Moles, voles and gophers all create tunnels and are active underground, but what they eat and the damage they cause varies.  They all improve the soil by aerating it and mixing nutrients, but sometimes their habits get them in trouble with gardeners.  Gophers favor bulbs and roots.  Voles go for grass, but also gnaw on shrubs and stems nearest their holes and runways.  Moles, which are rarely if ever seen, prefer non-plant food.  https://news.oregonstate.edu/news/moles-voles-and-gophers-dig-garden 

Species belonging to the genus Amaranthus have been cultivated for their grains for 8,000 years.  Amaranth plants are classified as pseudocereals that are grown for their edible starchy seeds,  but they are not in the same botanical family as true cereals, such as wheat and rice. Amaranth species that are still used as a grain are Amaranthus caudatus L., Amaranthus cruentus L., and Amaranthus hypochondriacus L. The yield of grain amaranth is comparable to that of rice or maize.  The grain was a staple food of the Aztecs and an integral part of Aztec religious ceremonies.  The cultivation of amaranth was banned by the conquistadores upon their conquest of the Aztec nation.  However, the plant has grown as a weed since then, so its genetic base has been largely maintained.  Research on grain amaranth began in the United States in the 1970s.  By the end of the 1970s, a few thousand acres were being cultivated there, and continue to be cultivated.   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amaranth_grain    

Amaranth is from the same family as quinoa, Amaranthacea, and includes a variety of flowering herbs, shrubs, and greens (such as spinach).  The stems of the plants have panicles and clusters of tiny flowers that produce the seeds.  From there, the seeds easily dislodge from the plant (which can make large-scale harvesting difficult but a bit of a boon for home growers).  While there are over 50 species of amaranth, only a dozen or so are cultivated for consumption.  Of those species, a handful are cultivated for their seeds.   

1 cup amaranth (190g)

2 to 3 cups water, milk, or broth (480mL to 720mL)

Place amaranth in a small saucepan and heat over medium-low heat.  Toast the amaranth for 3-4 minutes until the grains start to deepen in color and have a nutty aroma.  Watch the heat and time, as amaranth will begin to pop if heated too high or too long.  https://naturallyella.com/pantry/grains/amaranth/    

I think, at a child's birth, if a mother could ask a fairy godmother to endow it with the most useful gift, that gift should be curiosity.  Eleanor Roosevelt  https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/eleanor_roosevelt_161633    

Some of the earliest mentions of deadline come up in 1863, preserved in diaries kept by captive soldiers during the Civil War.  Early in this year a Confederate prison for captured Union soldiers was established in Andersonville, Georgia, which would remain operational for slightly more than a year.  The prison was notorious for poor conditions, harsh punishments, and for, you guessed it, having deadlines.  Suddenly the word was being used considerably more often (in news reports, partisan poetry, and commission reports), often in reference to the prison at Andersonville.  Although this sense of deadline saw some figurative use following the end of the Civil War, by the middle of the 20th century the dominant meaning of the word was well established as a time-related thing, rather than a shoot-a-person-for-crossing-a-line one.  https://www.merriam-webster.com/wordplay/your-deadline-wont-kill-you  Thank you, reader.    

September 29, 2025