distraction

i have been storing all these great blog post ideas but i just haven't the energy to write. i'm distracted by life right now. my son just finished kindergarten and we're enjoying summer vacation which we have named the "summer of one hundred" -- we're going to read one hundred books we haven't read before and we're going to walk one hundred miles. lovin' it so far. i'm working hard on potty training my toddler. seems to be working this time, phew! and, i'm still unemployed...and very stressed/depressed about it. if you don't hear from me, it's because i'm rolled up in a ball, hiding from the world. and if you happen to see me and i don't recognize you, it's because i am numb and disoriented. this might be my "hazy days of summer."

on a happier note, our garden is thriving. i haven't had to purchase lettuce in over a month and it's the best lettuce i have ever tasted. we're now rolling in the zucchini which is good and bad. good because we love it and it's delicious. bad because there is so much of it that we're having to give it away (which isn't so bad after all). we're on our second japanese eggplant and i'm looking for ways to eat it. any advice? we have never eaten eggplant before so this is going to be an experience. we have picked several handfuls of green beans but never enough to cook which is okay since they are better raw anyway. i now know we're going to have to plant at least ten of these plants next year. actually, i have learned so much with this starter garden of ours. i definitely made some mistakes but i have taken notes and i have read several gardening books so watch out for the winter crops. operation: green thumb has been successful thus far; it's now a way of life. and it's a good cure for depression.

the corner garden. the top photo was taken june 4th, the bottom left was taken june 16th and the bottom right was taken june 26th. amazing. i actually thought the pumpkins and the corn were history and i was about to pull them all out when i decided to give 'em another week or two. good thing i waited. our corn will definitely be "knee high by the fourth of july." the pumpkins are jack-o-lanterns so be ready to join us for a carving party.

i almost gave up on the cucumbers, too. these were pitiful little plants and it broke my heart to even look at them so one night i decided to pull them out the following day. well, i went to pull them and they had grown. then the very next day there was a little flower...can you see it? oh, how my heart soared. they are still slow to grow but we might just get at least one cucumber this summer.

left: june 24th, right: june 26th. my mouth is watering for these. i can't wait to bite into one.

same with these. i'm growing four varieties and we will probably have a dozen ready at once. mmm...

i'm now worried about my watermelon. there has been zero growth for over a month now. i know that pesky zucchini plant is probably the problem which is why i chop at it almost daily in order to give the watermelon some sun and some room. i'm thinking we're not going to have watermelon this summer, though. what do you think?