my last visit to the garden was 5 days ago. since that time the mulberry tree has started dropping its berries. i can look forward to mashed mulberry jam for the next few weeks. the most successful garden-seeded plants have been the cosmos. i would've thought it'd be the sunflowers, but i've only seen a few sunflower seedings. i planted a few seeds in cups last week and they've all sprouted: some basil, a chinese gourd, and some zinnias. i may have to start the zinnias in cups from now on - the ones i sowed into the ground never did come up. the salsa peppers, the tomatoes, and the tomatillo have all started to flower.

dropping off my aunt at the laundromat, my mother came by for a visit. she left when my aunt finished up her wash. in the evening julie came over for dinner. we took a tour of the garden first before coming back for reuben sandwiches. we watched she's got the look on tv land, a version of america's next top model for women over 35 years old. bahia (37) looks like a shoe-in, but i also like celeste (50) who looks decades younger. despite a cast of older women who should know better, there's still a lot of female drama on the show. the other show we watched was the food network challenge, where 5 chefs compete to make the best macaroni and cheese dish.