Melancholy. Or Not.

This afternoon in the garden began with a bit of sadness, marking the end of summer and the return of shorter days and cold weather. I started my work by pulling out all of the zucchini and cucumbers. They were well past their prime and not producing anything. After I hauled the yellow and brown vines to the compost and took down the cucumber trellis, I turned my attention to the pole beans.

The pole beans have gone all "Little Shop of Horrors" lately. After a mostly beanless summer, the pole beans have taken over their trellis and two neighboring tomato cages, and have crossed the walkway to wind around the fence that surrounds the whole garden. So I grabbed a bucket and started picking beans. I filled a gallon bucket with more than two pounds of beans! I left a lot of little beans and saw a lot of flowers, so I guess there's still a little bit of summer left out there.