Oh, the Joy of a Summer Garden

   My apologies to all. I believe... no, I am quite sure that I have been neglecting my blog a little too much. My minutes spent on blogger have been few and far between. My life is just so full, so wonderful, and so hectic, that sitting down at the computer for another half hour simply isn't on the top of my priority list. That's definitely not to say that I do not enjoy it, I just enjoy my family and my garden and my daily work a little bit more.

   The corn (as you can see from the picture above), is growing rapidly along with the rest of the garden. The weeds have not conquered it yet, as I hope they never will. My dad has implemented a new hoeing technique, or schedule, or system (or whatever you want to call it), and it has been working very well. It boils down to one simple statement: hoe one 50 ft. row a day, and you earn your breakfast.

  As you can see, the weeds in the green beans are a little more prominent than in the corn. But, enough with the weeds, I shall move on to a more interesting subject. How about squash bugs! Just kidding...

   The above photo is of a potato blossom. We planted close to seven rows of them this year, and I am firm in my belief that we will not run out of potatoes until at least February of next winter. This past year we made it until December, but that was only with four rows. The seed catalogue had sweet potatoes in stock this spring so we naturally had to tack on a few rows of those delicious things too. They account for about two of our seven rows of potato hills, and the rest consists of the all-to-delectable Yukon Gold.

   This either a bell pepper or a jalapeno pepper. I have lost my knowledge of which it is because of our lack of proper labeling of plants at the start of the year. That is definitely something I hope to improve on next year. It is not a fun thing to have to tell your Spanish tutor that you have no idea what the variety of pepper you just handed him is, simply because you were too lazy to label it when you planted it. We have the same issue with our vine plants. It is usually helpful to note whether you are planting a melon, a squash, or a pumpkin, especially when you are strategically trying to place the melon under a trellis and the squash in the back by the corn.

   Last but not least, this is a blurry picture of the top of my garlic. I just love the little circle it created of itself.

 One of my favorite things about the outdoors and our garden is the sweet goodness I witness in the plants and vegetables growing there. It is a testament to the perfection and glory and wonder of God. I marvel at it whenever I breathe the fresh air He has blown into my midst, whenever I contemplate the intricate design in a humble stalk of corn, whenever I look into the face of one of my mama's black eyed Susan's, and whenever I hear the lilting whistle of a chickadee in the wind. No wonder I like to hoe.