A. Russ Original

I am happy to report that I have solved the mystery of the ‘missing watermelon leaves’… Turns out it’s just our friendly neighborhood squirrel!!   While in the kitchen the other day, I noticed a little movement on the back porch out of the corner of my eye… only to look out the window to see this little fuzzy tailed rat snatch a leaf off the watermelon plant then hop up on the rail and sat there eating his green veggies right in front of me!             Well, since this picture, we have decided to toss the last of the melon plant (it was just about gone!) in the brush pile out back and try again next year with a proper garden plat for the watermelons… and I’ll have to work on my BB gun skills this winter… been a long time since I was squirrel hunting!

  The garden this year has been great! We have enjoyed it so much, everything from the lettuce to the peppers and oh my the TOMATOES! The tomatoes are still going strong… the photo below shows the tomato TREES are as tall as the shop next to them, and still have tons of little green orbs all over the branches.  The green peppers in the front are still hanging on, but I don’t think they are going to last much longer. The weather here has started to get a little cooler… which I welcome!                       The Watermelons on the back deck haven't faired so well this summer… We only have one melon that is of any size. The others all got to be about the size of baseballs and the something got them and they rotted away… I am still watering it and feeding it every few days (more like once a week!) I will have to research watermelon growing tips over the winter so we can be ready next spring! On a positive note, the thyme and oregano on the back deck are growing great, wi