Since they were likely grown in an open field, there is a decent chance that they are not true to type (they flowers were cross pollinated with another variety of squash), unless it came from a very large operation. At the supermarket that might be a possibility, but there’s also no way to tell. If the seeds were removed before cooking they should be viable, you can certainly try growing them, and you will almost certainly get some sort of squash from it, but if it was cross pollinated the resulting squash will not resemble either parent; what’s more, it could be delicious or it could be terrible. Further, winter squash have a long season and take a long time to mature, so you’ll have to wait until fall probably to taste the result. If you have space though, give it a try! If you want to see if the seeds are viable, do a germination test to make sure you aren’t wasting your time. (Easiest way: place a few seeds in a folded up damp paper towel, put in a ziplock baggie and almost seal, place in a warm spot, make sure the paper towel doesn’t dry out, check every day - they should sprout in a few days, a week at most, unless it is too cold.)
Thank you! This is extremely helpful. They were from a local farmstand, so we’ll see what happens.
+1 from me on this. I would say that they will almost certainly not be true to type. Cucurbits are notoriously impossible to keep pure unless you hand pollinate and then tape the flowers shut. Whether that is a good or bad thing is impossible to say unless you grow them out. Some seed breeders intentionally breed “landrace” type squash that have lots of genetic diversity.
Do you or @CalBal or anyone else know of any resources for first time gardeners? I know what veggies I’d like to get but I am clueless about when to start germinating my seeds, when to put them into the ground, how much area I’d need, etc.
Honestly I just Google everything? You’ll want to look up info specifically for your region. Most seed packets will tell you how long before your city’s last frost to start seedlings indoors, and when an okay time to start them outside is.
Most of my issues have been from planting and having a surprise late last frost, not having enough light for the plants indoors, or moving the seedlings outdoors too soon and without progressively hardening them by bringing our for progressively longer periods.
Roughly where are you located? Advice will vary based on climate, weather patterns, elevation, etc.
I really like nwedible.com. Based in the Seattle area, so take her monthly garden checklists with that grain of salt, but she also has a ton of great information that applies everywhere on intro to gardening, seed starting, harvesting…
I’m in upstate NY, near the Canadian border. Very cold!
It looks like Cornell University runs NYS’s extension office. I would use their website and resources. Extension offices publish only science-based advice:
You might also really appreciate Eliot Coleman’s books. He is a leading name in 4-season gardening, and is located in Maine, so likely a similar climate and zone. (ETA: Possibly similar climate - I can’t recall if he is coastal or not. Would make a big difference!)
The Cornell link looks fantastic. Thank you!
My climate (SE Wisconsin) is very similar to upstate NY so I’d be happy to answer any questions.
Unfortunately I’m not aware of a book or resource I love specifically for home scale gardening in cold-temperate climates. I have found people like Charles Dowding and Carol Deppe helpful, but requires some extrapolation. I also have read numerous books that focus more on larger scale homesteading and commercial farming of various scales.
Another vote here for extension info. I still use mine all the time. When i was first starting out I appreciated that my extension site was simple facts about needed growing conditions without the more subjective recommendations about the “best” way to do things that are prevalent elsewhere (sometimes overwhelmingly so when it comes to talking to individual gardeners). I figured my microhabitat would show me what it needed over time in spite of the advice I did or didn’t follow 
I just realized I’m going to be near IKEA this evening (in about an hour). I’m only near there about once per year, so I feel like I should take advantage of this. What do I need?
Daim chocolate.
I love their dish towels, dish brushes, meatballs, French press, plastic organizing bins for my pantry, wireless phone charging pad, house plants, plant stands, and the as is section. Some of their seasonal stuff is great, their new pet line is cute. Shoe trays if you need them 
There was traffic so I was running late. I didn’t have time to look for this and that made me sad.
Thanks for all the ideas. I decided I needed some shelving units for my basement, so I found these:
I found them online before I left home, so I knew what aisle and bin to go to. I still spent 20 minutes in the store, and didn’t even leave with HaH’s recommended chocolates.
Dog behavior question maybe for @JanetJackson or anyone else familiar. Just had an off putting experience at the dog park. I took B and he was one of the smallest breeds there, matched maybe by a Yorkie but she wasn’t running around. He was playing with a doodle maybe twice his size (but 99% FLOOF and only 6 months old. B is almost 9 months) and they were wrestling and running around. I was close by the entire time watching, not on my phone or otherwise engaged. Another woman there with a chihuahua mix that she wouldn’t let off leash, kept saying B was scared and eventually left in a huff when I told her I had my eye on him and that he was fine.
My question is what do I look for in a play situation to know whether it’s ok? My last cav didn’t really do dog parks so this is new. B was running, wrestling, sometimes on the ground rolling over and occasionally knocked over by the other dog, but none of them were growling or even biting. Once or twice his tail was down but it was momentary and seemed more like a submission thing and then popped right back up as chase began again. When he’d had enough he ran under the picnic table and the other dog clearly read this as “I’m done” and we packed up and went home, tail wagging all the way. Does that seem like normal play?
