Of Gardens, Canners, and Ants

Woman's Work Wednesday.  I'm trying to live up to it today.  I started the morning in the vegetable and flower gardens.  They were not looking very neat and tidy.  I weeded and removed some lettuce greens that were turning bitter in the heat and then picked all the beets.  I also checked the squash and pumpkin plants for squash bugs, squash bug babies, and squash bug eggs.  I don't particularly care for that job, but I am hoping that I don't lose my crop to these critters.  So far, my experiment with beneficial nematodes is getting a thumbs up - no cutworms ... yet!

Once inside, the beets had to be dealt with.  Into the pressure cooker they went.  A few more jars to give us that garden taste in the winter months (or at least the fall).  Since I had the canning paraphernalia out, I decided to do something with a pile of zucchini that was growing way to fast ... the answer ... zucchini pickles.  I have never tried them before, but they look nice in the canning jars!

Ants!  North Carolina has not endeared itself to me because of its heat and its bugs.  Right now we are dealing with the little annoying critters called ants.  I am thankful for a product called Terro that is really helping to take care of the little guys and to keep them at bay. 

Now it is almost time to get dinner on the table and then we are off to church.  Before the sausages go on the grill maybe I will review some Greek vocabulary.  I'm sure that I could think of something more fun than that ... could you?