The Santa Cruz Mountains are burning. The fires were started by unusual lighting strikes. What that means here is smokey conditions and some ash falling.

     

The sweet pepper is doing good! In the past I underwatered them, but this time I got it right. Supposedly the peppers turn red when they are ready. I say supposedly, because once they are big enough I'm tired of waiting and enjoy them green. The taste is fine. Hoping to get at least one to turn red.

The Arkansas Traveler gave me a few berries early, but then it shut up. I think that's because I didn't water it enough.

That grape ended up giving me two huge bunches of bright red grapes. They didn't ripen until after the other vine was finished. Very happy with the flavor and quantity.

  

Just planted these chards. The older ones are giving out. Added the cloud cover to give the freshly planted roots a better chance. Planning to put it away in a week or so.

     

Not having a good tomato year. Not sure why. Last year I had plenty of tomatoes, but this year they have been more like a spice than a staple. Probably it's because I didn't do enough fertilizing.

The big story this year is cucumbers.

Almost every day I get one or two cukes a foot or so long weighing about a pound. Delicious from one end to the other including the skin. I've traded some of them for relish, some of them for "thank you"s, and I've eaten a whole lot of them. One thing I've discovered is that snacking my way through the day eating cucumbers is a great way to lose weight.

The other big story this year is that Ann has retired from being a gardener. This is big because she was the one that fed the cats that hunted in the garden. We had to give those up because nobody else has stepped up. Those cats are gone now. As a result, the lizzards and birds they used to hunt are running wild. The good news is that the snails are taking a big hit. The bad news is that the birds are eating way more of the produce. So far the problem hasn't had a big impact on my eating patterns. Fingers crossed for the future!

This is the best view of my garden right now. See the raspberries on the left? I get a handful or two of yummy berries from that every time I visit the garden. I eat them on the spot because they don't travel well.

        

That's my goji berry pot. It's in a pot because Marci said "Those vines are way too invasive to plant in the ground." I discovered from eating one that they aren't ready yet. The flavor as astringent instead or sweet. Had to follow it up with a raspberry chaser to wash the flavor out of my mouth.

  

I got a better crop out of this grape vine then ever before. We're talking enough grapes to give a whole bunch of friends a bunch of grapes each. After the harvest was done I cut it back a lot so that Cherokee Purple would get more sun.

This year the kiwi was purely an ornamental plant. Hoping next year it will do better.