A Zuke!

To put this into perspective, I have to admit that my success rate for growing anything edible (at least in the line of what one normally considers "garden vegetables") has been appallingly bad. I have failed Radishes repeatedly. I got an F in Zucchini. I scored a fat zero in Green Beans. I was lousy at Lettuce, poor at Peas, crappy at Cucumbers and Corn, tragic at Tomatoes with a couple of exceptional years. Therefore, this zuke is worth celebrating. It's one of two developing on a plant which is still quite young. Not only that, I've been enjoying kale as microgreens as I thin it out, and have discovered that it's not as nasty as I remembered. I don't want to sour my luck, but I think I may actually have some gardening success this year.

Fruits Of My Labours

Day 297: Much needed rain has fallen overnight, the first since the last day of June. The pluviometer registered 0.01" one dewy morning in July, perhaps weighted by a spider which had set up housekeeping in the idle drain. The garden is grateful for the moisture, as am I. A native to the Pacific Northwest, my nerves wear raw when they are compelled to endure hot temperatures and bright sunlight for any length of time. As I entered the Berry Pen through the kiwi-vine covered archway, a shower of cold beads fell on my head and shoulders, streaked my glasses, shattered on my exposed arms foretelling of autumn and its promised harvest of Sungold tomatoes and miniature cucumbers, benevolent drops whose touch was as welcome on my skin as on the foliage of my vegetables. Rain! Real rain! If I didn't have neighbours, I'd dance naked in it.