The dance did the trick here. Cloudy and rainy for the next 3-4 days. What do your pole beans climb up to get to the eaves? My Greek cookbook's recipe for stuffed zucchini: 4 med. zucchini 2 Tbsp butter 1 sm onion, chopped 4 oz ground lamb or beef 1 tsp ground cumin 1 tsp chopped oregano 2 tsps chopped fresh parsley 2 tsps chopped fresh fennel (I use dill) 2 oz cooked long-grain rice 2 tbsps grated cheese salt & pepper [If vegetarians are coming to dinner, I omit the meat, add a few Tbsps of bread crumbs and and egg to hold it together, and am generous with the cheese] - remove ends from zuc, chop in half, scoop out middles - parboil for 2 minutes in boiling salted water; rinse in colde water right away - cook onions in half the butter until soft; & transparent; add meat and cook till beginning to brown - chop remaining zuc flesh and add to meat - add all other ingredients, mix well, and fill hollows in zucs - melt remaining butter in large frying pan; place in zuchs in a single layer; add water to halfway up the sides; cover - cook over gentle heat for 20 minutes, basting occasionally; add more water if nec. - when zucs are tender, remove to a serving dish; save 1/2 cup of the liquid SAUCE: beat 2 egg yolks and juice of 1 lemon together in a small saucepan; add some of the hot cooking liquid from the zucs; cook over gentle heat, whisking, till slightly thickened; strain & pour over zucs I was thinking of trying this with my pattypan squash --- would be pretty! Cheers, Zabby

I can see how I could easily become a little obsessive about seeds. No seed or plant left behind lol. Am already that way about little plants and feel a little guilty when I lose some I've nurtured due to neglect. But I do not want to go overboard on that track. When I woke up I was thinking about "things", don't have much of a mind for deep philosophizing, but seeds represent life potential and resurrection of sorts, no matter what there is or isn't. It's nice to be a part of it, helping the process along. The beauty of a job well done is rewarding. Was also thinking about weeds, how much we hate them, why they are so easy and other plants so hard. But would we really want a perfect world where every flower is perfect? Just speaking for myself, the imperfect ones make the best ones seem all the more special. In some ways we have the power of life and death over the seeds, the ones we don't get around to planting. A lot of the rest of it is beyond our power to control. I am having a little trouble understanding why some are so into rudbeckias. I like them well enough and always get a thrill from diversity and the unexpected, but some of them look pretty much the same to me. And what is the difference between the yellow ruds with the red splash and Indian Blanket gaillardia? Normally I shun red and yellow together but see the beauty in those. Granted the flower form is different, but which are better and why the preference? Both seem to bloom all season, but my ruds topple. My sister doesn't like ruds but saw my Prairie Sun and Cherry Brandy and did like those. Certainly don't mean to hurt anybody's feelings or cause offense, but I don't like black-eyed susans; there is no rhyme or reason for it. I've been known to change my attitudes though. I've noticed I now like color combos that I would have never dreamed of putting together when I was younger. With me there seems to be a law of diminishing returns. The more perfection I strive for in composition, colors, types, etc., the less I seem to be satisfied. Then I see photos of things I wouldn't put together or things that just look "thrown" together, and they are the most beautiful of all. I know behind it all it required some thought and planning.

I agree, it sounds like the heat. It causes a lot of tomato/pepper pollen to not be viable. Maybe your tomatoes bloomed earlier in the year and were able to set fruit? Now that the big heat is here, neither one is probably setting NEW fruit. I keep my tomato plants going into early summer when the last of their winter/spring fruit ripens, then I rip them out for summer. Peppers, though, I do tend to keep longer since the small-fruited types (usually hot) hold up pretty well in the heat. Let us know what you think. Take care, Grant

What I meant was that I have too many of some varieties. My rudbeckias were stunning this year and produced hand over fist. The agastaches did well. The salvia subrotunda kicked butt. And lots of others produced way too many seeds for me to plant in my ever shrinking yard. I'd rather pass them along. So one more....Who'll it be?