Kelly

So my poor, single little delicata squash that appeared, unfortunately appeared right at the most inopportune time of when it was raining almost non-stop for a few days. This was too much to handle, and it rotted and fell off.

Now I have no squash (I haven’t had any all year) and I’ve lost all hope with getting any at all, as my frost date is quickly approaching.

Save a miracle, I will not have any squash this year.

Boooo. Boo on you El Nino for creating such a sucky spring and late summer.

After not getting anymore ripe fruit since the initial first tomato was picked, finally August has brought me Stupice tomatoes.

Damn this late season!

Finally, after seeing only male flowers all winter, a female flower finally made its appearance, got pollinated, and set fruit.

I will have at least one squash!

FINALLY! After two years, I have my first tomatillo!

You see, I had an extremely unsuccessful year last year due to my not knowing that tomatillos are self-incompatible, this year to rectify it, I grew three separate tomatillo plants (two of the same variety, and one heirloom variety).

And yesterday, I scarffed down my first fresh tomatillo that I’ve ever grown. It was so delicious, I couldn’t believe it.

It’s funny how you can feel so satisfied growing something you were so unsuccessful in growing the previous year.

There’s at least 40 more tomatillos that will ripen by the end of the summer – we’re going to go into tomatillo overload.

I was extremely excited when I picked this guy, and showing B. I asked “aren’t you excited?”

“Yes,” he said, which was then followed up with “I don’t know why I’m excited, I’ve never had a tomatillo, but I am excited”.

I’m not a huge spider fan, but I do love crab spiders. I like the way they look, and I sure do love the way they eat pests (although I don’t appreciate it when they eat the bees).

I also enjoy how they can change colour to a certain degree to blend in with their surroundings.

Did you know there’s over 2000 crab spider species?

I can finally feel like it’s gardening time.

By that, I mean I can finally see the end result, the fruiting and the ripening is happening hard and fast now. All the peppers, tomatoes, beans, and tomatillos are looking just about ready for picking. Even the delicata squash, which hasn’t had the easiest summer, gave me my first female bloom yesterday, which hopefully will start to actually set fruit now and not just fall off in a horrible let-down of dead blossoms.

I was even graced with the presence of a very vain hummingbird yesterday.

See, I have a great tall bee balm plant right in the middle of my garden. This is placed there to, of course, bring in all sorts of bees, butterflies, hoverflies, and other beneficial insects to do all the hard work of pollinating my plants for me.

Little did I know that hummingbirds also quite adore this particular plant, and I see hummingbirds several times a week since I planted it.

This little guy yesterday, who at first I thought was an extremely large bee as I caught it out of the corner of my eye, sat right down on a bee balm stalk, hardly making it shudder since it’s such a small light bird. He let me get right up to him to take a good look.

I decided to go in and get the camera, thinking upon my return he’d had flittered away to find more dinner. Not the case, as when I came back there he was, in the exact same spot looking at me.

He let me get very close to snap off a few frames, he then lifted up, and started eating from the bee balm (whose blooms are the perfect shape for hummingbird beaks). Finished, he sat right back down where he was, but within 10 seconds was off, and in the lilac tree, up so high I could barely see him (it’s a very old lilac).

I have never seen a hummingbird, not only so docile, but stationary. In fact, besides urban pigeons and seagulls that will come right up to you and steal your lunch, I’ve never seen a bird at all be so calm around humans. It was like he was showing off.

That’s what I love about gardening, little moments like that. And although I have yet to live my dream of having frogs visit the garden (there’s an old unused reservoir out back of my house where I think they’re all very contented to stay), the hummingbird came very close to that dream.

My suggestion to anybody who has those hummingbird feeders, don’t bother, just get a few big ass bee balm plants, and you’ll have more hummingbirds than you know what to do with.