Never have I seen such aggressiveness. Such a willingness to take over and be in
charge. Such a show-off attitude.
Before I go further, I must say that I’m talking about a
zucchini plant that grows in my garden. I
call her Harriet the Horrible. This is
not an ordinary zucchini plant. I’ve
grown zucchini for thirty years, maybe more.
I’ve heard a litany of zucchini stories—I’ve got several of my own. These stories are all about the fruit of the
zucchini—don’t leave your car unlocked during zucchini season or you’ll find a
pile of them on the backseat—stories like that.
I’m not talking about what Harriet the Horrible produces. I would say she is average in that
respect. I’m talking about Harriet herself. On the one hand, she is absolutely
beautiful. She is six feet wide, four
feet tall, and her leaves are more than twenty inches wide. Never have I grown such a specimen as Harriet.
On the other hand, it’s her personality that is in question,
that is if you’ll allow me to say a zucchini plant has a personality. She has completely crowded out a cluster of
carrots. She has killed several onion plants.
She has put fear and trepidation into
four tomato plants that are scraggly and pitiful. She has frightened the pole beans as they
climb ever farther up their poles, trying to escape the wrath of Harriet.
This is only August.
What more damage can Harriet the Horrible do before frost comes and does
her in? She is clearly on the prowl,
holding her leaves high, and proudly doing what I have not seen a zucchini
plant do.
THE OLD TIMER ASKS: Do you have a Harriet the Horrible in your
garden?
Workshop: Writing
From Your Life: Offered at The
Clearing, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on October 28.
Call 920-854-4088 to
learn more and to register.
Upcoming Events:
August 29, 7:00 p.m. Wisconsin
Public TV. The Land With Jerry Apps
August 30, 7:00 p.m. Milwaukee
Public TV. Live appearance. The Land With Jerry Apps
September
8, 7:00 p.m. McMillan Memorial Library,
Wisconsin Rapids. Workshop on memoir writing. Participants should have a copy
of TELLING YOUR STORY as it will be used in the workshop. Book will be
available for sale the evening of the workshop.
September
15, Midwest Master Gardeners, Chula Vista Resort, Wisconsin Dells. Dinner Speaker, Whisper and Shadows.
September
18, 1-5, Markesan Heritage Days, Markesan, WI.
September
24, Stonefield Village, Cassville. 11:00
a.m. How to tell your story.
October
5-7, Heartland Forum, Minneapolis (Book sellers convention)
Purchase Jerry’s DVDS and his Books from the Patterson Memorial
Library in Wild Rose, Wisconsin (a fundraiser for them):
The library now has available signed copies of Jerry’s DVDs:
Emmy Winner, A
Farm Winter with Jerry Apps (based
on The Quiet Season book.)
Jerry Apps a Farm Story (based on Rural Wit and Wisdom and Old
Farm books.)
The Land with Jerry Apps, (based on the book Whispers and
Shadows.)
Also
available are several of Jerry’s signed books including: Jerry’s newest novel, The Great Sand Fracas of Ames
County. and Wisconsin
Agriculture: A History.
Jerry’s newest books, Roshara
Journal (with photos by Steve Apps) and Telling Your Story—a guide
book for those who want to write their stories—are also available.
Contact the library for prices and special package deals.
Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division Street
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