Aerie Report, August, 11, 2011

Stuffed zucchini, zucchini casserole, zucchini ravioli, zucchini bread, grilled zucchini.... One of the things I've yet to gauge properly is the number of zucchini plants needed to adequately supply a family of two. Terry has been producing a zucchini dish every day trying to stay ahead of the prolific plants. In addition, she's stashed somewhere around 30 loaves of zucchini bread and an equal supply of shredded zucchini in the freezer.

Talking it over with Joe (who also has a bumper crop of zucchini) we figured one of the things that has thrown us for a lop is the lack of any vine borers. Back in New Jersey, every one of our plants would be long dead or nearly so due to the squash vine boring beetles. It wouldn't matter if we grew vine varieties or bush varieties, the beetle would get them. In four years, I've yet to see any borer damage to my zucchini. And from observations made while driving along and looking at the healthy plants others have in their gardens, I'm beginning to doubt there are any vine borer beetles in the area. Which, I would like to stress, is a good thing.

Should anyone attack the Aerie, I figure we can stack frozen zucchini bread in the window spaces like sand bags. (And we've a lot of window space!) The eight inch thick logs will do pretty well on their own. Alternatively, if I had a trebuchet, I've already got plenty of ammo.

******

We've been pulling up some onions as the tops die back. There's a stack of mostly white sweet onions between golf ball and baseball sized drying on the covered porch. A few of the red Spanish onions have been plucked. The ones I started from plants are still growing strong. Their tops erect, firm and green. They may be among the last things harvested this fall.

******

The freezer is now chock full. What with the zucchini products, string beans, blueberries. Meat will be our next purchase...IF we have room and IF I do not score during the hunting season. The halibut from Homer, Alaska is almost gone and the beef is pretty low. (Venison has been gone for a l-o-n-g time.)

******

Got a call this afternoon from the doctor's office. The MRI showed no tears or cartilage which is good. It did confirm a calcification of the soft tissues at the top of the patella. They want to send me to an orthopedist for an exam and consultation. They said they would make the arrangements and get back to me as to when the appointment would be.

******

The weather has been simply gorgeous if you ignore the 30 minutes of rain showers that come sweeping through now and then. Yesterday we had two or three of those showers. Last night and today, none. Last night it dropped into the upper 50s. Today it was a breezy (mostly) clear 75 degrees. Tonight it may dip down into the 40s.

Lovely weather and I'm here sitting up on blocks with one injured knee and one that's having pangs of empathy. (Or maybe it's just wondering why IT didn't get the MRI treatment two years ago? Is it because it's the left knee it got ignored? Do I like my right knee better?)