I think I can, I think I can...

Although we haven't had an overabundance of hot sunny days so far this year (What's with the rain storm, it's almost June!), we have managed to avoid the late freezes that seemed to plague gardens last year. Not that things are growing with reckless abandon, but they are keeping a slow and steady pace as the days get longer and the sun spends more time out in the open. My squash patch has been soaking up that sunshine and putting it to good use.

The crooknecks have been making the most progress. All of my plants have several female flower setting.

Not to be left behind, the zucchini plants have just started forming little buds. I remember as summer came to a close last year I thought if I ever saw one again it would be too soon. Now however, I'm craving a large hearty scoop of sauteed zucchini with my dinner!

Well they still have a long way to go, and the butternut hasn't even been planted yet, but I am happy to report a healthy set of squash this year. My heart goes out to the poor victims of the Sacramento hail storm a few weeks ago. I hear many good squash plants perished in those parts as a result. Don't worry, my plants will carry on the good fight.

Squash Update

Well, my squash patch may have died off once early in the season, but the second time seemed to take. The sea of green is making our front yard look a little more planned.

Up front is the strawberry patch that has grown in nicely.

As you can probably imagine from the above photo, it's pretty easy to miss a growing squash. I've been trying to go out and tip toe amongst the squash every couple of days to see how things are progressing, but I still seem to end up with over grown summer squashes. Luckily, they still taste pretty good even when they get big. Here are some close ups from my last tip toe.

A handsome Peter Pan squash ready for the frying pan.

This is either Honey Boat or a Pumpkin. We planted them right next to each other...bad idea.

This one is my favorite. A four inch long Butternut Squash. So cute!!

This is a new experiment, Papaya Squash. What I find intriguing about them is that they are almost a neon yellow and VERY shiny.

This is my rather large Spagetti Squash. It hasn't even started to ripen yet and it's already bigger than I'm used to seeing.

Last but not least we had a Yellow Crookneck Squash. I believe this one is going in a chicken soup tonight!

Thanks for coming with me on a walk through my squash patch. While I am pretty happy with how it's turned out, next time I might space them further apart to make harvesting easier. Then again....