8:00 AM, George Shirley wrote:
On 10/2/2017 6:33 AM, Frank wrote:
On 10/1/2017 10:30 PM, songbird wrote:
Frank wrote:
...
I'm into chestnut season.Â* I don't save as many but like to
shell and
freeze to use with stuffing turkey. I'll chomp on them in the
evening
with a glass of wine but they last less than 2 months in the
refrigerator as they do not keep like fatty nuts such as peanuts.

Â*Â* i didn't think there were any of those
trees still around any longer?


I hate to leave them for the deer and the squirrels and
saturate my
friends with them.Â* Invited neighbors over today to pick up as
much as
they wanted.

Â*Â* in the days before the fungi they were a major
source of fodder for animals in the forest and
many people would let pigs run to fatten up and
then...


Â*Â* songbird


Mine are Chinese chestnuts.Â* The American chestnut is supposedly
returning and a few years ago I tried a few of these chestnuts
and they tasted the same.Â* I don't think the wood of the Chinese
tree is as good as the American tree.
I have never seen an American chestnut, don't think they grew in
my part of Texas. Have eaten Chinese chestnuts, do they have the
same taste?

George

It's been years since I tasted them.Â* I think taste was same as
Chinese chestnuts and they were slightly smaller.Â* This was at
friends hunting camp in central PA.Â* Guy that brought them in said
they were American chestnuts.

I tried to sell some to local market years ago but they refused as
there is a worm problem.Â* There is a chestnut weevil that I have
never seen but it lays eggs on the hull and they burrow into the
chestnut. I spray with Sevin but can't reach the tops of both trees
and often see a lot of worms.Â* These little buggers can even bore
through a plastic bag.Â* I'm sure I've eaten more than a few.Â* This
year's crop appears clean.Â* You spray for 3-4 weeks weekly about 6
weeks before harvest.
We tried growing everything without sprays, etc. and damned near
died from what all was eating our gardens. Now we just spray and
then wash stuff from the garden. It's hell trying to grown things
"naturally" when the world is full of things that want to screw up
your garden. Particularly when you're close enough to the harbor for
Houston and all the junk the ships bring in. Some have destroyed
crops that have been grown for a very long time. Then the gubmint
says "You can't spray that, it might hurt the atmosphere or
something else." Heck, I used to flag crop dusters as a kid with
just a bandana tied over my face. I think all that "poison" is why
I'm still around, sort of like being petrified or so0mething. VBG

When your trees are fairly isolated from similar trees all the
enemies surround them nearby.Â* I had trouble with apple worms and
fungus when I had apple trees.Â* I used to bicycle past an orchard on
Sunday mornings and saw them spraying.Â* Bet there was not a bug or
fungus within a mile after they were done.Â* I also suspect they did
not have to spray that often as it would take awhile before they were
invaded by surrounding bugs.

Probably same for squirrels when I tried to raise English walnuts.
If an orchard knocked their population down it would take a much
longer time to recover than my trees surrounded by woods full of
squirrels.

I may be a chemist but do not believe in the liberal use of chemicals
but in their judicious use.
I made my living for sixteen years making chemicals, but not the type
you're thinking of, just little stuff like benzene, etc. G After the
16 years as a grunt I moved into management with several different
chemical plants and refineries. We were careful in handling the stuff
and what we sold off to other companies had the proper paper work for
handling them. Unfortunately lots of small companies made really bad
chemicals for bugs, etc. that were two steppers, get a good bit of the
chemical, walk two steps and fall over dead. Like you I am cautious
about any over the counter or home made chemicals and read the
cautions part four or five times. Breathing some of that stuff fifty
years ago or so didn't help my health. Anyone that handles any kind of
chemical, even the ones under the kitchen sink, needs to be fully
aware of what happens if you breath it, drink it, or get it on you. Amen!

No question.Â* I am often telling my wife to be careful with her use of
bleach and need for ventilation when cooking.
I do too, my wife often cooks without turning on the fan over the stove,
goes straight out through the wall. She's an artist, does that ring a
bell about safety? Years ago we lived in a small trailer house and I put
in a fan above the stove in the wall. When we built our first home I
sold the trailer and got an extra $100 bucks due to the fan, which cost
something like ten bucks. In those days I made $2.50 an hour as a top
operator in a chemical plant and ten bucks was a lot of money to us.
Nowadays guys doing what I did in the sixties are making what sounds
like big money but buys about the same amount of grub for us back then.

I am very familiar with toxicology and have worked for years with
toxicologists and their labs.Â* Now retired I have written and been
responsible for thousands of safety data sheets in my consulting.

When working, my company often refused to sell chemicals to companies
that could not handle them responsibly.
I hear that, happily I worked for years for Mobil, then moved on to some
of the larger chemical and refining companies. As a safety professional
I got several people fired for not doing their due diligence and have
pulled wounded and dead out of something that should never have
happened. You teach people the right way to do things and then they go
dumb on you just once and kaboom! I'm glad I'm retired and don't have to
do that anymore. We could certainly throw out some old stories over a
cup of coffee. I go to reunions for a couple of companies, now all
combined with the big boys, and we revisit our youth and some revisit
their foolishness. I'm glad I'm retired.

