Watermelon Season

This week I bought a watermelon at the grocery store. I gave it a good thump and it sounded good, so I crossed my fingers and took it to the check out. I cut into it Tuesday night and boy was I rewarded. It is was of the tastiest watermelon's I've ever eaten.

When I was a little girl, a neighbor who lived near me had a huge garden. He used to put the strawberry patch at the end of the garden closest to our house and said we could come over and pick any time. He also planted watermelons, corn, butter beans, squash, zuccini. So many different vegetables and he was always very kind in sharing them. So, to me summer means strawberries and watermelon. There are times in the winter where I long for the taste of a ripe strawberry or watermelon.

Does anyone out there have a tried and true recipe for pickled watermelon rind? I've had it a couple of times and it tastes really good. If you do, please either post a comment with the recipe or shoot me an email. I'd love to get one that I know someone has actually tried, not just google one.

I read an article yesterday that said due to the tough times with the economy, more people are having home gardens this year. That doesn't surprise me at all. And, with the recent issues surrounding tomatos, I'm sure a lot of folks are glad they put plants in. In the area where I grew up and where I live now, summer gardens are a part of the landscape. It makes my heart happy when I drive by and see a small plot in someone's yard. I have such a respect for gardeners. You can either work really hard and have a great pay off, or work really hard and either have weather or plague affect the outcome. It is a roll of the dice.

When I was in high school, I had the opportunity to go to Russia as a foreign exchange student one summer. I remember seeing areas with small gardens with the cutest little "houses" put on them. I use the term house loosely because they really were no bigger than some sheds I've seen. The unique them about these buildings is that they were painted bright, cheerful colors. I remember someone telling our group that sometimes people who lived in the city would rent a small plot and have a summer garden on it. They'd actually use the small "house" as a weekend get away. I need to go back and look through my pictures to see if I can find a picture of one of these places. I think I took some and put them in an album.

Every summer I usually put out some tomato plants. This year I put one in a pot on my deck, but it is not doing so hot. I don't think it has gotten enough sun. When I found out I was pregnant, I decided that tending even a small garden would be too much this summer. But, I've got big plans for next summer especially since Sawyer will be old enough to help me with a garden. Come February, I guess I'll start checking out seeds to see what we can do.

If any of you have a backyard garden, I'd love to hear about it or see pictures.

I hope you are having a great day where you are. And don't forget to try some watermelon.