Pumpkin muffins didn't turn out great. They're okay, but they needed more fat (I had fat free yogurt) and probably more sweetener. I was trying to make them less sugary so they would be Fox-friendly. They're sort of bland, but probably fine if I whip up some cinnamon cream cheese to spread on them. Going to try a more traditional recipe next time.

I saved some Seminole pumpkins from last season because I'd read that they "store well," and wanted to see how true that was. After about ten months in a cool, dark part of the pantry, only one looks dubious - the whole one you see here. The rest were fine and got roasted up. Today I'm hoping to make some pumpkin muffins. I also have a recipe for a decadent pumpkin bread that has a layer of cream cheese in the center.

Right now I have about ten pumpkins growing on my vines, but none have been harvested yet. They're all still green, but so far none have been nibbled by critters or rotted by excess water. And there may be more, as the vines are still flowering and the bees are still happily visiting every morning.

My roselle is budding. I'm afraid I confused Fox by referring to it as hibiscus, which it is - but it's not the kind that produces huge, showy flowers. The flowers are pretty, but this hibiscus is the kind from which we get hibiscus tea. So your drinks like Lemon Zinger come from this plant. You can also make a syrup or jam from the calyxes, and the extension service's web site assures me I can expect ten to twelve pounds of these ... per plant.

Now that it's not Death Hot, things look much better in the garden. The last tomato plant still alive is doing pretty good and putting out more tomatoes. All the basil has died off but I've sprouted another round of them. When we get back from vacation it will be time to start peppers, maybe more tomatoes, garlic, some herbs, and probably dedicate one bed to beans. I can put some trellises up and have all the black beans I can manage.