On 10/6/2017 12:38 PM, wrote:
songbird wrote:

i'm not sure where September went. too quickly
by for sure...
Yep; just remain living for a few more years and watch what
happens!
It's becoming the norm, I guess, but October's here and Derald is
'way behind in fall planting. Got mustards up and running and some
green beans that are 90% emergent a/o this morning. Late okra, planted
in mid-August, is beginning to produce. Field peas are away and gone to
compost and summer okras seem to be retiring but the eggplants are going
strong. Did plant a few tomatoes–about a month "late"–but don't know
yet where to put them. Planted three specimens each or three varieties:
Beefsteak, Homestead, Mortgage Lifter. First time for Mortgage Lifter.
Of the tomatoes claimed to have been "developed" for Florida (and that
I've actually grown), only the Homestead performs in my garden, so it
made the cut. Beefsteak, Big Boy, Better Boy, Early Girl all are
dependable here and hold out well in summer's heat, when in beds; not so
well in containers above ground.
Began prepping a bed for turnips and peas yesterday (10-4; really)
but the weather turned crappy early on and remained so, driving me
indoors I guess my days of gardening in the rain have passed. Today
seems to be following yesterday's pattern or, at least, not getting
sunny enough to dry the foliage.. More tropical goings-on down south,
in the Gulf, I suppose. 'Tis the season.

garden news, still working on the first strawberry
patch.
Man, I think the strawberries here are doomed. Mine have a few
stray daughers that need to be relocated but not sure I'm going to fool
with any that I'm not actually walking on. Some of the aerial offsets
are taking root in the side walls of the bed. I'll probably leave
those. Most of them are on the East side of a N/S bed so they'll be
shaded in afternoons. Since they're already in place, probably shall
leave the strawberries unmolested until spring, for another winter
harvest and then send them to compost. From last winter's crop, I ate
maybe three, DW ate maybe zero and getting the plants through another
Florida summer just wouldn't be worth the effort. I know now why
commercial producers in the region where I grew up raise strawberries as
annuals: For most of the year one is looking at non-productive green
stuff that must be watered, fed, and shaded from the sun from early June
through later in the year than now. I can always grow peas in that
space; they love the heat and the sunshine. Besides, the aphids really
like the peas, as do ants. Neither seems to think much of the strawberry
plants.

The boss lady and I turned out the 22 cubic foot freezer after lunch.
Found frozen stuff back to 2012 tucked away into corners. Still good
mostly but it seemed that several bags that were vacuum pumped didn't
actually seal. The contents went into the big pot to turn into soup for
later and the ones with frost bite went into the composter after thawing.

Took us over two hours to get everything back in the freezer and
properly labeled as to where what is. I don't think we will need to grow
certain vegetables for another two or three years. G Especially okra,
twelve bags for two of us to eat will last a long time.

Tomorrow we're going into the small freezer on our refrigerator, side by
side. Most of that is meats, sweets, etc. so should be easy. At least I
hope so. The big freezer now has a map magnet held to the door so we can
actually find things again. Will do the same with the smaller freezer. I
do need to clean out the refrigerator and give it a good cleaning and a
new container of baking soda to hold down scents.

The fall garden is in, green beans again, summer peppers are still
producing, the winter greens, etc. are up and growing. Kumquats are
starting to turn so will be harvesting by January, maybe, depends on
Texas weather. The pear tree still has several small pears still getting
a little bigger. Was afraid there would be no pears nor kumquats after
the hard freezes of last January. I would like to put in another fruit
tree but am not sure there is enough room in this small property.

George

On 10/2/2017 9:26 PM, George Shirley wrote:
On 10/2/2017 7:22 PM, Frank wrote:
On 10/2/2017 8:03 PM, George Shirley wrote:
On 10/2/2017 5:54 PM, Frank wrote:
On 10/2/2017 4:55 PM, George Shirley wrote:
On 10/2/2017 11:21 AM, Frank wrote:
On 10/2/2017 8:00 AM, George Shirley wrote:
On 10/2/2017 6:33 AM, Frank wrote:
On 10/1/2017 10:30 PM, songbird wrote:
Frank wrote:
...
I'm into chestnut season.Â* I don't save as many but like to
shell and
freeze to use with stuffing turkey. I'll chomp on them in the
evening
with a glass of wine but they last less than 2 months in the
refrigerator as they do not keep like fatty nuts such as peanuts.

Â*Â* i didn't think there were any of those
trees still around any longer?


I hate to leave them for the deer and the squirrels and
saturate my
friends with them.Â* Invited neighbors over today to pick up as
much as
they wanted.

Â*Â* in the days before the fungi they were a major
source of fodder for animals in the forest and
many people would let pigs run to fatten up and
then...


Â*Â* songbird


Mine are Chinese chestnuts.Â* The American chestnut is supposedly
returning and a few years ago I tried a few of these chestnuts
and they tasted the same.Â* I don't think the wood of the Chinese
tree is as good as the American tree.
I have never seen an American chestnut, don't think they grew in
my part of Texas. Have eaten Chinese chestnuts, do they have the
same taste?

George

It's been years since I tasted them.Â* I think taste was same as
Chinese chestnuts and they were slightly smaller.Â* This was at
friends hunting camp in central PA.Â* Guy that brought them in said
they were American chestnuts.

I tried to sell some to local market years ago but they refused as
there is a worm problem.Â* There is a chestnut weevil that I have
never seen but it lays eggs on the hull and they burrow into the
chestnut. I spray with Sevin but can't reach the tops of both
trees and often see a lot of worms.Â* These little buggers can even
bore through a plastic bag.Â* I'm sure I've eaten more than a few.
This year's crop appears clean.Â* You spray for 3-4 weeks weekly
about 6 weeks before harvest.
We tried growing everything without sprays, etc. and damned near
died from what all was eating our gardens. Now we just spray and
then wash stuff from the garden. It's hell trying to grown things
"naturally" when the world is full of things that want to screw up
your garden. Particularly when you're close enough to the harbor
for Houston and all the junk the ships bring in. Some have
destroyed crops that have been grown for a very long time. Then the
gubmint says "You can't spray that, it might hurt the atmosphere or
something else." Heck, I used to flag crop dusters as a kid with
just a bandana tied over my face. I think all that "poison" is why
I'm still around, sort of like being petrified or so0mething. VBG

When your trees are fairly isolated from similar trees all the
enemies surround them nearby.Â* I had trouble with apple worms and
fungus when I had apple trees.Â* I used to bicycle past an orchard on
Sunday mornings and saw them spraying.Â* Bet there was not a bug or
fungus within a mile after they were done.Â* I also suspect they did
not have to spray that often as it would take awhile before they
were invaded by surrounding bugs.

Probably same for squirrels when I tried to raise English walnuts.
If an orchard knocked their population down it would take a much
longer time to recover than my trees surrounded by woods full of
squirrels.

