Wednesday Variety

Here are the first zucchini from my garden--finally! This is an actual, unretouched photograph. They really were this shiny and beautiful when I picked them!

I also finished weeding the garden this afternoon. It's not completely weed free, but at least you can see the soil again now. I ran the sprinkler early this morning, so the soil was soft and easy to dig up this afternoon. Everything looks pretty good, but I think I need to invest in some organic fertilizer to help boost these plants a little bit--especially my poor little pepper plant in the lower right hand corner of the photo.

While weeding, I was serenaded by a House Wren who is establishing a home in the little mailbox house under my deck.

Here's a rearview shot of this tiny songster as he tries to evade me and my camera. I'm always amazed at how much sound comes out of such a little bird.

That reminds me, we found a nest box of just-hatched house wren babies this evening. Oh my, they are so tiny--not much bigger than a cricket! When I opened the box, their little beaks automatically open up for food, even though they can't even hold up their head.

Brother Phil and his family arrived from California late this afternoon. Here's my nephew Charlie. He will be 5 next week. After the initial 5 minutes of shyness, he got up to speed with all of us.

We all went out to supper together at a little restaurant near the Rochester Airport. It's really great to see them again.