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The Rural Voice, 2003-09, Page 56before serving. Sprinkle with icing sugar. Cut into 10 to 12 diagonal slices. BEST EVER APPLE CRUMB PIE Crumb Topping: In small bowl combine 1/2 cup (125 mL) all-purpose flour, 1/3 cup (75 mL) brown sugar and 1/2 tsp (2 mL) cinnamon. Using fork, blend in 1/4 cup (50 mL) cold butter until coarse crumbs form. If desired stir in 1/2 cup (125 mL) coarsely chopped nuts. Set aside. 1/2 cup (125 mL) sugar 1 tbsp (15 mL) corn starch 1/2 tsp (2 mL) ground cinnamon 4 cups (1 L) sliced, peeled apples (about 4 medium) 1 tbsp (15 mL) lemon juice 1 9 inch (22 cm) deep dish pie shell In large bowl, combine sugar, cornstarch and cinnamon. Add apples and lemon juice; toss to coat. Turn into pie shell. Sprinkle with crumb topping. Bake at 400°F (200°C) 15 minutes; reduce heat to 350°F (180°C) and bake 35 minutes longer or until apples are tender.° . r * Pharma Phis t,1:11D1:SJaa mpkinfest PORT ELGIN ONTARIO October 4th and 5th Anti% Fun 5econ4 ro :line! For more into 18381'3456. (5191389 3114 • www.pumpkmfest.org 52 THE RURAL VOICE Gardening To get beautg of butterflies you need uglg worms Rhea Hamilton: Seeger and her husband live near Auburn. She is a skilled cook and gardener. By Rhea Hamilton -Seeger While sitting at my desk one day I noticed two butterflies fluttering by my window. One was a rather exotic Black Swallowtail and the other a little golden gem called an Admiral. Butterflies are so delicate and so desired in our gardens. They are like the icing on the cake. But how do we keep them in our gardens. There are a number of popular books on the market that go into great detail about plants that attract butterflies, the importance of water sources, and now wooden bird houses designed for butterflies to offer them shelter. I don't understand the houses concept. If your garden is a butterfly friendly place they should be laying eggs on the plants they favour and spending their life cycle in the Np\II :71111721111111111117:* r. And there is garden. the rub. Butterflies lay their eggs on select plants which offer food for the ensuing larvae or caterpillars. These unsavory little creatures then feed on the plant material, in some cases decimating a plant, before withdrawing into a chrysalis and performing one of life's ultimate miracles, metamorphosis. It is during the caterpillar stage that they are most vulnerable. Birds see them as lunch and there are other insects such as wasps that use them as hosts for their own young. And there are the gardeners that see them as destructive annoyances. I had two infestations in my garden. About 50 little lime green caterpillars with white and black/grey markings were making short work of an old rose variety I had started from a clipping. Now I know in my mind that the rose bush is hardy enough to take the°damage but in my heart I was annoyed and before spraying with insecticidal soap and squashing a few others I took some pictures with the idea of identifying what the end butterfly would have been. Further down the perennial border was another horde of caterpillars. These were darker green with a fine turquoise stripe. They were chowing down on a hardy annual but only on one or two plants. The rest were unscathed. So 1 left them go to it knowing that there is enough plant to share and that with those great colours they were probably black • swallowtails. Well, I will never make the pages of National Geographic with my nature photos. They were so fuzzy you couldn't even tell what the picture was of let alone what the markings were on the caterpillars. A picture is worth a thousand words and after researching on the internet and at my favourite library, and checking out both local and city bookstores, I discovered there really is no great book on identifying caterpillars for the gardener. There are some great books on butterflies with pictures but only written descriptions of the larva stages. I went to my trusty Gardener's Bug Book (4th edition) by Cynthia Westcott. It is written to aid gardeners in identifying garden pests and their control. (I am careful with her