When Zucchini Takes Over the World

When I was a kid, our farm gardens were massive. We had acres of potatoes. My grandmother's "kitchen garden" had to be at least a thousand square feet. Corn, cabbage, cucumbers, tomatoes, green beans, kohlrabi, onions, peppers, and so much more. Rhubarb, horseradish, and dill grew along its borders. We had an apple orchard as well as pear and peach trees. 

Now, we have a ten-acre chunk of that 150-acre farm, and our little garden has grown progressively smaller over the decades. This year we have onions, cucumbers, a few sad tomato plants, peppers, and one plant each of yellow squash and zucchini. Those last two are threatening to take over the world alongside the cucumbers.

We've given bushels of the things away. People see my husband coming and run. They can't escape. He drives by when folks aren't home and leaves squash on their doorstep. 

I've been cooking and eating squash and cukes for lunch and supper every single day. Yes, I'm sick of them. And just when the piles of them start to look manageable, my husband goes to the garden and brings back twenty more. I kid you not. 

This is the modest collection currently on our porch. 

That big one had been hiding.

Plus, we have another collection inside.

And we haven't checked the garden yet today. Yes, I should make pickles. No, I'm not going to. I have a book deadline looming. 

But if anyone out there wants to do it, let me know. I will happily provide the cucumbers.