This year, I attempted something new -- growing my own vegetables.  Thanks to an aerogarden that I bought over a year ago, I began to have modest success growing herbs.... so I figured what the heck.  thebigo built me a 4'x8' bed and helped me fill it.  Thank goodness he's sturdy -- it took a thousand pounds of soil and compost to fill the bed.    I started some of the seeds off in my aerogarden and then moved them to the planting bed.  Add lots of water and sunshine...

And this week we harvested the first of our summer squash.  We picked and ate a few baby squash before going out of town for the weekend, and picked several more (including an 18" giant zucchini) when we returned on Monday.  I looked today, and we have plenty more coming in.   I'm so excited. 

Here are photos and details for those of you who actually find this sort of thing interesting.

Friday I found another hormworm chewing away on my jalepeno plant -- then we found one on the tomato plant over the weekend.  Argggg.  Soon there will be nothing left -- they are eating everything in site.  Anyway -- my Dad and his wife Louise are visiting us for a week -- so I'm taking some time off to relax and spend time with them.  Louise recommended wrapping newspaper around the base of the plants since that is supposed to discourange the hornworms from climbing them.  What the heck -- I'll try it.  Sounds preferable to insecticides and other methods.  (not to mention pretty affordable!)

A tomato hornworm attacked my jalepeño plant this weekend and ate tons of leaves and all but two peppers.  It also ate all the buds and areas with new growth -- I'm so frustrated!!!  For those of you who grow peppers or tomatoes -- if you see one of these on your plant, get rid of it immediately, they can eat a third of a plant in a couple days!