I may be a chemist but do not believe in the liberal use of
chemicals but in their judicious use.
I made my living for sixteen years making chemicals, but not the type
you're thinking of, just little stuff like benzene, etc. G After
the 16 years as a grunt I moved into management with several
different chemical plants and refineries. We were careful in handling
the stuff and what we sold off to other companies had the proper
paper work for handling them. Unfortunately lots of small companies
made really bad chemicals for bugs, etc. that were two steppers, get
a good bit of the chemical, walk two steps and fall over dead. Like
you I am cautious about any over the counter or home made chemicals
and read the cautions part four or five times. Breathing some of that
stuff fifty years ago or so didn't help my health. Anyone that
handles any kind of chemical, even the ones under the kitchen sink,
needs to be fully aware of what happens if you breath it, drink it,
or get it on you. Amen!

No question.Â* I am often telling my wife to be careful with her use of
bleach and need for ventilation when cooking.
I do too, my wife often cooks without turning on the fan over the stove,
goes straight out through the wall. She's an artist, does that ring a
bell about safety? Years ago we lived in a small trailer house and I put
in a fan above the stove in the wall. When we built our first home I
sold the trailer and got an extra $100 bucks due to the fan, which cost
something like ten bucks. In those days I made $2.50 an hour as a top
operator in a chemical plant and ten bucks was a lot of money to us.
Nowadays guys doing what I did in the sixties are making what sounds
like big money but buys about the same amount of grub for us back then.

I am very familiar with toxicology and have worked for years with
toxicologists and their labs.Â* Now retired I have written and been
responsible for thousands of safety data sheets in my consulting.

When working, my company often refused to sell chemicals to companies
that could not handle them responsibly.
I hear that, happily I worked for years for Mobil, then moved on to some
of the larger chemical and refining companies. As a safety professional
I got several people fired for not doing their due diligence and have
pulled wounded and dead out of something that should never have
happened. You teach people the right way to do things and then they go
dumb on you just once and kaboom! I'm glad I'm retired and don't have to
do that anymore. We could certainly throw out some old stories over a
cup of coffee. I go to reunions for a couple of companies, now all
combined with the big boys, and we revisit our youth and some revisit
their foolishness. I'm glad I'm retired.


I worked for DuPont in fibers and plastics R&D but spent the last 3
years as a regulatory affairs consultant. Had to take early retirement
as company began to shrink. They are now Dow-DuPont. The years in
regulatory gave me good experience to consult but that is now down to
1-2 days a month. Makes me stay current with computers and new rules.

On 10/6/2017 5:51 PM, Frank wrote:
On 10/2/2017 9:26 PM, George Shirley wrote:
On 10/2/2017 7:22 PM, Frank wrote:
On 10/2/2017 8:03 PM, George Shirley wrote:
On 10/2/2017 5:54 PM, Frank wrote:
On 10/2/2017 4:55 PM, George Shirley wrote:
On 10/2/2017 11:21 AM, Frank wrote:
On 10/2/2017 8:00 AM, George Shirley wrote:
On 10/2/2017 6:33 AM, Frank wrote:
On 10/1/2017 10:30 PM, songbird wrote:
Frank wrote:
...
I'm into chestnut season.Â* I don't save as many but like to
shell and
freeze to use with stuffing turkey. I'll chomp on them in the
evening
with a glass of wine but they last less than 2 months in the
refrigerator as they do not keep like fatty nuts such as
peanuts.

Â*Â* i didn't think there were any of those
trees still around any longer?


I hate to leave them for the deer and the squirrels and
saturate my
friends with them.Â* Invited neighbors over today to pick up
as much as
they wanted.

Â*Â* in the days before the fungi they were a major
source of fodder for animals in the forest and
many people would let pigs run to fatten up and
then...


Â*Â* songbird


Mine are Chinese chestnuts.Â* The American chestnut is
supposedly returning and a few years ago I tried a few of these
chestnuts and they tasted the same.Â* I don't think the wood of
the Chinese tree is as good as the American tree.
I have never seen an American chestnut, don't think they grew in
my part of Texas. Have eaten Chinese chestnuts, do they have the
same taste?

George

It's been years since I tasted them.Â* I think taste was same as
Chinese chestnuts and they were slightly smaller.Â* This was at
friends hunting camp in central PA.Â* Guy that brought them in
said they were American chestnuts.

I tried to sell some to local market years ago but they refused
as there is a worm problem.Â* There is a chestnut weevil that I
have never seen but it lays eggs on the hull and they burrow into
the chestnut. I spray with Sevin but can't reach the tops of both
trees and often see a lot of worms.Â* These little buggers can
even bore through a plastic bag.Â* I'm sure I've eaten more than a
few. This year's crop appears clean.Â* You spray for 3-4 weeks
weekly about 6 weeks before harvest.
We tried growing everything without sprays, etc. and damned near
died from what all was eating our gardens. Now we just spray and
then wash stuff from the garden. It's hell trying to grown things
"naturally" when the world is full of things that want to screw up
your garden. Particularly when you're close enough to the harbor
for Houston and all the junk the ships bring in. Some have
destroyed crops that have been grown for a very long time. Then
the gubmint says "You can't spray that, it might hurt the
atmosphere or something else." Heck, I used to flag crop dusters
as a kid with just a bandana tied over my face. I think all that
"poison" is why I'm still around, sort of like being petrified or
so0mething. VBG

When your trees are fairly isolated from similar trees all the
enemies surround them nearby.Â* I had trouble with apple worms and
fungus when I had apple trees.Â* I used to bicycle past an orchard
on Sunday mornings and saw them spraying.Â* Bet there was not a bug
or fungus within a mile after they were done.Â* I also suspect they
did not have to spray that often as it would take awhile before
they were invaded by surrounding bugs.

Probably same for squirrels when I tried to raise English walnuts.
If an orchard knocked their population down it would take a much
longer time to recover than my trees surrounded by woods full of
squirrels.

