Okay Haller Lake Community… here is a woodchip challenge for you… Drought is happening, more than ever. Please help our trees, shrubs and landscapes by adding arborist woodchips to your yard. The chips are free and ready to be picked up at Harkness Park (on Ashworth between n 122nd and n 125th St). They help reduce weeds, restore soil and hold more moisture in your landscape for longer. When I say holding moisture, I mean in a health way. If you have areas that are already too wet, use the woodchips and it will help manage your water better by improving the soil drainage. It’s an easy, fun and affordable way to improve your yard. Put 1 to 2” of woodchips under your trees, shrubs and/or covering any exposed soil in your landscape. People get concerned about woodchips being a fire hazard or hurting their trees. If you’re using the ones from the store that have dyes, chemicals, rubber and other things added… they are! If you use raw arborist woodchips they have a very low risk of ...

  Sword Fern The sword fern is an evergreen perennial native to western North America, where it is one of the most abundant ferns in forested areas The dark green fronds of this fern grow 3-5 feet tall, in a tight clump spreading out radially from a round base. Sword ferns are a wonderful addition to any garden and transplant well. Sword ferns offer shelter and nesting sites for ground-nesting birds. The dense, arching fronds create a protective canopy that shields nests from predators and harsh weather. Birds such as warblers, wrens, and vireos are attracted to fern-rich areas due to the abundance of insects, which serve as a food source Native American tribes historically used the rhizomes as food (boiled, baked, or steamed), and the fronds for bedding, mats, and medicinal applications.

  One of my favorite book s I have read in the last year has to be The Correspondent by Virginia Evans.  It is an amazing first book for the author and tells the whole story spanning 12 years all in letters or emails the main character, Sybil van Antwerp has written to people and their responses back.  Sybil is 72 years old at the start of the book which is refreshing as well, as most book s have much younger characters that are not always as easy to relate to.  She is a complicated woman who has led a very interesting life and is reflective about how her life has affected those around her.  She writes to family, friends, and authors she particularly enjoyed, and they write back.  It is a very easy read and because of the format, can be read for a few minutes, put down and picked up again hours or days later without losing where you were.  Everyone I know who has read it loved it and I highly recommend it.  I finished it in two days and was sad ...

  Dutch Baby With Icing from Kippy Irwin 2 Tbsp Butter 3 eggs 1/2 cups flour 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 cup milk Melt 2 Tbsp butter in pie plate and pan while oven warms, then set aside. In bowl, beat eggs well. Add flour in 4 parts, beat after each. Add salt. Add milk in 2 parts. Add melted butter. Beat well and pour into pie plate. Bake at 450 for 20min, then turn down to 350 for 10min.  Goop Icing   1/2 a lemon fresh squeezed 1/2 - 1 cup powdered sugar Slowly add the powdered sugar to the lemon juice until it is thick but still able to drizzle over the Dutch baby.

  Joanie’s Nana  Nellie  Biscotti  2 cups flour 3/4 cup sugar 7 TBSP butter 3 TBSP baking powder  1/2 tsp salt 3/4 tsp anise seed (optional) 1/2 tsp vanilla  1/4 tsp almond ( be careful not to add to much) 1/2 cup milk 2 eggs, separated, add yolks then beat whites and add last Mix all above ingredients together. Dough shouldn’t be too stiff. Split dough. Make 2 slug shaped loaves, bake at 350 for 20 minutes until brown. Remove from oven, cut into strips, bake on each side with heat down to 275 for about 25min. 

  This year’s Holiday Bazaar is on December 7th.   Our club has a steady, earnest and century-old history of fundraisers.  Dances frequently had a donation catch, so did the granddaddy of all fundraisers-  the solicitation of members toward a clubhouse in 1923.  Back then, a typical contribution was $50 for start-up materials. Looking through the archives, one event caught my eye, a box social.  The 1948 flyer had a pen and ink  drawing of a wrapped gift box with a top title “Old Fashioned Box Social !!!” And on the box read “Every lady bring a box dinner for two.  Decorate it so your old man won’t know it from the others.  Boxes will be auctioned off to the highest bidder.  The proceeds will pay for tonight’s party.  If a surplus, it will go to the Club’s paint fund…..singing, dancing and eating for all.”  After a Google search, I figure the Club men did the unwrapped dinner bidding and ate with the lucky provider. That brings...