I’ve not been particularly good about updating, not for a lack of things to write about, unfortunately. Finding the time has been a challenge, so here’s to a little writerly discipline.

In spite of today’s rather extreme heat, I spent some time working in the garden. A couple of days ago I harvested our first-ever cucumber, which was kind of neat. Our herb garden has been providing flavor accents for our meals for quite a few weeks now, and fresh mint for delicious mojitos. Yesterday I noticed a few munch-holes on the yellow squash (and at least one pepper) and decided that today was a workday.

So far this morning I have harvested a batch of basil for tomorrow night’s dinner (fettuccine and walnut pesto), gathered what’s left of the late-season lettuce (it’s regaining its crispness in a big bowl of ice water as we speak) and cleared out the stalks of the lettuce plants that have gone to seed, and harvested five yellow squash. As soon as I’m done with this coffee, I’m going to water the tomatoes, the herb garden, and the big vegetable garden and then spray everything with some Capt. Jack’s Deadbug (organic, of course) in the hopes of defeating the critters who would eat our plants.

And after that, a shower. Jim’s been outside pruning trees and dragging away the brush all morning, so I think we’re both going to want lunch before too long.

Tonight’s dinner: sausage and peppers made with house-made Italian sausage from a local meat market (of the old fashioned variety — these people are butchers who know their stuff and sell quality), and a salad of the last of our romaine and our very own cucumber. I’m going to dress that with some of the koroneiki olive oil and 18-year-old balsamic we bought in Vineyard Haven, and it’ll be good.