October Ski Tips

Get rid of ants with small piles of cornmeal. Ants eat it, take it home but can’t digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so to work especially if it rains.
Leaves are a rich source of calcium, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium and more. They are a great way to improve soil structure.
Mid-fall is a good time to plant wildlife-friendly bushes and hedges such as winterberry for birds and pussy willows for butterflies.
Acorns and oak trees symbolize patience, strength and long labor.
Candy Corn was originally marketed as "Chicken Feed" when it was first popularized around the end of the 19th century. Consumers voted candy corn the worst Halloween candy in the country in 2019 and 2020. 
The tradition of creating pumpkin lamps for Halloween comes from the Celtic tradition. The Celts created lanterns that helped souls find their way to purgatory.
Reuse wine and champagne corks as plant markers. Write the name of the plant on the cork with permanent marker, push it onto a metal skewer or chopstick, and place it in the soil next to the appropriate plant. Start saving corks throughout the winter for spring plantings.
Prevent ash from spreading through the air when cleaning out a fireplace by using a water-filled spray bottle. Lightly mist the ashes before you shovel them.
The night before freezing temperatures, rub half a potato over your car’s windshield. The sugar from the potato creates a barrier over the window and prevents ice from forming, so you’ll come out in the morning and won’t have to scrape.  Worth a try!
Pumpkins labeled “pie pumpkins” or “sugar pumpkins” are the best varieties of pumpkin for cooking. They are smaller than traditional carving pumpkins and have a sweeter, less-watery flesh. Select a pumpkin with a stem at least one to two inches long. Stems shorter than this will hasten the pumpkin’s decay.