Summer is Almost Past

Posted Sep 8, 05:08 AM by Kay Camenisch

Our garden is finally giving up. The beans are canned, the corn is frozen, and the cabbage turned to kraut. The neighbors no longer need to bar their doors when they see us coming—even the zucchini is finally dying off. I haven’t even gotten cucumbers the last few days. Tomatoes, okra, cantaloupe, and watermelon are all that are left, and they are withering away. In spite of drought conditions all summer long, the Lord has blessed our efforts.

This is just the second year we’ve had watermelon. They’ve have been so sweet it’s like eating candy, but we’re still a bit insecure about when to pick them. I thought I got a tip in the grocery store the other day, but then I wasn’t so sure.

I overheard some fellow shoppers as one of them leaned over the bin of watermelons.

“Do you know how to buy a good watermelon?”

Her friend answered with confidence in her voice, “If you plunk it and it sounds hollow, that means it’s good.”

“If it sounds hollow?”

“Yeah. Or the other way around.”

Oh, well, we’d heard that isn’t a sure way to judge readiness anyway. Maybe we’ll learn the secret next year. Besides, summer is almost past. We only have four more to pick, and we’ve guessed pretty well so far.