Hi Nancy! It does sound like your starter has matured nicely and is ready to bake with! For a visual of what ripe starter should look like, check out our Ripe sourdough starter blog article. After a starter reaches its peak, it will start to collapse as it releases the gases built up from fermentation. When just feeding your starter to maintain it, not for baking with, we recommend feeding it, letting it rest at room temperature for about 30 to 40 minutes to allow fermentation to start and then moving it to the fridge for storage for about a week. Or you can leave it at room temperature, making sure that you feed it at least once a day. We do recommend keeping the starter loosely covered at all times to prevent the surface from drying out (which will impede growth) and to keep things out of it. The discard can be fed tp create another starter or you can use it in sourdough discard recipes. We hope this helps and happy baking! 

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