The cleanup goes on

On the one hand, I dislike cleaning up the garden because it means I can't zip off and go pick a cucumber whenever I want. Or a tomato or a pepper or a sprig of basil.

On the other, fall cleanup is cathartic, bringing things full circle and marking the end of another garden with its successes and failures and surprises.

As you may be able to tell from the listing bean trellis, things went awry again. Fortunately, it was after the beans were done for the season, but it should make cleaning it up a challenge since I don't know if it might collapse on me as I am trying to take it down.

More than half of the garden is now in the compost pile: the remains of the tomatoes (what a disappointment this year), the cukes, the squash, the melons and the herbs. There's nothing like the smell of dill in the cool air. It makes you long for summer's return.