I didn't have any way to get a cattle panel last year. I drooled and drooled and tried to find a better way to grow indeterminates than bowing them to the ground after they grew out of a standard tomato cage so they couldn't be seen, (but did just that for 3 or 4 plants)and found none. I actually take that back. I grew 2 of them up into my orange tree and that worked well. :-) You did send me the list. AND I bought a truck. I'm going to head out to the supply house for a cattle panel in the next couple weeks and I CANNOT wait. I still won't be able to grow many because the area that I will be able to put the cattle panel that won't be seen (the raised bed is in a raised area of the yard) is against the fence and doesn't get as much sunlight. So I'm not sure that they will grow as well, but I am certainly willing to try. I started 3 Big rainbow, 3 beefsteaks, 2 Cherokee Purple this weekend. I'll plant more once I get the panel in and see how many I can really fit. I started all my determinates for the early season trial last weekend, too. I don't normally care for cherry tomatoes but if it truly has a tomato taste and not overly sweet I'll be on the lookout. I have a ton of cherry seeds I'm willing to share if anyone wants some. :-) The f4 I've been saving that started as a sungold was sweet but it's lost most that now. :-)

when I am home over the summer (I live in England, my family is in Nebraska) my 2 sisters and I go to a citywide garage sale in July and a large neighborhood one in Aug. Both are usually on the hottest days of the year but we enjoy finding bargains for each other and our extended family and crashing somewhere that is air conditioned for lunch then we're off again for more bargains. It has become "our special time" together. We share laughs, old time memories and just being with each other. I always look forward to those weekends. Diane

My favorite fruiting tree is Meyer lemon, mainly because I use more lemons than any other fruit. It is difficult to pick just one. The fig trees from Texas that I had in Venice produced the sweetest fruit of any fruit tree that I've had, but the season is not that long, and it got hot in the kitchen when I made fig preserves, which I mostly gave away. I also love my blood orange tree and cherimoya. Favorite non-fruiting tree is Ceiba speciosa (Silk floss tree), which makes beautiful pink flowers in the fall and has a very interesting spiked trunk.

From time to time I've seen little specialty genuine Italian ice places open up but they usually don't stay in business long. The price is too high and too much competition from the cheapo soft serve and other places. Not enough Italian ice connoisseurs out there and not spread around the US. I'm sure there are some places but none near my radar screen. It's hard enough nowdays just to get a good hard ice cream cone or even some at the grocery. A couple of our famous and delicious local and regional dairies have shut down, long prior to the pandemic so the supply even at the grocery store is limited to a few brands and the same at every store. Back in the day a lot of small towns had local ice cream dairies, including mine, and then two ice cream shops that sold it in many confections. Those day long gone, sigh . . . My aunt met my uncle when he was on a road trip from a nearby college, at our local home town place, long lost to the mists of time. I used to ride my bike out to another regional dairy store and get a wonderful cone as a fun way to spend time and allowance during the summer. That too is gone . . . We do have a drive through Dairy Queen that does a brisk business . . .