Backyard Garden

Oh, the joys of a backyard garden!  Even though the temperature has been above 100 degrees Farenheit for two weeks in a row, the garden has been resilient.  As soon as we have a couple of overnight temperatures no higher than 75 degrees, we will have tomatoes galore.  Already, we've harvested some tomatoes, lots of yellow crookneck squash, zucchini, broccoli, green leafy lettuce, cucumbers and Ronde' de Nice (eight-ball squash).  In the picture below, you can see the (plastic) guardian owls and hawks that keep watch over the garden. The pole beans and carrots are up but haven't been harvested yet. The cucumbers are too numerous to keep up with. I've been freezing green peppers and tomatoes.  Will try freezing cucumbers in a brine today.     The cantaloupes are almost ready.  The carrots need more time. We pulled up most of the watermelon vines --- they were taking over and intruding on all the plants around them.  We live and learn.  We'll allow more space next summer.  One of our favorite home garden recipes is summer salsa, shown in one of the pictures below.  This time we served it over tortilla chips.  It has tomatoes, green peppers, cucumbers, parsley, red onion, garlic, jalapeno, lime juice, garlic, cumin, salt & pepper.  Terrific!  Healthy lifestyle can be fun and tasty!  We've been eating mostly from the garden and feeling great!