Just call me Okra

(Please note that Sarah styled her own hair for this picture.)

This summer some of Sarah's favorite things grew in our garden. Basil for making the pesto she loves; cherry and grape tomatoes for refueling her body while playing in the backyard; okra for mama to fry up or grill for lunch, dinner, or even breakfast (yuck!); and a lone watermelon that grew on an obnoxiously large vine that pretty much took over our whole garden.

For Sarah, the pesto was good - used on grilled mozzarella cheese sandwiches or pasta. The tomatoes where a fun snack that she enjoyed grabbing here and there. But, the okra and the watermelon! Oh my!

The lone watermelon was the recipient of such loving, tender care. Daily, in the "cool" of the morning, Sarah would pull up her child-sized lawn chair to the edge of the garden and sing it songs, coaxing it to grow bigger. She mostly sang Doe, a Deer, a Female Deer. Or, as Sarah sings, Doe, a Deer, My Female Deer. (Anyone reminded of a certain Frog and Toad story?) Knowing Sarah, she quite possibly also shared the love of Jesus with that precious watermelon.

The okra.... the okra was the cause of several tantrums this summer. They would occur when I would dare to prepare some other vegetable for dinner. Or, when Michael and I dared to eat our share of the prepared okra, leaving Sarah with only her portion and the portion Andrew refused to eat. One night at dinner Sarah announced that we should all call her Okra. So, that has been her new name for the past several weeks. Not that I can really remember to call her that. Though you would think I would since she only corrects me a hundred times a day. Just to get her back, I almost put down Okra as the "goes by" name on her kindergarten information sheet.

So, the watermelon came off the vine yesterday. I almost planned a ceremony. Instead, I snapped a few pictures and then we ate it.

Now that the weather is "cooling" down (we are finally out of the 100's during the day and into the 60's at night), the okra is slowing down. It is the only living thing that I know of that actually thrives on excessive heat warning days. I'm glad about this, because I don't think I can eat any more okra.....after I fry up just a little bit more for lunch today.