I may be a chemist but do not believe in the liberal use of
chemicals but in their judicious use.
I made my living for sixteen years making chemicals, but not the
type you're thinking of, just little stuff like benzene, etc. G
After the 16 years as a grunt I moved into management with several
different chemical plants and refineries. We were careful in
handling the stuff and what we sold off to other companies had the
proper paper work for handling them. Unfortunately lots of small
companies made really bad chemicals for bugs, etc. that were two
steppers, get a good bit of the chemical, walk two steps and fall
over dead. Like you I am cautious about any over the counter or home
made chemicals and read the cautions part four or five times.
Breathing some of that stuff fifty years ago or so didn't help my
health. Anyone that handles any kind of chemical, even the ones
under the kitchen sink, needs to be fully aware of what happens if
you breath it, drink it, or get it on you. Amen!

No question.Â* I am often telling my wife to be careful with her use
of bleach and need for ventilation when cooking.
I do too, my wife often cooks without turning on the fan over the
stove, goes straight out through the wall. She's an artist, does that
ring a bell about safety? Years ago we lived in a small trailer house
and I put in a fan above the stove in the wall. When we built our
first home I sold the trailer and got an extra $100 bucks due to the
fan, which cost something like ten bucks. In those days I made $2.50
an hour as a top operator in a chemical plant and ten bucks was a lot
of money to us. Nowadays guys doing what I did in the sixties are
making what sounds like big money but buys about the same amount of
grub for us back then.

I am very familiar with toxicology and have worked for years with
toxicologists and their labs.Â* Now retired I have written and been
responsible for thousands of safety data sheets in my consulting.

When working, my company often refused to sell chemicals to companies
that could not handle them responsibly.
I hear that, happily I worked for years for Mobil, then moved on to
some of the larger chemical and refining companies. As a safety
professional I got several people fired for not doing their due
diligence and have pulled wounded and dead out of something that
should never have happened. You teach people the right way to do
things and then they go dumb on you just once and kaboom! I'm glad I'm
retired and don't have to do that anymore. We could certainly throw
out some old stories over a cup of coffee. I go to reunions for a
couple of companies, now all combined with the big boys, and we
revisit our youth and some revisit their foolishness. I'm glad I'm
retired.


I worked for DuPont in fibers and plastics R&D but spent the last 3
years as a regulatory affairs consultant.Â* Had to take early retirement
as company began to shrink.Â* They are now Dow-DuPont.Â* The years in
regulatory gave me good experience to consult but that is now down to
1-2 days a month.Â* Makes me stay current with computers and new rules.
I spent the last sixteen or seventeen years of my career as a lone
safety professional, working from home. Wrote hundreds of safety
manual's, had a goodly amount of small companies that worked for the big
companies. Did their monthly safety meetings, wrote their safety
manuals, visited the big chemical plants and refineries, etc. to do walk
rounds to see if the client workers were working safely, etc. Enjoyed
doing the job on my own until one day I started having strokes and heart
attacks and finally had to retire. Gave my business to my best friend
who I had been training for some time. He called me a couple of weeks
ago, he turned 70 and turned the business over to his two sons to run.
So it keeps going on, I hope, with teaching people to be safe. I'm a
third generation worker in refineries, chemical plants, etc. and the
only one who worked in safety. I don't miss making the rounds as my
health is not so good, the reason I turned it over to my friend. Keep it
up my friend, you may be saving lives and doing good.

On 10/6/2017 9:23 PM, George Shirley wrote:
On 10/6/2017 5:51 PM, Frank wrote:
On 10/2/2017 9:26 PM, George Shirley wrote:
On 10/2/2017 7:22 PM, Frank wrote:
On 10/2/2017 8:03 PM, George Shirley wrote:
On 10/2/2017 5:54 PM, Frank wrote:
On 10/2/2017 4:55 PM, George Shirley wrote:
On 10/2/2017 11:21 AM, Frank wrote:
On 10/2/2017 8:00 AM, George Shirley wrote:
On 10/2/2017 6:33 AM, Frank wrote:
On 10/1/2017 10:30 PM, songbird wrote:
Frank wrote:
...
I'm into chestnut season.Â* I don't save as many but like to
shell and
freeze to use with stuffing turkey. I'll chomp on them in
the evening
with a glass of wine but they last less than 2 months in the
refrigerator as they do not keep like fatty nuts such as
peanuts.

Â*Â* i didn't think there were any of those
trees still around any longer?


I hate to leave them for the deer and the squirrels and
saturate my
friends with them.Â* Invited neighbors over today to pick up
as much as
they wanted.

Â*Â* in the days before the fungi they were a major
source of fodder for animals in the forest and
many people would let pigs run to fatten up and
then...


Â*Â* songbird


Mine are Chinese chestnuts.Â* The American chestnut is
supposedly returning and a few years ago I tried a few of
these chestnuts and they tasted the same.Â* I don't think the
wood of the Chinese tree is as good as the American tree.
I have never seen an American chestnut, don't think they grew
in my part of Texas. Have eaten Chinese chestnuts, do they have
the same taste?

George

It's been years since I tasted them.Â* I think taste was same as
Chinese chestnuts and they were slightly smaller.Â* This was at
friends hunting camp in central PA.Â* Guy that brought them in
said they were American chestnuts.

I tried to sell some to local market years ago but they refused
as there is a worm problem.Â* There is a chestnut weevil that I
have never seen but it lays eggs on the hull and they burrow
into the chestnut. I spray with Sevin but can't reach the tops
of both trees and often see a lot of worms.Â* These little
buggers can even bore through a plastic bag.Â* I'm sure I've
eaten more than a few. This year's crop appears clean.Â* You
spray for 3-4 weeks weekly about 6 weeks before harvest.
We tried growing everything without sprays, etc. and damned near
died from what all was eating our gardens. Now we just spray and
then wash stuff from the garden. It's hell trying to grown things
"naturally" when the world is full of things that want to screw
up your garden. Particularly when you're close enough to the
harbor for Houston and all the junk the ships bring in. Some have
destroyed crops that have been grown for a very long time. Then
the gubmint says "You can't spray that, it might hurt the
atmosphere or something else." Heck, I used to flag crop dusters
as a kid with just a bandana tied over my face. I think all that
"poison" is why I'm still around, sort of like being petrified or
so0mething. VBG

When your trees are fairly isolated from similar trees all the
enemies surround them nearby.Â* I had trouble with apple worms and
fungus when I had apple trees.Â* I used to bicycle past an orchard
on Sunday mornings and saw them spraying.Â* Bet there was not a bug
or fungus within a mile after they were done.Â* I also suspect they
did not have to spray that often as it would take awhile before
they were invaded by surrounding bugs.

