August Harvest

The growing is moving along rather slowly here in the Northwest. Unlike a large part of the country that is in the clutches of an unending heat wave and drought, we have had a very late start to summer with a long wet spring.  We are now in our third week of 75-80 degree days and the garden is loving it. Frankly, so am I.

Today, I finally pulled enough produce from the garden to fill my basket!

Yellow Patty Pan Squash are doing well, I have harvested about 12 of these to date.  This is the 6th container of blueberries from our three bushes.  Tomato's!!!  Finally the Sweet Baby Girls are starting to produce.  The rest of the tomato's are big and green, but are not even hinting at turning color yet.  I also pulled a carrot to see how they were doing, this one is a Purple Haze.  I promptly ate it after this shot, nice and sweet.  And my almost daily bonus of three eggs from the girls.  Smores = white/pink.  Godzilla = green.  Pepper = small brown with spots (kinda hard to see here).  Not pictured are an entire large bowl of bush beans I picked quickly before we went camping last weekend.  This is the year I learn how to use the pressure canner!  (This is your queue, Mom, to come on over for my training!)

This squash is one of the volunteers that came up in the tomato's...I am still not sure what it is.  Since squash cross pollinate really easily this may be some sort of combo pumpkin/sweet meat winter squash.  However, it is shaping itself like the Sweet Meat's I grew a couple years ago.

Here is a view of the garden from the vantage of the now blooming volunteer sunflower!  Notice the squash growing over the tomato's....I keep pulling it down or pulling them out.  I value the tomato's much more than random pumpkins.

Check out a close up of the bees still wallowing on the nectar.  I took this shot at dusk, way past when they should be heading back to the hive...I think they may be a little drunk on the nectar if that is even possible.

All in all, things are shaping up.