PEA RIDGE — The Extension Club lesson was on another subject, but the most interesting conversation was about trying to keep deer out of gardens. Solutions ranged from cayenne pepper, human hair, a thin line of string encircling an area, mothballs and Irish Spring soap.

Imogene Stanford said they ate her okra plants off to the top of the ground but never touched the squash plants. Someone else said they ate the new daffodil plants but never touched the old ones that we see growing out in the pasture.

Another subject that came up was the mother in vinegar. Several ladies knew of it, but some didn’t.

Our apple cider vinegar came in a glass five-gallon jars with wide mouth tops.

I guess it was because Mom made so many pickles. I was always warned to not disturb the mother because it made the vinegar in the cruet bitter. It is the slimy mass formed from the apple leavings.

Something about that made me remember hanging by my belly over the rain water barrel splashing at the wrigglers. Now I know it was mosquito larva, but when Mom would come up from the cellar with some vinegar she would splash a little into the rain barrel and, hanging with my head way down in there, vinegar was the odor.

Lois Kinney is back in the hospital. Charlotte Jones was released from her radiation treatments and given a very encouraging report.

Otto Sells celebrated his 84th birthday by going to a ball game.

Attendance at Brightwater United Methodist Church on Easter Sunday was 94.

The Brightwater United Methodist women are hosting a sunshine brunch at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, April 24. All women in the area are invited to join them in a time of fun and fellowship.

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Edith Lammey has been a resident of the area for nearly 40 years. She can be contacted through The TIMES at 451-1196 or [email protected].

Opinion, Pages 4 on 04/21/2010