Squash on the way!

Finally saw male and female squash flowers open on the same day! So, two crookneck squash are on the way to maturity and the cookpot.

Planted some jalapeno peppers today - got the seeds from a grocery store pepper so we'll see whether anything happens. Interesting experiment. Also planted carrots. If I get a good crop I'll can them.

We dodged Hurricane Gustav this weekend. It hit theLouisiana coast and terrified New Orleans residents so that 90% of them evacuated ahead of the storm. Don't know yet if we'll get some nice rain, too much rain, or none at all from it. Paper says it will park over northeast Texas and be a rain event up there.

Molly and her family were here and Catherine and her family came over. The twins were adorable - learning to talk. Their favorite word, of course, is "no". We went for a hike in the new spring creek watershed and it turned out to be a little longer than we anticipated. Everyone was sweaty and tired by the time we got back to the trailhead. Daniel is getting tall and is learning to read! He recognizes letters and knows some sounds so he is on the verge of reading. We went swimming and I encouraged Catherine to let some of the air out of his floaties - he's ready to swim. He moved vigorously to the side of the pool, got out and went to the baby pool where he took off his floaties and stayed. Not quite ready to swim this summer. He is my only grandson and a treasure. His Grandpa Dan would have adored him. Daniel will become a big brother in early April. Mary Grace is getting so mature at only 6. She can swim very well and swam the length of the pool several times. At one point she told her Aunt Catherine she had swum the length of the pool and when Catherine said that was great Mary Grace replied, "Well, you don't sound very impressed!" We almost fell underwater laughing, but she was serious. So, everyone made a bigger todo of it. Mary Grace loves school. After her first day at school Friday she was able to draw the solar system and asteroid belt, and named the "gas" planets and explained their properties. She knows how to build with Legos and play Monopoly. She has her own room in my house - the study with its sofa bed. She loves to do crafts and read before bed. Mary Grace will be playing soccer this fall and I'll go watch her play in October. Avery and her family weren't able to come this weekend. Avery is another really smart one. At four she can already read. The children are hoping for pumpkins out of my garden for Halloween.