Bright Meadow Farms

Today I went out and got the yellow squash. Found a few monster zucchinis - I swear they weren't there yesterday! Next, for the cucumbers, which I have been ignoring. Tonight I sliced the ones already in my kitchen sink and put them in brine with some vinegar. Tomorrow I will put them in jars and process them.

I went to visit my grandma in the hospital today. She is 96, and is going through a bout of pneumonia. Up until about 10 years ago she was the best gardener in town, and in the country, too. People still talk about her rose garden, but I remember best the way she shared her produce with all the older people in her neighborhood. She had a huge flower garden in town, and her vegetable garden was about an acre in the country (at our house). We helped plant the sweet corn in those LONG, LONG rows. Some of my most pleasant childhood memories are sitting on the back porch at twilight (no air conditioning then!) shelling lima beans from the garden with my mother and my grandmother, watching the fireflies and listening to the corn grow. I still remember the day she and my mother discovered zucchini. The only way they knew how to fix it, at first, was fried in batter or baked in zucchini bread. I was telling her about my zucchini problem and she suggested a food bank. I don't know if they will want fresh zucchini, can they distribute them that fast? And is everyone else in town trying to get rid of them too? I will call the church office tomorrow.

DH says the neighbor is harvesting green beans, cabbages, and peas right now. I did not plant any of these this year. I was hoping that if I skipped a year the bean bugs will go away (wishful thinking).