A Nod to Nancy

It is now spring. That means it is time for planting a garden. Digging up some dirt and seeing what I can grow and put on the table. My winter garden was a bit of a bust, but I assumed that was going to happen when I planted it two months late. We did get a new garden plot, one dinner of broccoli, a tiny, but tasty, head of cabbage and some pretty greenery to water...not much else.

So, the other day I got a message from Nancy, one of my mother-in-laws, telling me that I needed to take some pictures of potatoes...HUH??? "Kinda boring", I told her, "unless they're shaped like Elvis or something." Although, I had taken some pictures of the going-to-seed broccoli that morning, I didn't think they were post-worthy at that point.

Apparently, in her dog food preparing ritual of peeling, cutting and cooking 10 pounds of potatoes every few days, Nancy came across a "giraffe" in one of her potatoes. Really? A giraffe??? I guess if you are continually working with organic things, you are bound to find some oddities of nature every once in a while. "Well, that IS interesting!", I said. "Send me the pics!"

I quickly thought of about five pics I had on hand to put together for a blog and the wheels were turning in my head to figure out what other shots I could take that would round it out. So here is my ode to the vegetable and it's garden. Maybe a couple of fruits, too.

This is quite a big vegetable garden.

Rows

And sometimes they need a little dusting

Can I get one of these for my yard?

When I got Nancy's potato pic, I thought it looked like the giraffe from Madagascar. So I whipped up this side-by-side comparison.

Potato Giraffe

I actually had a different potato pic that I could use. This was taken after dinner when we were on vacation in Avila Beach. Billy got creative and made...

Mashed Homer

I stole this pic from my Aunt Maryellen. I thought it was too cute.

Potato Face

Then, Bonnie, my other mother-in-law, pointed out this potato while we were at Disneyland. I'm noticing a trend here. There is something about potatoes and faces.

Mr. Potato Head

Gardening tools make me smile, how about you?

A Happy Little Guy

Here's my first attempt at cabbage.

I may be little, but packed with flavor

And speaking for flavor, everybody needs to add a little spice to your life.

Hey, I know her!!

The garden's nemesis

Billy, put down your  BB Gun!!

My first little tomato offering of the year.

Juicy and Sweet

Chinese Eggplant

Some tools of the trade.

Snap Peas

Just a Little Gherkin at this Point

Fruits

Not quite ready yet

From farm to market

A Wide Variety

Serve it Up

Pumpkin Pie on the Vine

My grape vines look like they are going to produce well this year.

A First Bud

Freshly Picked

In our yard we have plums, lemons, grapes, blackberries, figs, strawberries and assorted veggies and herbs. Let's see what we yield this year.