Probably same for squirrels when I tried to raise English walnuts.
If an orchard knocked their population down it would take a much
longer time to recover than my trees surrounded by woods full of
squirrels.

I may be a chemist but do not believe in the liberal use of
chemicals but in their judicious use.
I made my living for sixteen years making chemicals, but not the
type you're thinking of, just little stuff like benzene, etc. G
After the 16 years as a grunt I moved into management with several
different chemical plants and refineries. We were careful in
handling the stuff and what we sold off to other companies had the
proper paper work for handling them. Unfortunately lots of small
companies made really bad chemicals for bugs, etc. that were two
steppers, get a good bit of the chemical, walk two steps and fall
over dead. Like you I am cautious about any over the counter or
home made chemicals and read the cautions part four or five times.
Breathing some of that stuff fifty years ago or so didn't help my
health. Anyone that handles any kind of chemical, even the ones
under the kitchen sink, needs to be fully aware of what happens if
you breath it, drink it, or get it on you. Amen!

No question.Â* I am often telling my wife to be careful with her use
of bleach and need for ventilation when cooking.
I do too, my wife often cooks without turning on the fan over the
stove, goes straight out through the wall. She's an artist, does that
ring a bell about safety? Years ago we lived in a small trailer house
and I put in a fan above the stove in the wall. When we built our
first home I sold the trailer and got an extra $100 bucks due to the
fan, which cost something like ten bucks. In those days I made $2.50
an hour as a top operator in a chemical plant and ten bucks was a lot
of money to us. Nowadays guys doing what I did in the sixties are
making what sounds like big money but buys about the same amount of
grub for us back then.

I am very familiar with toxicology and have worked for years with
toxicologists and their labs.Â* Now retired I have written and been
responsible for thousands of safety data sheets in my consulting.

When working, my company often refused to sell chemicals to
companies that could not handle them responsibly.
I hear that, happily I worked for years for Mobil, then moved on to
some of the larger chemical and refining companies. As a safety
professional I got several people fired for not doing their due
diligence and have pulled wounded and dead out of something that
should never have happened. You teach people the right way to do
things and then they go dumb on you just once and kaboom! I'm glad
I'm retired and don't have to do that anymore. We could certainly
throw out some old stories over a cup of coffee. I go to reunions for
a couple of companies, now all combined with the big boys, and we
revisit our youth and some revisit their foolishness. I'm glad I'm
retired.


I worked for DuPont in fibers and plastics R&D but spent the last 3
years as a regulatory affairs consultant.Â* Had to take early
retirement as company began to shrink.Â* They are now Dow-DuPont.Â* The
years in regulatory gave me good experience to consult but that is now
down to 1-2 days a month.Â* Makes me stay current with computers and
new rules.
I spent the last sixteen or seventeen years of my career as a lone
safety professional, working from home. Wrote hundreds of safety
manual's, had a goodly amount of small companies that worked for the big
companies. Did their monthly safety meetings, wrote their safety
manuals, visited the big chemical plants and refineries, etc. to do walk
rounds to see if the client workers were working safely, etc. Enjoyed
doing the job on my own until one day I started having strokes and heart
attacks and finally had to retire. Gave my business to my best friend
who I had been training for some time. He called me a couple of weeks
ago, he turned 70 and turned the business over to his two sons to run.
So it keeps going on, I hope, with teaching people to be safe. I'm a
third generation worker in refineries, chemical plants, etc. and the
only one who worked in safety. I don't miss making the rounds as my
health is not so good, the reason I turned it over to my friend. Keep it
up my friend, you may be saving lives and doing good.

My work dealt with safety of our polymer products. I was responsible
for elastomers, Teflon finishes and acrylics and monomers that made
them. I was department coordinator with our Haskell toxicology lab and
a backup TSCA coordinator. I worked with business managers setting up
product safety compliance reviews. We worked with company regulatory
groups in Canada, Europe and Asia so I had to be familiar with rules in
these areas. I had contacts with EPA, FDA and OSHA.

When I was in R&D our outlook was limited to R&D, manufacturing and
marketing with little contact with upper company management but
regulatory had me working with several upper management layers and it
was eye opening to learn business scope.

Before I left R&D DuPont Central Research tried to get me for a couple
of positions but since R&D was declining and these jobs were related to
another department, they shoved their people there. Probably ended up
better with gaining regulatory and safety skills as this lab is now kaput.

On 10/7/2017 6:33 AM, Frank wrote:
On 10/6/2017 9:23 PM, George Shirley wrote:
On 10/6/2017 5:51 PM, Frank wrote:
On 10/2/2017 9:26 PM, George Shirley wrote:
On 10/2/2017 7:22 PM, Frank wrote:
On 10/2/2017 8:03 PM, George Shirley wrote:
On 10/2/2017 5:54 PM, Frank wrote:
On 10/2/2017 4:55 PM, George Shirley wrote:
On 10/2/2017 11:21 AM, Frank wrote:
On 10/2/2017 8:00 AM, George Shirley wrote:
On 10/2/2017 6:33 AM, Frank wrote:
On 10/1/2017 10:30 PM, songbird wrote:
Frank wrote:
...
I'm into chestnut season.Â* I don't save as many but like to
shell and
freeze to use with stuffing turkey. I'll chomp on them in
the evening
with a glass of wine but they last less than 2 months in the
refrigerator as they do not keep like fatty nuts such as
peanuts.

Â*Â* i didn't think there were any of those
trees still around any longer?


