Other Things

I forgot to tell you about the bean patch. You know I had planted a 50' section with all different varieties of heirloom beans this past June. Well, the deer decimated the beans and with all the family events I didn't get to the weeding. As you can guess, the weeds in the bean patch are alive and well. I walked through the patch and was thinking about mowing it all down and tilling everything under, when I realized I was surrounded by bees. I don't know where these bees came from, but they were the biggest bumble bees I think I ever saw. They were happily going from weed to flowering weed. So I decided to leave the weedy bean patch to the bees and will cut the section probably the end of September.

I was surprised to see so many flowers on the pumpkins and even on the Queensland squash. I hope I get some pumpkins and squash this year! The potatoes are looking very good, and the rutabegas need to be thinned. The cabbages look like they want to start heading up, and the collards are starting to stretch.

In the high tunnel, the catnip is starting to go to seed, and the spearmint is finished for the year. I still have some parsley, and there is a basil or two among the tomatoes, which are looking wonderful and wild -- I staked up quite a few of them. The Charentais melons are flowering and starting to run, and the Perkins Long Pod okra is starting to get flowers, too. The beets are growing well, and the mesclun lettuces need to be picked. The hot peppers from Bill and Linda are growing very well, but there isn't a single flower on any of the plants.

My check up with the doctor went well. The doctor was very happy that I had lost 16 pounds in one month. She wants me to lose another 40 pounds and I have to go back in around Thanksgiving to get my blood pressure checked. If my blood pressure hasn't gone down by then, she is going to change my medication. I think there is nothing wrong with me that losing 80 pounds won't cure, and I am determined to stop looking like a beached whale. When the Schwans delivery man came to the house he was puzzled by my "healthy" order instead of LOTS of ice cream. Today we had unbreaded salmon fillets with a good green salad and orzo with apple bits and raisins. It was a very healthy supper and no one complained.