SOUTHERN LIVING USA

1 and 1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
5 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp butter
3 cups thinly sliced green tomatoes

With the exception of the tomatoes, mix all ingredients together.
Arrange tomatoes in layers, sprinkling each layer with a mixture of the other indredients in an unbaked pie shell.
Add top crust.
bake 35 or 40 minutes in 350 degree preheated oven

Taking proper care of your roses can seem like a very taxing, and time consuming thing to do… but the results of such care far more than make up for it.

Unfortunately, roses are the most difficult flower to manage and keep healthy; however, all good things require high maintenance.

There are many small things that have to be done to keep your roses looking their best, but all of those small things add up to one very large one.

Here are some great tips for the regular upkeep of your roses:

1. You should prune your roses in the early spring…or at least once the others start budding because the buds will eventually become new branches later.
2. You should cut the dead and damaged branches first. Next, you should cut all but five of the leftover healthy branches. They should end up at about the thickness of a pencil.
3. Cut the bushes by approximately one third or one half, depending on how tall you want them. Cutting above the outward facing buds, which is the buds that are on the outside of the rose bush because this will help the bud to grow upward; which will make the center of the bud open up for better air circulation and shape.
4. You should always sharpen your hand shears before pruning, and prune the climbing roses with caution. The branches have a tendency to overlap and you wouldn’t want to prune the wrong branches.
5. Mulching is necessary because it helps to keep your maintenance down a bit. Mulching requires your roses to need a lot less watering, weeding and helps prevent diseases. The best mulches are organic ones like wood chips, pine needles, and grass clippings.
6. Protect your roses during the winter months by adding a few extra inches of soil to the base of your roses. This should provide the extra needed heat in the winter.
7. You should avoid the white plastic cones when doing your winter protection because they trap too much heat during the winter thaw. They are also quite unattractive.
8. You should feed your roses water often, but lightly. When you water your roses, avoid directly watering the foliage because it will cause fungal diseases. Water your roses at the roots.
9. Keep the area around your roses cleared to prevent them from getting locked in an area that doesn’t provide enough circulation.

Southern living can have it’s little surprises from time to time. Snakes are one group of wildlife that cause many problems for people just by their presence. Snakes make people very uncomfortable, especially when they are surprised by the sudden appearance of a snake in the yard or even in the home.

It is not necessary to kill every snake that is seen as most of the 37 species of snakes commonly found in the south are non-poisonous and are, in fact, extremely beneficial due to the large number of rodents that many eat.

There are about 6 southern species that are poisonous: copperhead, water moccasin (AKA water rattler, noshoulders), coral, timber rattlesnake, diamondback rattlesnake, and the pygmy rattlesnake. Telling poisonous from non-poisonous can be done simply by observing the eyes or the tail of a live snake or its skin. Eyes of poisonous snakes have cat like slitted pupils. Poisonous snakes have a single row of scales on the tail following the anal opening. Non-poisonous snakes have round pupils and double rows of scales. Coral snakes have round pupils and look a lot like the scarlet king snake, but red bands touch yellow bands (yellow touches red, you’re dead). Coral snakes are usually found south of Wilmington, N.C.. The triangular shape of the head is not always a clear indicator of a poisonous snake as many species of snakes can, when disturbed, make their head and neck swell. All snakes can bite!

Why are the snakes present in the first place? Primarily because they are looking for food or their habitat has been disturbed. It is almost as distressing for some homeowners to discover they have snakes because it may mean they have mice.

There is no known chemical repellant that can be sprayed, or otherwise put out to prevent snakes from entering a house or even a yard (contrary to popular belief about sulphur or moth balls). Control is best accomplished by cleaning up any areas that snakes or their rodent prey could live in or under such as piles of boards, trash, or bushy areas.

If you do get a snake in the house, you need to check for areas where it could have entered, perhaps around the foundation or where utility lines enter. It doesn’t take a very big hole to allow a snake access. Block off this access, and if necessary, use rat size glue boards, available at some hardware stores, to catch any animals remaining in the house.

Seek medical attention if bitten. Remember what the snake looked like. Death is rare for bite victims, but complications from swelling can result in limb loss. Try to stay calm. Walk, don’t run to the doctor.