Where have all the seasons gone?

I wrote a column a few months ago about recognizing the seasons by the bugs that show up, but in retrospect, I’m not sure that is the best determinant. I’ve seen my share of bees and hoverflies this summer, but not like the swarms of past summers. It also seems that ladybugs are in short supply this year. I did need to thwart a minor invasion of squash bugs using an organic spray and marigolds planted throughout the garden.

Thankfully, we haven’t had a bumper crop of summer squash, aka zucchini, because that gets tiresome. This fall, I plan to enjoy our bounty of acorn squash, which, along with our spaghetti squash, is thriving.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t miss the onslaught of flies, bees, wasps, and other random pests, but did summer seem to fly by and take the inevitable summer insect population? I remember a few weeks of miserable heat, and then, boom, we’ve started to have cooler evenings and mornings without the heat drying out the garden.

This past winter felt like it dragged on, especially with our longer sub-zero days. It felt like it took forever to turn to spring. There were some teases, a few good days, then back to the cold, wet weather. Finally, it was spring, and then, in a flash, it was summer. And now, I can’t believe I’m heading to Costco this week to buy Halloween candy and tulip bulbs. I wouldn’t be surprised if the music track at the store is Christmas carols and there will be Thanksgiving turkeys on sale.

Last year, we had a bounty of green tomatoes left after the first frost. We picked all 33 pounds, and Daniel decided to make green tomato chutney, which he bagged and put in the root/wine cellar. The mice scored big, and we ended up with nothing. It turned out that food-saver bags are not mouse-proof. It won’t be an issue this year as our tomato crop has been sad, so there is not much for us, or the mice, to snack on.

This Sunday, I decided it had cooled down enough to plant lettuce. Before planting, I needed to clean out the dead summer plants. After pulling out the dead lettuce and string beans, I began a three-hour siege of pulling out oregano. If left unchecked, I have learned that oregano is more invasive than mint. Something I thought was impossible. It spreads, has deep roots, and even though it smells beautiful, it’s a very prolific but annoying weed disguised as an herb.

Because our garden didn’t produce more than three cucumbers this year and no tomatoes larger than the cherry tomatoes, I’ve been taking advantage of our coop garden membership. The only problem is that I tend to get overly ambitious, and when I get home and unload my car, I have enough vegetables to open a farmer’s stand. There is no tennis tomorrow, so my day will be spent making more tomato sauce, eggplant salad, and maybe even more ratatouille to add to the five bags already in the freezer.

But, while it’s still warm enough to drive with the top down, I will enjoy what’s left of the summer before the barrage of box bugs, blue gnats, and spiders. It is still pleasant out on the deck and pergola. We don’t need air conditioning, and so far, there are no blankets.