I can't hear you...

Why is everyone claiming summer is over? I feel like I'm just getting it together. Every year I need to be pulled, kicking and screaming, from summer into fall. It's not that I don't enjoy things about the fall and I've even found myself enjoying winter "gardening", which for me is mostly wandering the yard doing bits of cleanup. For many years I felt done once I had cleaned up the veggies and done a good perennial deadheading/annual removal. And then I tried growing lettuces, onions and broccoli only to have them eaten, I believed, by snails. Well, last year I discovered that the culprits were sparrows, eating any greens down to the ground as they sprouted or were transplanted into the garden. So I built a reverse bird cage out of PVC and screening and, lo and behold, I had a lettuce crop! So I guess I will get to do a bit more actual gardening this winter...which, however, doesn't mean I'm happy about all this end-of-summer talk.

I finally have an edible zucchini! I started a new type of zucchini (Striata d'Italia) from seed this year and the plants are pretty and would seem to be prolific bearers. But this is the first squash that hasn't shrivelled after reaching a few inches long...as you can see one doing near the pretty one. I mean...how hard is zucchini to grow??!! I've always viewed it as fool proof...any suggestions as to what causes this would be appreciated!
On the other hand, I'm feeling happy about the portulaca, salvia, society garlic area near my hot driveway. I've got Biokova cranesbill here that burns out in the summer and this area often looks less than inviting...and it is right at the front door. So this year I wedged in some portulaca and Victoria Blue salvia and it looks much prettier and is way less water needy.

The threat of aerial spraying for mosquitos is on hold thanks to the delta breezes that picked up Thursday PM. It remains to be seen whether it will happen in the coming week or not. It's frustrating that backyard standing water seems to be a major contributor to the mosquito problem and that people can't seem to take the time to do a quick check of their yard to dump out stagnant water. I'm not happy about the idea of my yard being sprayed...and I'm getting tired of covering the veggies. I really don't want to have to worry about the food I'm growing myself...part of the reason I grow it is so that I don't have to worry about what is on what we eat. My yard is full of spiders, bees, skippers and cabbage moths with lesser numbers of other visitors and I'll be interested to see what happens if and when we get sprayed...(if only they could target earwigs...)