Here's my whiskey barrel zucchini. It is growing just as fast as the ones in the raised bed garden. The chicken wire is to keep out varmints, if any should come along.



At the back there are two zucchini plants. The one on the left is a regular kind, and the one on the right is a special dwarf hybrid for container plantings. Next year I'll probably plant the more compact variety.



Eloise hovers around the screen door looking for an opportunity to escape. She hangs around the yard until she's ready to come in, and no amount of cajoling will change her mind. The other day she was sitting out there in the grass, and playing with some little animal. I thought maybe it was a mouse, but turned out it was garter snake. It ended up in pieces that she tossed up in the air from time to time.



Mr. Troutbend installed coat hooks at the rental cabin next door to hang fishing waders on, and the guests figured out how to store their rods there, too.



I made these pies for the Fourth of July (it rhymes). The one on the left is cherry but I ended up freezing it for when Mr. Troutbend gets home from Las Vegas because as nice as it looks, the crust isn't as good as it could be. So I made the second pie, apple, and shared it with the neighbors.