Tuesday 29 July 2014

Anyone Want A Yellow Courgette?

Yep, an unsettling couple of weeks, that culminated in some rather sad news, and the mother board on the laptop also decided to croak. Techo chaps over at Rapid Pcs have informed me that the hard drive is fine, which is just as well, as I had a whole year of accounts that I had just finished, and yes, not backed up. They are going to transfer everything to our new and shiny laptop tomorrow, and convert the old hard drive into an external hard drive for me to use, so all is not lost I suppose. The new one has Windows 8, and not sure if I like it, as there appears to be more stuff than anyone should actually need, and things keep popping up and getting in the way (behave John!). So, as I have been a bit of a mental case these last few weeks, I'm going to cherry pick an evening that we spent on the allotment about a week ago to talk about.

As my grandma used to say, 'You can't have too many yellow courgettes'

As most people know, the UK is suffering from lack of rain very badly. Well, this particular evening there was heavy rain and lightning forecast for late evening, and so after work we took the small barbecue down, along with some food and a bottle of our home made elderberry wine, with a view to chilling out a little after the work was done. It was very warm, and there was that stillness in the air that comes before a storm. The allotment was quiet, and a few others were pottering about watering or harvesting along with us.


It was a lovely feeling, all of us there seeming to feel the same sense of peace and community.
The sweet corn is looking good, with both the male and female flowers now out. Neither of us have grown this before, and were pleasantly surprised how easy it is.


We fired up the little barbecue at around 9pm. There were black clouds looming, and lightning flashing in the distance. But we were hungry, and some others still waiting for the storm had decided to just 'crash out' on grassy areas here and there. Some had champagne, others wine, and all with nibbly bits. I think allotmenters are a cranky bunch, but we are quite harmless. We cooked what we grew, very vegetarian, and that darned elderberry wine was good. Who cared if the storm broke?


 We all stayed there until about 10.30pm, quietly talking, passing comments and waves to one another, united by the common love of not only growing things, but enjoying being in that type of place together.
The bats came out, lightning continued, and it was probably raining somewhere, just not here. Darkness fell, and the glow of several fires died, and we all headed home. Then it rained, and RAINED!


The few of us had shared one of those special moments.

As for the yellow courgettes....the bloody things are rampant....help!





24 comments:

  1. Well, I love yellow courgettes
    But as a middle aged gay man,,....I was more interested in the contents of your wonderful cabinets
    Now can you post a photo of them?

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  2. John, you are too kind, and who knows, maybe one day. Let's just say, that as a glass freak, there is plenty of it!

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  3. My husband bought a new computer (with updated Windows, etc.) a few eeeks ago, and yes, it has much more than I will use or have need to use. Good luck with all the changes.

    And Marie's recipe for a courgette gratin is FABULOUS: http://theenglishkitchen.blogspot.co/2012/09/a-gratin-of-late-summer-courgettes.html

    Enjoy. :)

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    1. Val, I am so Neanderthal where computers are concerned, and glaze over as each new feature randomly exhibits itself in all it's glory. I think it, and me, will end in a love/hate relationship . Thanks for the recipe link.

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  4. That corn is looking very good Gary!! And a bbq sounds awesome right about now sir!

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    1. We are hoping that it tastes as good as it's looking. Random bbqs are just the best!

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  5. Glad the computer info can be saved. Always a pain to learn a new system though.
    I too am being over run by squash. I just take my extras to work and lay them on the counter in our "kitchen" area with a "free" sign. They always find a home and grateful coworkers come by to say thanks. We're hoping for more rain. There is some in our forecast for tonight and tomorrow. When I don't have to carry water to the garden, I have free time!

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    1. Good morning Sherlock,
      I feel your pain regarding the water carrying, as we have to at the allotment. Luckier at home though, as we can use a hose, and are one of the few remaining houses in the area not metered. As for the excess veg, I think we will need another freezer.

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  6. Love your wonderful garden shed.
    I have always wanted to ask how big is your allotment ? You seem to get a lot of wonderful produce.
    Lovely photos.

    cheers, parsnip

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    1. Hello Parsnip,
      It's about fifteen metres square, a half plot for now. We plant in blocks rather than rows, as we just prefer the look.

