
The potted husky red cherry tomato plant sitting on my porch behind a baby gate fashioned from wire fencing, a beaded wrap-around wire bracelet and an extra piece from Cashew’s dog crate continued to produce faithfully throughout late spring and even into summer. The outer skin of the tomatoes became tougher as the months wore on but the flavor grew sweeter.

The lemon cucumber continued to grow. I ran around trying feverishly to pollinate other flowers on the lemon cucumber plant but only the one grew.

Little pods appeared at the ends of the pea plants. I tried to keep the caterpillars off of them. I hoped they would survive the heat and the bugs long enough to eat.

The real treasure was a yellow squash. I had pollinated it myself and somehow it still grew. It was the first thing that i would harvest from the mosquito net tent. I carried my prize indoors and washed it at the sink. Then i sliced it and seasoned it with dill and salt in a frying pan with some olive oil.

It was the best, freshest squash i had ever tasted. It had a buttery and slightly nutty flavor to it. I couldn’t believe it had come out of my garden.