Zucchini and the Start of Summer

Summer has very nearly arrived. Life on the farm tends to get really hectic in the spring-time, and I often find myself wondering what month it is. Two weeks ago we had such mild weather that I began reminiscing about apple cider, mums and pumpkins, wondering what kind of winter lay ahead of us. I had to snap myself out of it, realizing it was only Week 1 of the CSA, not Week 19 or 20. Then the hot weather hit and I thought, "Man, it's awful warm for October." That is, until I saw this:

To you or anyone else, those look like little yellow gherkins. But for me? Forget the corn waist-high in the fields, lush soybeans or wheat just weeks from harvest. To me, summer starts with zucchini. Apple cider and mums will have to wait while I enjoy the plethora of delectable goodies that about to grace my dinner plate, supper plate and snack plate. Hey- there really doesn't even have to be a plate, I'll eat it. Zucchini are just the beginning of summer. I am already finding tiny prickly cucumbers eager to soak up lots of rain and find their way happily into my CSA member shares before long.

Okay, okay. I'm probably getting a little ahead of myself. Our broccoli are quickly on their way to maturing and we still have a couple more harvests of snow and sugar snap peas before they are done for the season. I know it's still spring. But as a new farmer, I'm beginning to accept the change of the seasons by something as simple as a zucchini blossom.