I've never been known for my ability to keep plants alive, but luckily this year we live next to a guy who LOVES to garden. Seriously. He once told me with a straight face, "Just an hour a day weeding and you won't have any problems." But between his help and the ability of the Midwest to grow just about anything, we have an actual garden this year!
This is one of two mutant zucchinis I stumbled across. Shortly after this E started pretending it was a bazooka.
Further proof of just how mutant. I was just reading about a Midwest tradition where people try to pawn off zucchini to just about anyone. Barbara Kingsolver wrote that this is the only time of year that they lock their car because otherwise someone will fill it with zucchini. And for you who were wondering, August 8th is "Leave a zucchini on your neighbor's porch and run" day.