I hate to leave them for the deer and the squirrels and
saturate my
friends with them.Â* Invited neighbors over today to pick up
as much as
they wanted.

Â*Â* in the days before the fungi they were a major
source of fodder for animals in the forest and
many people would let pigs run to fatten up and
then...


Â*Â* songbird


Mine are Chinese chestnuts.Â* The American chestnut is
supposedly returning and a few years ago I tried a few of
these chestnuts and they tasted the same.Â* I don't think the
wood of the Chinese tree is as good as the American tree.
I have never seen an American chestnut, don't think they grew
in my part of Texas. Have eaten Chinese chestnuts, do they
have the same taste?

George

It's been years since I tasted them.Â* I think taste was same as
Chinese chestnuts and they were slightly smaller.Â* This was at
friends hunting camp in central PA.Â* Guy that brought them in
said they were American chestnuts.

I tried to sell some to local market years ago but they refused
as there is a worm problem.Â* There is a chestnut weevil that I
have never seen but it lays eggs on the hull and they burrow
into the chestnut. I spray with Sevin but can't reach the tops
of both trees and often see a lot of worms.Â* These little
buggers can even bore through a plastic bag.Â* I'm sure I've
eaten more than a few. This year's crop appears clean.Â* You
spray for 3-4 weeks weekly about 6 weeks before harvest.
We tried growing everything without sprays, etc. and damned near
died from what all was eating our gardens. Now we just spray and
then wash stuff from the garden. It's hell trying to grown
things "naturally" when the world is full of things that want to
screw up your garden. Particularly when you're close enough to
the harbor for Houston and all the junk the ships bring in. Some
have destroyed crops that have been grown for a very long time.
Then the gubmint says "You can't spray that, it might hurt the
atmosphere or something else." Heck, I used to flag crop dusters
as a kid with just a bandana tied over my face. I think all that
"poison" is why I'm still around, sort of like being petrified
or so0mething. VBG

When your trees are fairly isolated from similar trees all the
enemies surround them nearby.Â* I had trouble with apple worms and
fungus when I had apple trees.Â* I used to bicycle past an orchard
on Sunday mornings and saw them spraying.Â* Bet there was not a
bug or fungus within a mile after they were done.Â* I also suspect
they did not have to spray that often as it would take awhile
before they were invaded by surrounding bugs.

Probably same for squirrels when I tried to raise English
walnuts. If an orchard knocked their population down it would
take a much longer time to recover than my trees surrounded by
woods full of squirrels.

I may be a chemist but do not believe in the liberal use of
chemicals but in their judicious use.
I made my living for sixteen years making chemicals, but not the
type you're thinking of, just little stuff like benzene, etc. G
After the 16 years as a grunt I moved into management with several
different chemical plants and refineries. We were careful in
handling the stuff and what we sold off to other companies had the
proper paper work for handling them. Unfortunately lots of small
companies made really bad chemicals for bugs, etc. that were two
steppers, get a good bit of the chemical, walk two steps and fall
over dead. Like you I am cautious about any over the counter or
home made chemicals and read the cautions part four or five times.
Breathing some of that stuff fifty years ago or so didn't help my
health. Anyone that handles any kind of chemical, even the ones
under the kitchen sink, needs to be fully aware of what happens if
you breath it, drink it, or get it on you. Amen!

No question.Â* I am often telling my wife to be careful with her use
of bleach and need for ventilation when cooking.
I do too, my wife often cooks without turning on the fan over the
stove, goes straight out through the wall. She's an artist, does
that ring a bell about safety? Years ago we lived in a small trailer
house and I put in a fan above the stove in the wall. When we built
our first home I sold the trailer and got an extra $100 bucks due to
the fan, which cost something like ten bucks. In those days I made
$2.50 an hour as a top operator in a chemical plant and ten bucks
was a lot of money to us. Nowadays guys doing what I did in the
sixties are making what sounds like big money but buys about the
same amount of grub for us back then.

I am very familiar with toxicology and have worked for years with
toxicologists and their labs.Â* Now retired I have written and been
responsible for thousands of safety data sheets in my consulting.

When working, my company often refused to sell chemicals to
companies that could not handle them responsibly.
I hear that, happily I worked for years for Mobil, then moved on to
some of the larger chemical and refining companies. As a safety
professional I got several people fired for not doing their due
diligence and have pulled wounded and dead out of something that
should never have happened. You teach people the right way to do
things and then they go dumb on you just once and kaboom! I'm glad
I'm retired and don't have to do that anymore. We could certainly
throw out some old stories over a cup of coffee. I go to reunions
for a couple of companies, now all combined with the big boys, and
we revisit our youth and some revisit their foolishness. I'm glad
I'm retired.


I worked for DuPont in fibers and plastics R&D but spent the last 3
years as a regulatory affairs consultant.Â* Had to take early
retirement as company began to shrink.Â* They are now Dow-DuPont.Â* The
years in regulatory gave me good experience to consult but that is
now down to 1-2 days a month.Â* Makes me stay current with computers
and new rules.
I spent the last sixteen or seventeen years of my career as a lone
safety professional, working from home. Wrote hundreds of safety
manual's, had a goodly amount of small companies that worked for the
big companies. Did their monthly safety meetings, wrote their safety
manuals, visited the big chemical plants and refineries, etc. to do
walk rounds to see if the client workers were working safely, etc.
Enjoyed doing the job on my own until one day I started having strokes
and heart attacks and finally had to retire. Gave my business to my
best friend who I had been training for some time. He called me a
couple of weeks ago, he turned 70 and turned the business over to his
two sons to run. So it keeps going on, I hope, with teaching people to
be safe. I'm a third generation worker in refineries, chemical plants,
etc. and the only one who worked in safety. I don't miss making the
rounds as my health is not so good, the reason I turned it over to my
friend. Keep it up my friend, you may be saving lives and doing good.

