COMMUNITY DINNER

As we head into the doldrums of mid-summer, in an unusually humid year, our Thursday July 9 Community Dinner was particularly sparsely attended, with just five us, all but one, neighbor Devin, who lives here. We were outside on the patio, for once, and the humid heat wasn’t too bad. Both our usual contributors of fabulous main meat dishes were missing, Jeff on a trip to the northwest, Julie to a kid’s birthday party. So, we had to settle for our salads and side dishes, plus a particularly delicious and welcome watermelon.

But, we engaged in an unusually intense, spirited, and ultimately hilarious conversation — about DEATH.

Then, 20 minutes in, two more people arrived, Tom and Emily, (both far left at second table) who had never been to one of our dinners before! Though they did participate in the sauerkraut work party not long ago.

That’s what keeps this place stimulating. You just never know either what we’re going to talk about, or who will be showing up for Community Dinner!

 

WORK PARTY

Early morning work party today, started at 8 and finished by 9 AM. Three people: Elisha, Addy, and Marcella. The project? Bringing the new cabbage, broccoli, and brussel sprout seedlings out to the garden to harden off, since they were under too much shade on shelves in front of the greenhouse, a spot that not long ago, had enough sun — this humid heat certainly does seem to encourage the big tree above that usual spot to sprout gobs of more leaves!.

So: First, prepare the bed —

— and drag a board out there,  set it up for the seedlings. I had just arrived, asked how the three of them  were doing. Marcella responded: “Sweating.”

Here, we see Elisha and Marcella doing the actual set-up, Addy having gotten distracted by a tiny spider.

 

I took a few pics of some of what’s out there now.

Basil:

Summer squashes:

Tomatillos.

There was a gigantic squash along the fence line, and I asked about it, laughing. Why hasn’t it been harvested?

Boss Lady Elisha: “Because it’s a winter squash. And though you can eat it now, it’s best to harvest it when it reaches full maturity, and that’s after the entire plant has died back.”

 

GARDEN BOUNTY 2026

Afterwards, I emailed Elisha to send me a list of what’s already harvested, and where stored. Took a screen shot of her immediate response:

Then, a very short while later, I g0t another email:

So there we are, the state of our tiny Green Acres Village paradise, mid-Summer, 2026.