This was the cutest thing I’ve ever seen!  It’s a baby squash just waiting to grow into a luscious golden adult squash.

I had our laundrywoman, who plants and sells vegetables on the side, plant some vegetables around the yard some months back.  She planted some okra (which Spouse can live without) and my favorite squash.  The squash grew  to monster vines and I was thinking of cutting them back, frustrated that they were not producing after all these months.

So the laundrywoman was here again this morning, tending the garden this time.  I asked her to move those monsters back so they don’t get trampled on and she informs me a vine was starting to flower.  At this stage, it’s best to leave it alone…or so she said.  I’m no expert anyway so I left it alone.  She shows me the flowers and I show Spouse and we’re all excited of course.

After lunch, I just had to document the first flower and took out my camera.  Upon closer inspection, I got a  huge surprise that this first flower actually had a little baby squash at its bottom.  Do you see it?  That stalk holding up the flower is what is going to be what will hold the adult squash someday…and that little ball is actually going to BE the squash.  That’s going to be a monster squash someday!

I feel so proud, it’s almost like it was ME going to have a baby!  And I didn’t even plant the seed…literally!

This is a photograph of an ampalaya (bitter melon or bitter gourd) vine grown organically by my newly found cousin, Pito Garcia. We’re second cousins actually and we connected through a website on geneology my maternal relatives have just discovered.  It’s the coolest thing to find relatives online and meet them for the first time in person.  If not for the internet, our paths may not have crossed for a long time.

His farm is located in a beautiful spot surrounded by gentle hills in the Zambales town of San Antonio.  It was a stormy day when Spouse and I went to visit.  You can probably tell by the dark clouds over the hills that more rains were on the way.  The rain and winds came in bursts, strong and surrprising…an amazing display of nature’s power and beauty.  I’m getting all poetic because it was a truly awesome experience.

Pito is currently  experimenting with organic farming. He’s been growing vegetables commercially for about three years now. Going organic is the next logical step. When you’ve lived the life of a farmer, enjoying the clean air, healthy lifestyle, and beautiful, beautiful surroundings that no man can build, going organic is the only way to go.

Watch out in the coming months, the unofficial cook might just turn into the unofficial farmer!