The BEST very local veggies!

We have had some bitter cukes this year but I finally figured out that they needed more attention, or something. For example, they need to grow in a nice place so they don't get curled up; and get regular watering, so they can fill up nicely with fluid, like this one pictured. Now they are coming along just fine. I forgot to snap a pic of the really huge one, it was about 15 inches. It was late, I was in the midst of several things for dinner (homemade pesto; bruschetta with zebra tomatoes, basil and fresh mozzarella; pasta; a spicy kale dish; and corn on the cob). So I just cut it up. Then I regretted it, thinking how cute Maya was when she carried it in from the garden.
Ah well, there will be more cukes.

My best tomatoes are these very sweet cherry toms. And I am getting a nice snack-size amount of green beans, which are so wonderful if you steam them quickly in the microwave and eat 'em with dip, or whatever.

You just gotta love summer veggies. I really enjoy having my garden, and have learned so much from it.

About the title...

In case you are curious, the title of this blog is the name of my dog. Well, the name he was given by the kennel he used to go to, before we got a wonderful dog-sitter.

Jack jumps fences. Yes, he does. Well, he did. He doesn't anymore, he's getting a bit old. But in his prime, he could jump a 6 foot chain link fence. He easily scaled out of our 5 foot backyard fence. Anytime he was bored, or saw something fun to go after, he would jump the fence, and we'd have to run off to get him. In the car. He would run further away if you tried to get him in person. Somehow, he still will come to the car. You'd think he'd learn that this was a trap. But maybe to him, it was still worth the short adventure, and attention.

And at the kennel, he jumped out of their play yard, which is quite near a busy road. And he was able to scramble out of the wee space at the end of the dog run that is above the door. They had a tarp or some kind of top to it, so it was just this tiny 1 foot gap above the door. So they had to block his access to the run and just walk him on leash. We were so glad to switch to a dogsitter. The stress of the jail environment was too much for him.

How this connects to this blog.... ? Jack was nimble, Jack was quick...Jack jumping fences was his trick! The metaphor here is that if we are nimble and quick, we can jump the fences in front of us, also. Trick is, to stay nimble and quick. My obstacles and hurdles are actually my stepping stones of progress. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right? Or sends you to therapy for life... I think I will choose the path of strength and wisdom, and compassion.
Also, the lesson Jack taught me is to give him the attention, to not neglect him... else he would jump the fence, to go exploring and get attention, albeit partly negative, from me.

More to come....

More to come.... check back later. I am migrating some older posts over here so my slate is not quite so blank.