2010. Not my favorite year so far.

It has been ages since my last post. Basically I can sum up everything that's happened in the last two weeks by letting you all know that I've just been trying to breathe.

Literally.

I can tell things are getting better, but I still struggle with coughing, a tight chest, and feeling like I can't breathe well when I lay down. This is turning into the year that I hate.

I think my garden is sensing my infirmness because it, too, is languishing.

Or, that could be because it's approximately 127 degrees outside with no rain in sight.

Seriously, some weird gray, sticky, mold or fungus-type disease has attacked all my pole bean plants, almost from their inception as seedlings. Maybe they are offended by my poor excuse for a pole bean trellis (again, not pictured because I am so embarrassed.) My zucchini plants are rotting from the stems (one of them never even produced a single zucchini). I think the few zucchinis I did harvest all had blossom-end rot. I don't have the energy to do much damage control this year...or even figure out what all the diseases and pests are that plague our backyard.

However, even though the tomato plants are losing all their leaves, I am harvesting a great number of tomatoes, both regular-sized and the cherry variety. I am also getting a few okras (okra? okras? what's the plural of okra?)...just a few at a time.

If you have a recipe that calls for about 5 okra(s?), let me know!

So, all-in-all, I give my garden a solid "C" this summer. It's passing!

(Let me know if you need a tomato...I'm sure I have an extra one or five hanging about.)

I'll leave you with a couple representative pictures of our produce.


Mmmmm. Nothing like homegrown tomatoes!


See what I mean? Just one okra this morning. But don't they look good?