My work dealt with safety of our polymer products.Â* I was responsible
for elastomers, Teflon finishes and acrylics and monomers that made
them.Â* I was department coordinator with our Haskell toxicology lab and
a backup TSCA coordinator.Â* I worked with business managers setting up
product safety compliance reviews.Â* We worked with company regulatory
groups in Canada, Europe and Asia so I had to be familiar with rules in
these areas.Â* I had contacts with EPA, FDA and OSHA.

When I was in R&D our outlook was limited to R&D, manufacturing and
marketing with little contact with upper company management but
regulatory had me working with several upper management layers and it
was eye opening to learn business scope.

Before I left R&D DuPont Central Research tried to get me for a couple
of positions but since R&D was declining and these jobs were related to
another department, they shoved their people there.Â* Probably ended up
better with gaining regulatory and safety skills as this lab is now kaput.
I finally gave in and retired completely after seeing how bad some
companies were and are still. Stopped writing safety manuals and just
said the hell with it. I'm much happier and much healthier since I hung
up my hard hat. Still have problems from long ago strokes and heart
attacks but still kicking along at age 78. Just got my DNA test back
last night and it is not what my parents claimed. I'm not a half breed
Native American, only less than 1% Native, my folks claimed more. Of
course there was no DNA tests when they were young and just knew what
their parents told them. Dang!

On 10/7/2017 7:43 AM, George Shirley wrote:
On 10/7/2017 6:33 AM, Frank wrote:
On 10/6/2017 9:23 PM, George Shirley wrote:
On 10/6/2017 5:51 PM, Frank wrote:
On 10/2/2017 9:26 PM, George Shirley wrote:
On 10/2/2017 7:22 PM, Frank wrote:
On 10/2/2017 8:03 PM, George Shirley wrote:
On 10/2/2017 5:54 PM, Frank wrote:
On 10/2/2017 4:55 PM, George Shirley wrote:
On 10/2/2017 11:21 AM, Frank wrote:
On 10/2/2017 8:00 AM, George Shirley wrote:
On 10/2/2017 6:33 AM, Frank wrote:
On 10/1/2017 10:30 PM, songbird wrote:
Frank wrote:
...
I'm into chestnut season.Â* I don't save as many but like
to shell and
freeze to use with stuffing turkey. I'll chomp on them in
the evening
with a glass of wine but they last less than 2 months in the
refrigerator as they do not keep like fatty nuts such as
peanuts.

Â*Â* i didn't think there were any of those
trees still around any longer?


I hate to leave them for the deer and the squirrels and
saturate my
friends with them.Â* Invited neighbors over today to pick
up as much as
they wanted.

Â*Â* in the days before the fungi they were a major
source of fodder for animals in the forest and
many people would let pigs run to fatten up and
then...


Â*Â* songbird


Mine are Chinese chestnuts.Â* The American chestnut is
supposedly returning and a few years ago I tried a few of
these chestnuts and they tasted the same.Â* I don't think the
wood of the Chinese tree is as good as the American tree.
I have never seen an American chestnut, don't think they grew
in my part of Texas. Have eaten Chinese chestnuts, do they
have the same taste?

George

It's been years since I tasted them.Â* I think taste was same
as Chinese chestnuts and they were slightly smaller.Â* This was
at friends hunting camp in central PA.Â* Guy that brought them
in said they were American chestnuts.

I tried to sell some to local market years ago but they
refused as there is a worm problem.Â* There is a chestnut
weevil that I have never seen but it lays eggs on the hull and
they burrow into the chestnut. I spray with Sevin but can't
reach the tops of both trees and often see a lot of worms.
These little buggers can even bore through a plastic bag.Â* I'm
sure I've eaten more than a few. This year's crop appears
clean.Â* You spray for 3-4 weeks weekly about 6 weeks before
harvest.
We tried growing everything without sprays, etc. and damned
near died from what all was eating our gardens. Now we just
spray and then wash stuff from the garden. It's hell trying to
grown things "naturally" when the world is full of things that
want to screw up your garden. Particularly when you're close
enough to the harbor for Houston and all the junk the ships
bring in. Some have destroyed crops that have been grown for a
very long time. Then the gubmint says "You can't spray that, it
might hurt the atmosphere or something else." Heck, I used to
flag crop dusters as a kid with just a bandana tied over my
face. I think all that "poison" is why I'm still around, sort
of like being petrified or so0mething. VBG

When your trees are fairly isolated from similar trees all the
enemies surround them nearby.Â* I had trouble with apple worms
and fungus when I had apple trees.Â* I used to bicycle past an
orchard on Sunday mornings and saw them spraying.Â* Bet there was
not a bug or fungus within a mile after they were done.Â* I also
suspect they did not have to spray that often as it would take
awhile before they were invaded by surrounding bugs.

Probably same for squirrels when I tried to raise English
walnuts. If an orchard knocked their population down it would
take a much longer time to recover than my trees surrounded by
woods full of squirrels.

I may be a chemist but do not believe in the liberal use of
chemicals but in their judicious use.
I made my living for sixteen years making chemicals, but not the
type you're thinking of, just little stuff like benzene, etc. G
After the 16 years as a grunt I moved into management with
several different chemical plants and refineries. We were careful
in handling the stuff and what we sold off to other companies had
the proper paper work for handling them. Unfortunately lots of
small companies made really bad chemicals for bugs, etc. that
were two steppers, get a good bit of the chemical, walk two steps
and fall over dead. Like you I am cautious about any over the
counter or home made chemicals and read the cautions part four or
five times. Breathing some of that stuff fifty years ago or so
didn't help my health. Anyone that handles any kind of chemical,
even the ones under the kitchen sink, needs to be fully aware of
what happens if you breath it, drink it, or get it on you. Amen!

No question.Â* I am often telling my wife to be careful with her
use of bleach and need for ventilation when cooking.
I do too, my wife often cooks without turning on the fan over the
stove, goes straight out through the wall. She's an artist, does
that ring a bell about safety? Years ago we lived in a small
trailer house and I put in a fan above the stove in the wall. When
we built our first home I sold the trailer and got an extra $100
bucks due to the fan, which cost something like ten bucks. In those
days I made $2.50 an hour as a top operator in a chemical plant and
ten bucks was a lot of money to us. Nowadays guys doing what I did
in the sixties are making what sounds like big money but buys about
the same amount of grub for us back then.