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  7. Gary,

    You might want to check with your PC people and get Windows 8.1 with the classic shell, it looks and works like Windows 7. I personally do not care for all the “apps” flying about on W-8 and from what I hear most “professionals” don’t either, well in this area anyway, LOL.

    Your evening at the allotment sounds almost dreamlike, perfect in every way. How enchanting the evening must have been with nature providing a little fireworks for your enjoyment. And it was good hear you were safely home before the rains fell.

    As for the yellow courgettes, I would be most happy to take a few off your hands. But I fear the time and temperature in the shipping process would have a disastrous effect on them so I unfortunately must pass on you generous offer. Hoping your week will be pleasant. – gary

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    1. Hi Gary,
      While playing with it, I have discovered that it does come with the normal Windows layout thank goodness. I doubt if I will ever use the apps screen. The evening bbq and lightning watch was indeed enchanting, and one that we will do again I am sure. Hope all is well at Fox Paw.

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    2. Gary, the laptop is with the guy until tomorrow, and he is also going to upgrade to 8.1.

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    3. Gary,

      All at Fox Paw is well and projects moving right along, all be it slow progress, it’s still progress, lol.

      As to your comment on my new blog about following the blog from blogger, I think the following should link you up:
      1.) On your blogger dashboard, under Reading List, click the add button.
      2.) In the window that pops up, in the space that says “Add From URL” type in or copy and paste my new blogs URL: http://thefoxpawparadox.wordpress.com
      3.) Click the “+Add”,
      4.) Choice your following option,
      5.) Then click the Follow button.

      These steps should add my blog to your blogger reading list, I checked the steps out on my old blogger blog and it added the new blog right to my reading list.

      Let me know if this works or not, I can do a couple of other link set ups on my old blogger blog that would let you know I post on the new one and you could then click on a link that would bring up the new one. Hoping this helps. – gary

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    4. Gary, you are a star! Thanks, it worked perfectly. I guess there are parts of the blogger set up that I am still a virgin with. Enjoy your weekend.

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  8. What a pleasant evening you had at your allotment!

    I've never had yellow courgettes, I don't even think I've seen them either.

    Glad you didn't lose everything on your hard drive. I miss my personal computer geek! :-) I'm not into computers and how they work, etc., but he was.

    Enjoy the rest of your week ~ FlowerLady

    P.S. A post will be coming shortly. Time has just zipped by. Thanks for the note.

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    1. Hi Lorraine,
      Yellow courgettes are pretty much identical to the green ones, although in my mind have a slightly soapy taste when raw. Cooked though they are scrumptious, especially when just halved lengthways and cooked and seasoned a little on the bbq. Glad to see all is well at your end.

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  9. Great post Gary. My wife and I love to sit on the front porch with a glass of wine during summer storms. There is something special about the smell of rain coming down on pavement after a good dry spell.

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    1. Good evening Doc,
      I don't know quite what it is, maybe the sense of being ok with a storm, but there is a feeling of something quite extraordinary when we choose to relax amidst the bad weather, when everyone else appears to hunker down. Embrace it I say!

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  10. Oh TOO funny!! I dream for those nights when we aren't so busy to sit outside and be peaceful. .right now. .we have had so MUCH rain (our positions were flipped last summer weren't they!) that the mosquitos are as big as housecats and will eat off your arm in one big bite!! Yikes!! Enjoy those yellow squash!!

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    1. Hi there Melanie,
      We did indeed have it the other way around last year didn't we? I hope the rain gives up soon, and that you can all have a killer mosquito free time outdoors.

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  11. Wow,Gary, that IS rather a lot of yellow courgettes! I am almost daily walking up the village and handing out cucumbers and courgettes to the neighbours, that's about all I can suggest that you do with your abundant supply!

    We haven't had so much as a drop of rain and some shrubs and plants are really starting to suffer. My soil is light and sandy, even after years of shovelling on huge amounts of horse muck, so a downpour would be most welcome.
    Oh, but aren't these warm summer evenings wonderful for sharing with friends in the open air!

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    1. Good morning Rosemary,
      Unfortunately, we live in an area where fresh produce is mostly replaced by frozen chicken nuggets, and so I am not sure my neighbours would know what to do with a courgette. The dryness is a real problem here too, with the first signs of mildew on all of the gourds etc.

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