It's the season for fungus among us and small changes

 I didn't get out to the garden yesterday because I didn't feel like it. The plants survived and actually something different happened.

Actual digging?

I think, judging from the tools and where I last left the trowel, she just dug up everything but didn't really pull anything out. Sigh. Didn't smooth the ground over just left it all jumbled up in  mounds and divots. Her plots, her choice. The zucchini is kind of encroaching on that part so I shifted the branch out and away of the bed. Then there's this miracle of nature:

 

 

A male flower is actually open and at the same stage as a fruiting flower! Jumped on that and got her pollinated because I don't trust nature anymore.

I think that might be the last one though because with the change in the weather, cooling down during the day and the night, it is mildew season!

This was taken just after 10 am. You can see the shade is pretty much covering the bed now and the very evident spots of powdery mildew. People always complain about this and how to stop it, yadda yadaa. Well I'm  not going to go out and get an arsenal of sprays just to take care of this simply because it is going to be a constant for the next month and then it's done. 

There are plenty of flowers coming on and even a few more fruit buds but meh. I think I'll just let it run its course and start planning for next season. One last tomato as well, and the two small ones that were at the bottom of the plant were knocked down. Either by the hose or weight the branch broke at the joint with the main plant so I threw it on the 'compost pile'. 

The tomato still was green on top and had cracking of course. I was going to leave it for another day but when I felt it, the bottom was just starting to get soft so I decided to pick it.
 

#tomatoes

Let's face it, I'm a lazy gardener. If I had a bigger kitchen I would be more inclined to cook with what I've harvested. I planted what veggies I usually am good with eating and even then I have used three of the eight or so I've picked. Used one of the four or five zucchini and none of the peppers. The three major factors are: tiny kitchen, my own lazy nature and it was too blasted hot!

I will likely plant peas in the tomato bed and greens in the other. Just because of the shade issue. Peas can get mildew as well and I'll see about finding a bush variety. Yes, there are bush peas meant to be grown in containers. Can't beat a tall vine type of course but have to go with what can grow. Oh yeah, peas, carrots, radishes, lettuce, cilantro... all that stuff. Smallish plants that can be crowded into a bed. Still need tons and tons of compost and fertilizer to make it better than it is now. I'm anxious to see what the readings are after it gets amended next time.

One bird I look forward to every year since I was at the nursery is the little black capped Phoebe. They are flycatchers and usually swoop under eaves and in trees and bushes to grab spiders as well as snatching flies and gnats out of the air. 

 Beak to tail tip they are just under 7" and have a high pitched single chirp. I saw one dive under an awning and grab a black widow from it's corner, land on the pavement and beat the tar out of it before swallowing it whole. They'll swoop out over the lawn to catch a fly then go back to it's viewing perch. They usually like to hang out near water for obvious reasons: Mosquitos and gnats. They build a nest similar to swallows, tucked under eaves and rooflines glued to the surface with spit and cobwebs.

Not very colorful but fun to watch and a sign that fall is on the way. I have yet to see a robin, that I recall, in San Diego since I got here almost thirty years ago. I've seen bluebirds, phoebe, doves which, by the way, have not been seen since spring and when I went to Julian I heard and saw some scrub and actual blue jays. The canyons are full of them as well as woodpeckers of some sort. Last time I saw a robin in person that I recall was in San Jose when I was in high school and they flew through just few days before there was a freak snowfall that melted before I got to school.

That's about it today. Birds, changes in weather, all good for now.