Flora

My garden didn't do as well as I hoped it would this year. But it's my first real garden that

wasn't in containers. My canteloupes did fairly well. They just took forever to grow. This is one of my ripest melons, and it's not quite ready to pick. I didn't care for canteloupes when I was younger, but I love them now. My grandma loved them, and now that she's gone I think it has something to do with my liking them now.

My banana peppers were planted late, and they are just now putting out peppers. I haven't even had any yet. This is one of the first. I will be picking it this week. I love to put them on my salad.

My watermelons did okay, too. I planted seven plants and six survived. One is still pretty small with only a few leaves on it, but it didn't die!! They were slow growing, too. This is my largest one, that ain't ready for a picking yet. Soon, though. It's a Jubilee. I hope it's nice and sweet. It will be great for a Saturday afternoon cookout with my nephews and nieces.

My jalapenos did great! One plant put out peppers later than the others. But that's because it just kept growing! It's not huge by any standards, but it is larger than the others. Mike makes these great jalapeno popper things. Slice a jalapeno in half. (canned, pickled jalapenos work, too, and are not as hot.) Scoop out the seeds. Spoon in a little bit of cream cheese. Cover with a raw shrimp. Wrap with a piece of bacon. Grill on the grill or bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until the shrimp and bacon are done enough! I love these things!! They are great right off the grill or out of the fridge, cold!!

This is one of my sad (also planted late) straight neck squash plants. I have neglected that end of the garden. All the grass and weeds have grown up around them and my cucumbers. My okra is okay, but I still don't have any okra yet. I planted my crook neck squash early, and thy have fizzled out. That is, the ones that the worms didn't kill. My tomatoes have not faired well, either. Worms got them, too. :(

This is my garden partner. Prissy loves to follow me out to the garden. She hides in the grass, then jumps out and runs down the rows. She also loves to pounce on and eat all the bugs. I have never seen a cat that loves to eat bugs as much as she does. That's why I sometimes call her Silly Cat.

Well, I better get my nose back to the grind stone. It's a wonder I even have a nose left, as much as I keep it there. Why do people say that, anyway? Why would anyone even put their nose on a grind stone? Well, y'all have a good day, and I will see you all on the flip side of blog world.