A Busy Week

I have been waiting & waiting for this for months, but this week

I could finally make more of my favorite pickles.  It's a bit later than last  year, but then again last year one of my cucumber plants didn't turn out to be spaghetti squash.  I still have lots of the traditional dills from last year, so I won't be making any of those this year.  Just the ones from this recipe.  I love these so much I have been known to polish off half a pint at a time. 

The tomatoes continue to grow

and are now taller than me.  So far, however, this entire jungle has coughed up 1 Lemon Boy tomato and I think we're up to 8 cherry tomatoes now.  I could understand it while it was cool, but it's hot now.  REALLY hot

so frankly, I think we need to start seeing a few more tomatoes.  It's kind of a bad gardening year all the way around.  This is my zucchini

which might get around to a zucchini by the time it freezes, but at this rate it's actually on target for Christmas.

My fall garden starts are doing well

I have them out on the patio table.  They get morning sun, but shade the rest of the day.  I have lettuce & broccoli.

Our fall garden options got much more exciting this week, with the addition of this

Remember the neighbors with regular police visits?  It turns out they hadn't bought the house but were doing some sort of lease-to-purchase thing, and had stopped paying after just a few months.  So, facing eviction proceedings, one night last week they packed up a moving van in the middle of the night (which we were very much aware of as they were making all kinds of noise) and skipped town--stealing the owner's refrigerator as well.  They left this behind, and the owner of the house had moved it to the curb with a "free" sign on it....so we pounced.  It's a cheap Wal-Mart affair, but we're not too picky for "free."  SO, we'll be able to grow things year round!

And in January, we can discuss whether or not that is a Good Thing........