I average out a monthly cost and include that in my budget. I use YNAB though so it’s super easy to keep track of this money, and I monitor the YNAB budget categories rather than my bank account so I’m not guessing how much of that money is available.
What I used to do before YNAB was have a separate savings account (through Capital One 360 or Ally where you can have multiple of those accounts) and each month I would transfer the total average cost of all the lumpy things from my checking account so it was being ‘spent’. For example if I needed to save $30/month for car insurance, $4/month for AAA, $10/month for car registration then I transferred $44/month in total to savings each month. Then whenever I had to pay one of those categories, I’d transfer the whole payment amount back to my checking account.
First - anyone who brings a dog on leash to an off leash area and hangs out there doesn’t know what they are doing and is not a reliable commenter.
The main thing you are looking for is mutuality - if you remove the FLOOF, does your dog go back to him to play? if you remove your dog, do they go back to engage with the other dog when allowed to? Is play mutual and balanced?
Dogs “self-handicap” in play, which allows good play even when a dog is smaller, weaker, or much younger. With size mismatches, you especially want to keep an eye out for behavior that may lead accidental injury. The edgier the play - wilder chasing, more forceful play mouthing, body slamming in wrestling - the more serious the concern. I don’t particularly like any edgy play in dogs who don’t have a pre-existing relationship (share a household, very familiar friends), even dogs of the same size.
And you especially need to worry about 3rd dog intervention. 1 on 1 play is always best. With 3 dogs (or more), the little is typically at more risk of injury due to both inadvertence and things quickly escalating to “too much.”
Bracing against a human or object while in play is usually a sign that it’s “almost” too much. Hiding behind a human or object (bench/tree) means that it IS too much (as you correctly noticed!).
It sounds like you are watching body language closely. You want to see loose, wiggly behavior and not tense postures. Tail tucking is a concern if it’s recurring. Look for things like reverse sneezes and bows and other ‘play signals.’ You can also see signs of self-regulation: taking water breaks, doing a “shake off” and disengaging periodically. These are healthy ways that dogs communicate that they need a moment or to de-escalate the energy/play style.
Over time, you will learn your dogs favorite types of play and most likely playmates. This helps interpret what you’re seeing. For example, my Muppet loves to wrestle and isn’t big on chase. There are times where he will be chased at the park, and I can see that he isn’t SURE if this dog is playing or not. He won’t go back to solicit this, and we move on. I give him more leeway to re-engage with dogs that are more amped up in wrestling, because I can more easily see when he’s still having a good time with it (and he’s more likely to be enjoying it even at the cusp of “too much.” The “not great” chase is not the same as when his BFF chases him at our yard (she likes chase and wrestling), even though he doesn’t have obvious signs of fear or distress.
Thank you so much! I feel like I had a pretty good read on the situation after reading your thoughts. B ran around the park with some of the bigger dogs for a while at first and then several times he and FLOOF picked each other as playmates. Eventually a 3rd dog arrived who kept trying to “protect” B but was shaken off by the two (this was something leash lady kept commenting on) it seemed more like herding in the 3rd dog than that anyone needed protecting. But FLOOF and B kept coming back to each other after water breaks or “lemme sniff this” breaks. B has so much more energy and desire to interact with other dogs than my girl did, so I want to make sure I’m noting what’s acceptable and all that
Sounds like you’re doing a good job!
“3rd dog in” is a common dog park problem, especially herding dogs who feel the need to police play (Ugh for owners who bring these dogs who NEVER play and ONLY police - they don’t belong at the park). I can see leash lady being concerned that your dog was struggling with attention being diverted in 2 directions: a wanted playmate and a nuisance 3rd party dog. A few months ago, Muppet was a bystander to a dog fight solely caused by 3rd dog in issues (a more easily aggrieved dog turned on another because it was trapped by her original playmate).
FWIW, I only go to specific parks at specific times of the day. It’s extremely calculated and strategic. There is no such thing as ‘no risk’ parks. Muppet has never been in a dog fight but a few weeks ago, he was threatened by a HUMAN who misunderstood dog play. The human threw something at him as well - it was a scary experience. We are all ok. I would recommend and pick coordinated play dates over dog park for dog play every time. (If you don’t know suitable playmates, you can actually meet them at the park sometimes and then get together independently). The main reason we go to “dog parks” is that I seek off leash areas where we can walk with Muppet off-leash. If I had a small dog, I would be even more wary and cautious.
Since you’re asking about dog park stuff in general and are new to a more energetic/play seeking dog, here is my favorite go-to write up about dog park stuff:
http://www.kathysdao.com/articles/good-manners-for-dogs-people-in-off-leash-parks/