I know I’m pretty much in the minority when time comes to enjoying several varieties of squash.
In fact, I have a very narrow food profile when it comes to the gourd family.
I do enjoy cucumbers and melons with abandon, but squash are overall limited to pumpkins and butternut squash - with a rare appearance by spaghetti squash.
The standard disgust for yellow or white squash fare is only rivaled with strong dislike for zucchini!
Now, the only way I find zucchini palatable is when I can’t taste it – and that means only in zucchini bread.
Still, there is nothing more terrifying or ominous than listening to my mom and sister try to make a plan for the return of mom’s garden this year.
That also includes the returning argument of how to space the plants out to keep from having horribly mutated cucumbers, melons, or squash.
I’m still fine with not having any squash at all since we don’t eat them regularly by any means.
Cucumbers and melons though?
I’m down for an entire buffet of those plants to fruit and harvest the biggest and best versions before the chickens or wild birds get intothem.
Plus, with growing times differing a bit, I’m going to enlist my sister in helping me train our miniature Australian Shepherd Harlee to listen better when we take her outside without a leash.
I have high hopes for Harlee since she’s doing pretty well with following directions in regards to not chasing mom’s chickens or our neighbor’s ducks and will often just sit and watch them from yards away.
Surprisingly, Harlee has been listening to me more and showing off a new skill – understanding me when I tell her to come “here” to me and pointing at my feet.
To my knowledge, no one else has ever shown her such a gesture or had her come from 50 yards away to a similar request.
Even then, a small part of me is doubtful that she’ll do it with anyone else and instead just does it because she loves running.
Now, on the other hand, our cocker spaniel Penny is a lost cause since she’s a bird dog at the heart of her DNA.
Penny is a known escape artist who can’t be caught unless she wants to be and she’s well known for chasing chickens around the homestead.
In fact, she chases the hens until they just collapse from exhaustion and gets rather vocal about her displeasure in their lack of stamina.
After she’s had her fun, she’s ususally able to be tricked back into the house where she faces a bit of disciplining – but nothing ever too harsh.
All she has to do is turn those big doe eyes onto mom or Mike and that’s the end of the argument or frustration – Penny excels at sucking up.
Unfortunately, she’s also shared her tools of the trade with Harlee and it makes the pair of them quite formidable and harder to correct their behaviors.
Well, at least for mom and Mike.
My sister and I have no such weaknesses, so, they get away with far less when under our supervision.
