Had a lovely weekend, the weather was supposed to be rainy and overcast, but Friday night and Sunday were warm, and so I was able to swim. The pool is still hovering around 80 degrees. Precious last weeks of summer. Today I went with my niece who has taken a new job nearby, looking at neighborhoods and a house.

Last week I noticed that some of the cucumber vines were wilting. I feared the dreaded bacterial wilt, caused by the dreaded cucumber beetle. There is no good organic control. Cucumbers are one of my best garden crops, and they are just starting to produce. I searched desperately on the Internet for answers. Through observation, I determined that it isn't cucumber beetles after all, but squash bugs! Ugh. They are destructive, but luckily, unlike bacterial wilt, the damage can be controlled. So I became a predator. I sat in the tomatoes and cucumbers, silently stalking those horrible bugs. It will probably take me several days, but I think I can win this battle.

Too bad I cannot say the same thing for the flea infestation. I am now on round three of laundering everything, flea combing, bathing. Sophie alternates between tolerating it, and being vicious. Sam is terrified of the baths, and a bit too playful and wild for the combing. Edna is, as in everything, a good patient.