<p>BB, is that a type of squirrel or did you just name him Douglas?? ;)</p>
<p>The Douglas squirrel was our latest catch. It is a type of a native PNW squirrel:
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<p>We already relocated a bunch of rabbits and grey squirrels this year. So far, no possums or rats…</p>
<p>If you have an abundance of chili peppers, I’d recommend the recipe below. I’ve got 6 pint jars of pickled peppers, which look beautiful!</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/pickled-peppers”>http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/pickled-peppers</a></p>
<p>Our yard is a construction site this summer, so I’m not even trying to grow vegetables, but I do want to put in a plug for nasturtiums we moved the window boxes they were in to the front yard and they are blooming like mad. They look great in salads and have a pleasant peppery taste. I also grow a bunch of herbs - parsley, chives, oregano, thyme (lemon and regular), sage, dill, basil, and mint currently.</p>
<p>We belong to a CSA and are also drowning in cucumbers. Unfortunately I am not a pickle fan. I’m thinking of trying them in a cucumber avocado soup today.</p>
<p>I made a cucumber salad for dinner tonight - not my cukes, but pickles type from the farmers market. Cukes, grape tomatoes halved, red onion, chopped banana peppers (my garden), feta, olives and some parsley and basil. A garlic vinegarette mixed in. Will eat it for the next couple days!!</p>
<p>abasket, you are making me hungry! :)</p>
<p>Mathmom–I don’t have cucumbers–but when I did I made this soup. it’s really good and it’s good herbs in it too.</p>
<p><a href=“Cold Cucumber Soup Recipe with Yogurt and Dill”>http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/cold-cucumber-soup-with-yogurt-and-dill</a></p>
<p>That looks good and I only used half the cucumbers. I don’t have tarragon in my garden, so I’d either have to use dried or go buy some. The soup I did make was pretty good - we used Greek yogurt and a dollop of sour cream in the garnish. <a href=“http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Spicy-Cucumber-Avocado-Soup-103659”>http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Spicy-Cucumber-Avocado-Soup-103659</a> I liked having an excuse to use a lot of chives. :)</p>
<p>Yum, those look good. I just wish I wasn’t allergic to avocado… 
Maybe the weirdest food allergy - why couldn’t it have been something I didn’t like anyway.</p>
<p>You could probably substitute something for the avocado. Maybe a medium cooked potato and some extra fat of some kind. I agree with loving lots of chives!</p>
<p>I’m seeing pureed raw peas are an avocado substitute- that actually sounds good for the cuke dish…</p>
<p>We made what was basically pea soup with fava beans last week. I think they’d go well with cucumbers.</p>
<p>recipes sound delish!</p>
<p>Digging gazpacho with tomatoes, peppers, garlic, cucumber, basil, vinegar, olive oil, worcestershire sauce, blah blah blah and watermelon!</p>
<p>Looks like our summer here will go down as a mild one, meaning that the plants which need heat, Okra and the tomato stalks, may only become so-so producers this year. Have harvested exactly TWO okra pods. Jubilee tomato and Rutgers tomato have been slow to produce. On the other hand, I’ve got quite a few Cherry tomatoes hanging from the vine, but they have been green FOREVER. Only two a-day seem to turn red and sweet.</p>
<p>I moved my 2 lilac plants and it must have shocked them, old leaves turned brown and died and new leaves are forming and the best yet, I have lilac flowers in August. I also repotted my 2 Easter Lily plants and they are blooming also in August, normally around Easter. </p>
<p>Today I planted 8 artichoke plants and one squash finally sprouted from my regular seeds. Tomato plants from compost pile are growing crazy.</p>
<p>On the landscaping front, I have finished my meditation corner. I planted white vinca flowers(I copied Houzz) and light blue lobelia around my little Buddha. The Buddha is sitting on top of small yellow pebbles. So when I feel stressed this is where I go.</p>
<p>I have Rutgers, too. Only two tomatoes so far, getting to a good size, still green. Hoping for more next month. As a teen, DH worked on the Rutgers farm. </p>
<p>Getting lots of grape tomatoes and the orange little sweet ones - yummy! Banana peppers continue to produce. Picked my first two big tomatoes. SOOOO many tomatoes yet to come - clearly they have taken over the garden space. A few green beans growing but they and the peppers are getting shadowed - literally - by the tomatoes. </p>
<p>Also planted some broccoli by seed for a fall crop a few weeks ago and have been thinning those out. My beets and carrots seem to be kind of tiny - don’t know if I planted them too close or what - the greens look healthy though! </p>
<p>Lake Washington, I would love to grow okra - whenever I buy it in the grocery store, the taste isn’t as good as I remember from my youth (but what is?) and the grocery store clerk at the check-out is always flummoxed (“uh, do you know what this is?” Well, of course I do, I bought it.) Of course, it’s been a pretty cool summer here, so I’m guessing I would not have gotten any pods, either.</p>
<p>Lots of green tomatoes, only one red one so far, and no ground hogs (yet). My cucumbers were producing like crazy but now seem to be dying back.</p>
<p>The little orange sweets- Sun Sugar? I’ve only gotten a few so far (another 15 growing.) Agree they are special. I have two acorn squash now about an inch in diameter. </p>