Great friends

Folks, I haven't been feeling too well. I've been on antibiotics for a few weeks for lyme disease and I feel like a wet dishrag that has been wrung out. I haven't been out and about as much as usual and I have missed hanging out with friends. Yesterday, my friend Jerica stopped by. Her husband and son were hanging out in the park in back of my house, so we chatted for a little bit and caught up before they showed up in the backyard.

The little boy was hungry, so I took him to the veggie patch and held him up in the air while he picked peas- the plants are about five feet high right now, too tall for a little boy without a human ladder. He loved picking the peas and eating them right off the vine. Jerica came right behind and ate a handful too; then I got excited and helped her boy pull red and yellow carrots, and one each of three kinds of beets: Detroit, chioggia, and golden. He was so proud of himself, and his mother was excited too: it's a lot easier to get kids to eat vegetables if they pick them themselves.

Jerica and her husband Richard have a garden too, and right now they are busting out with kale and chard. They were excited to see something different; it's easy to get tired of kale after a short while.

Richard and Jerica weeded my tomato bed, which was a few days away from a strangulation disaster from all of the bindweed.

The lightning bugs were in full flare, so we grabbed jars and caught a few. It's fun to have friends who grew up on the west coast because lightning bugs never cease to amaze them. I laughed as Jerica and her boy ran across the yard chasing streaks of light in the early dark.

I sent the family home with a small box of fresh vegetables and felt happier and more energized than I had in a week. Thanks, friends.

Shannon