I am very familiar with toxicology and have worked for years with
toxicologists and their labs.Â* Now retired I have written and been
responsible for thousands of safety data sheets in my consulting.

When working, my company often refused to sell chemicals to
companies that could not handle them responsibly.
I hear that, happily I worked for years for Mobil, then moved on to
some of the larger chemical and refining companies. As a safety
professional I got several people fired for not doing their due
diligence and have pulled wounded and dead out of something that
should never have happened. You teach people the right way to do
things and then they go dumb on you just once and kaboom! I'm glad
I'm retired and don't have to do that anymore. We could certainly
throw out some old stories over a cup of coffee. I go to reunions
for a couple of companies, now all combined with the big boys, and
we revisit our youth and some revisit their foolishness. I'm glad
I'm retired.


I worked for DuPont in fibers and plastics R&D but spent the last 3
years as a regulatory affairs consultant.Â* Had to take early
retirement as company began to shrink.Â* They are now Dow-DuPont.
The years in regulatory gave me good experience to consult but that
is now down to 1-2 days a month.Â* Makes me stay current with
computers and new rules.
I spent the last sixteen or seventeen years of my career as a lone
safety professional, working from home. Wrote hundreds of safety
manual's, had a goodly amount of small companies that worked for the
big companies. Did their monthly safety meetings, wrote their safety
manuals, visited the big chemical plants and refineries, etc. to do
walk rounds to see if the client workers were working safely, etc.
Enjoyed doing the job on my own until one day I started having
strokes and heart attacks and finally had to retire. Gave my business
to my best friend who I had been training for some time. He called me
a couple of weeks ago, he turned 70 and turned the business over to
his two sons to run. So it keeps going on, I hope, with teaching
people to be safe. I'm a third generation worker in refineries,
chemical plants, etc. and the only one who worked in safety. I don't
miss making the rounds as my health is not so good, the reason I
turned it over to my friend. Keep it up my friend, you may be saving
lives and doing good.

My work dealt with safety of our polymer products.Â* I was responsible
for elastomers, Teflon finishes and acrylics and monomers that made
them.Â* I was department coordinator with our Haskell toxicology lab
and a backup TSCA coordinator.Â* I worked with business managers
setting up product safety compliance reviews.Â* We worked with company
regulatory groups in Canada, Europe and Asia so I had to be familiar
with rules in these areas.Â* I had contacts with EPA, FDA and OSHA.

When I was in R&D our outlook was limited to R&D, manufacturing and
marketing with little contact with upper company management but
regulatory had me working with several upper management layers and it
was eye opening to learn business scope.

Before I left R&D DuPont Central Research tried to get me for a couple
of positions but since R&D was declining and these jobs were related
to another department, they shoved their people there.Â* Probably ended
up better with gaining regulatory and safety skills as this lab is now
kaput.
I finally gave in and retired completely after seeing how bad some
companies were and are still. Stopped writing safety manuals and just
said the hell with it. I'm much happier and much healthier since I hung
up my hard hat. Still have problems from long ago strokes and heart
attacks but still kicking along at age 78. Just got my DNA test back
last night and it is not what my parents claimed. I'm not a half breed
Native American, only less than 1% Native, my folks claimed more. Of
course there was no DNA tests when they were young and just knew what
their parents told them. Dang!

Interesting. I got mine back a couple of weeks ago and it was unusual.
I thought I was half Italian and half Lithuanian but Italian part is
only 20% and rest is central and eastern European. 14% European Jew
which I guess means the tribes of that region that migrated to Europe.

One daughter in laws sister is into genealogy and is a member of the
DAR. She had the test and found 2% African and demanded her parents
take the test to see where it came from. My daughter in law thinks this
is funny and when I asked her what she thought she said it just means an
ancestor was adventuresome. Our new granddaughter is 1% African and I
told my lawyer son that it is good and would qualify her as a minority
who could become a law professor at Harvard.

On 10/7/2017 7:52 AM, Frank wrote:

I finally gave in and retired completely after seeing how bad some
companies were and are still. Stopped writing safety manuals and just
said the hell with it. I'm much happier and much healthier since I
hung up my hard hat. Still have problems from long ago strokes and
heart attacks but still kicking along at age 78. Just got my DNA test
back last night and it is not what my parents claimed. I'm not a half
breed Native American, only less than 1% Native, my folks claimed
more. Of course there was no DNA tests when they were young and just
knew what their parents told them. Dang!

Interesting.Â* I got mine back a couple of weeks ago and it was unusual.
I thought I was half Italian and half Lithuanian but Italian part is
only 20% and rest is central and eastern European. 14% European Jew
which I guess means the tribes of that region that migrated to Europe.

One daughter in laws sister is into genealogy and is a member of the
DAR.Â* She had the test and found 2% African and demanded her parents
take the test to see where it came from.Â* My daughter in law thinks this
is funny and when I asked her what she thought she said it just means an
ancestor was adventuresome.Â* Our new granddaughter is 1% African and I
told my lawyer son that it is good and would qualify her as a minority
who could become a law professor at Harvard.

In the south of the USA there are probably a tint of African blood in a
lot of people. Could be even from when our family was still in the home
land, overseas. I see nothing to worry about in my bloodline, just
waiting for wife's DNA to come in. Her folks were mostly German and
English so it should be interesting too. My folks and hers have been
gone a good while. I have one half sister still living but in late
eighties and lives in a nursing home now. We haven't spoken in 20 years
or more and there won't be any before we are both gone. I'm hoping to go
to sleep one night and not wake up. I've had enough surgeries, etc. and
am still kicking, well, can't kick, can only walk on flat surfaces, but
I can still get around with my cane so I'm happy. I have about a dozen
canes, mostly bought when we were exploring Asia and Europe. Couldn't
carry a gun so carried a heavy cane. My favorite cane rides in my car
and has several nicks in the heavy lacquer that hides the iron wood. G