"When did we move to Seattle?"  Dave asked at dinner last night as yet another storm started.  We have had rain every day but 2 in the last two weeks and we've got rain lined up every day for the next 10.  We've had more than twice our average rain this year.  The animals are starting to pair up.  Scarlett and Patches and negotiating their couplehood on the ark.  (or at least in the Jetta)

So, it may not surprise you that all of the vine vegetables---the ones who spread on the ground and keep their produce on the ground---have died.  The zucchini are gone.  There are big holes of nothin' where large zucchini used to be.  The yellow squash are still trying, but they should give up.  There are moderate sized holes in the garden landscape where they were.  A few leaves are still greenish, but there is nothing on them.  The cantalope are turning yellow as we speak.  We did harvest one melon, and there are two more out there that I'm going to bring in today to let them ripen off the mud.  One cantalope had actually rotted on the vine.  YECH.  The cucumbers are not so bad.  We've seen a few, and the leaves are green which we're taking as a good sign.  But we're not getting the output we did a month ago.

The tomatoes, as I said yesterday, are happy plants.  Did you know you're supposed to bring in the tomatoes when they're turning red, not when they are fully red?  Why?  Well, birds, insects, and splittage are more common when they are ripe than when they are ripening.  And if you put them in a sunny spot in your kitchen (and NEVER in the fridge, tomatoes are too sensitive for the fridge), they will ripen right up, and they are yummy, yummy, yummy!  The eggplants are producing.  We should have two big ass eggers in a week. One more japanese eggplant is finishing himself up, but the plant itself is starting to look sketchy.  The peppers are just pathetic.  They are little rods of green in the garden with no foliage.  They look homely and weak.  We will not be able to make ratatouille from our garden this year.  (That was an early garden fantasy).  The okra are growing, but I'm sad to hear that two plants are not going to give us diddly as far as okra goes. (Okra go?  Is "okra" plural?  Okra are good?  Okra is good?  Any ideas?  Merriam-Webster is not helpful on this word.) 

The herbs are doing well,  Well, the herbs that are still alive are doing well. The rosemary and chives are moving right along. The sage has staged a come back and is thriving.  There is one sprig of oregano growing , although the mint is trying to over take it.  I hate the mint.  It's a gaudy, fluanting, full of itself bush.  And really, you can't eat that much mint at one time.  There are not enough dishes in the world that call for more than half a cup of mint so that you can adequately harvest it.  The basil bush is good though.  We must make more pesto soon.  Good news is that you can freeze pesto.  And we shall for the winter.  Lotsssssss of pesto. 

That's it for the garden.  The 8 foot high butterfly bush took a spill last week and dave and I opted not to save it.  It barely had any blossoms on it.  I do believe it was past its prime.  We still have the 6 foot bush for next year. 

And yes, I did take the car in for inspection yesterday.  It took less than 5 minutes.  With a diesel, all they need to do is check that the lights work.  They did that, and I left!  :-)  Others at the inspection station were not amused!  I love having the diesel Jetta.  I especially love driving up to the diesel pumps on the highway and hopping out amongst the big rigs and filling up my car.  More than a couple of people have asked me if I'm at the right place!  Actually, it's the folks with the diesel pick-up trucks that look at my car the most forlornly (M-W says that IS a word).  10 mpg for them; 45 mpg for me!

Off to work.  I actually thought a few "great thoughts" yesterday.  Of course, I also bit the crap out of my tongue and left a wound.  We'll see which trend prevails!

8:14:41 AM