Lemonade from Lemons

This year my garden did not perform well. It looked healthy and grew unremitting, but did not yield. I did not harvest ONE squash, zucchini, or heirloom tomato. I would check my plants, they were green and thriving and producing dozens of blossoms. Then the next day my blossoms would be on the ground, as if they were perfectly snipped from the stem. Even my hibiscus were doing the same thing. There must have been a thief in the night (but I'm not sure who the culprit was).

Lemonade from lemons,

check out this lovely recipe that utilizes all my bonny blossoms. God bless Jamie Oliver:

Zucchini Flowers
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/jamie-oliver/crispy-zucchini-flowers-stuffed-with-ricotta-and-mint-recipe/index.html

And a little side note:

There is a patch behind my garage that would be perfect for a garden. It's a nice open rectangle, and when we bought this house that was what I envisioned for the space. The reality, however, was quickly revealed, after moving in, that this space does NOT get enough sun. I know you've heard me whine about this before, but I couldn't seem to let it go. I had no available space for a garden, and no good gardening sun. How could I live with out a garden? I had just discoursed myself to the idea that this space would never be a garden and I needed to work with what Mother Nature had provided. I decided to be content, and utilize my main flowerbed in the middle of the yard as my organic shaped vegetable garden. It bothered me a little, but I surrendered. I surrendered control, I surrendered having to have everything go my way, and I surrendered the idea of everything being "perfect" or "just so". Enter Hurricane Ike...knocked down an enormous tree in my neighbors yard. While I'm sad my neighbors had to use their hard earned cash to have the tree completely removed, I'm ecstatic because it cleared the shade and now my patch behind the garage is a SUNNY PATCH! Hello, garden! It just goes to show you once again good things can come out of less than ideal situations: lemonade from lemons. We don't know what awaits around the next corner. There are forces unseen and unbeknown to us that can change the course of our life, and sometimes all it requires is surrender.