The only constant in life...

...is change. And you know how women like to change things around now and then. Well, the wife just had to move the plants around on the deck. So we (she) grouped all the vegetables in the southwest corner. It works pretty well. In the northwest corner, we've moved most of the flowers.

OK, so not quite everything in the pictures are vegetables.


And here's the rest of them...


...the basil flowered, and will likely drop seed and start up again. We snipped several of the flowering stalks and put them into vases inside the house. They make a gorgeous and very fragrant bouquet. I like to just rub a leaf between my fingers and inhale.


...we still haven't harvested any eggplant, but probably will tomorrow. There must be 30 fruits on this bush, so we'll snip a couple and cook 'em up.

Typically, I get conflicting information with each gardening source I reference. One says let them get 4" before harvesting, one says they'll get 4-5", another says harvest them young, at 1-2oz (how long is that?!), another one says they grow 2-4". So I think we'll experiment with a couple Saturday and take it from there. Better harvest before the bugs do.


...first try with yellow squash and they're doing very well. I hear they love the heat. They should feel right at home around here. Today was the first official day of summer, but highs have been over 90 degrees for three weeks straight.


...the Mariachi peppers are sprouting nicely, but this next shot is the next batch of cucumbers. One would hope that one would learn from one's past experiences, wouldn't one?


...the three Early Girl tomato plants are laden with fruit. So far, however, the skins have been pretty tough. The insides are wonderful, but those skins. Damn.

Again, one source says the skins could be tough because we're harvesting them too soon, another says the skins can get tough if the soil is allowed to dry out too much between waterings. We're learning all the time. Just pulled another one off this bush that was deep red and starting to soften, and we'll eat that one Saturday also.

No salmonella here.


We'd been tossing around the idea of building a cover over part of the rooftop deck to give us some shade. After getting a couple of bids from contractors, we've decided not to do it. We think the cover would just take away too much from the view. So, we chose instead to get another table with an umbrella.

Open, sesame...


Unfortunately, the next picture is probably how it will look most of the time. Closed. Or, the actual umbrella portion will be taken inside. The winds up on the roof can be really strong, and while the umbrella is bolted into an 80lb weight and is not likely to blow away, I don't want to see it straining against its leash, so to speak.


We'll see how the umbrella thing goes for awhile. I reserve the right to re-visit the plans to build a cover up there. I can change my mind too, ya know.