Bill, Me too on the glass jug. In about 1963 my Dad bought a gallon of A&W Root Beer. It came in a glass 1 gal. jug. We used the jug for mixing the gas and oil for our West-Bend go-kart engine. When we ran out we went to the Texaco with the glass jug and they wouldn't fill it. Had to go get the lawn mower gas can. Probably a good thing. Anyway Texaco Sky-Chief premium gas was 36.9 cents per gallon back then. I thought that was way too high. An off-brand of regular was 18.9 cents per gallon. We mixed 8 ounces of oil per gallon.

Mark, here are a few to look up. They should be fine in a Zone 8. Not necessarily true alpines but then very many so called alpines for troughs are not from alpine regions. They just lend themselves well to the situation. Antennaria dioica rubra Corydalis wilsonii Cotula barbata Geranium crug Helichrysum bellidioides Lewisias Morisia monanthos Phlox borealis My Website

Bill, I've had two foam containers outdoors for at least 5 years now. They have never split. The only problem I've had, is that the plant that hangs over the rim of the pot has caused the finish to degrade so when I need to prune that plant back, it doesn't look very pretty before it grows back in. I could refinish it I guess, but I haven't. I feel like I've gotten my money's worth out of them. I haven't repotted the plants in them and I should have. I'm not sure how it will work out when I attempt that, after 5 years. I have another pot that I like better, that I also have left outside all winter. I really don't know what the material is that they are made of, it's nothing that I'm familiar with. I've never seen them again since that one time I bought them, or I'd buy more of them. The only reason I like the other pot better, is that I don't feel good about using styrofoam that has such a long life and doesn't break down in land fills. I have one guess about what the material is and I'm sure I'm wrong, but it might give you an idea of what I'm talking about. Have you ever seen those pegboards that are made for the wall of your garage. The old fashioned kind that are not plastic, but are some sort of pressed material? It reminds me of that, but it's weatherproof, with some kind of paint finish. I'd take a photo but I don't think it would help unless they were empty and I could show you the inside of them and they're still full of mums. I would like stone or concrete, but they are so heavy, I just can't see dealing with them, but they are organic. Metal is also an organic material and will withstand weather but I don't want the upkeep of dealing with it when it rusts.

You can use the recipe on the libby can just substitute the squash for the pumpkin. Any pumpkin pie recipe works.. My hubby cut the squash in slices, scooped out the seeds and peeled it. He then cut it up in small pieces and I cooked it with a small amount of water, ran it through a food mill and put in freeer containers. I have two pies in the oven right now.. I will let you know how they turned out... They sure smell good. I have 15 freezer containers from this one squash.