It's the middle of July, what I consider the halfway point of summer. My garden is in its glory.

Those wide spaced rows have all but closed in with sprawling veggies. The corn is silking, tomatoes ripening, sweet potatoes vining. But for now, it's green beans, chard, broccoli, and other "greens" (plus summer squash). Asparagus and lettuce are done for the season. I hated buying a head of lettuce at the store yesterday.

But I just love the way my garden produces food in a systematic way--the early, the middle, the late vegetables "ripening" in succession. What I can't eat, I freeze or give away. My "roadside stand" is open for business (free for the taking). I can store potatoes, beets, parsnips, carrots, acorn squash, onions, etc. all winter in the basement (fruit cellar).

I just love to garden, period. The smell of dill and cilantro heighten my senses. Seeing raccoon scat, however, dismay me. I watched a family parade across the yard last night. I've been told that urine will keep them out of the corn. We'll see (no details provided!). And I've seen deer browsing under my yellow transparent apple tree. As long as they take the early wormy apples, it's okay.

It's a good thing I never tire of stir-fry. There are so many different combinations one can prepare. It's my summer staple. If I've repeated myself from a previous post (or comments), sorry. It's the good ol' summertime, and my life is consumed with two passions, the garden being one of them.