Zucchini in a Time of Pandemic

Sometimes it is easy to forget how suddenly and profoundly all of our lives changed in early March.  In the grocery store this week, nearly everyone was complying with Governor Cooper's executive order mandating face masks in all public buildings, and I realized that a mere four months ago it would have been unthinkable to imagine that we in the United States would be where we are.  We would look with curiosity at photos of people on crowded streets in other countries wearing masks - all those other faraway dangerous countries where exotic viruses flourish.

With all that has been going on in our lives these past few weeks, I have not spent much time on this blog bemoaning the state of things, but it is a constant presence in our lives.  We have not traveled farther from home than Cashiers or Clayton since last year, and we know that we are the fortunate ones who are not living in apartment buildings in big cities or confined to retirement homes.  And unlike the rest of the world, cases continue to climb in the United States.  On BBC World News this week I heard a report on the new Covid-19 hot spot in the entire world - Arizona.

So we continue to hope and pray (and vote on November 3!) for more competent leadership, the kind of leadership which is making it possible for schools to open in countries like Denmark, and public gatherings to take place again all over Europe.

Bur it is Sunday and a beautiful day in Highlands, and Martha and her sister and brothers have decided that they will not work seven days a week in that big brick house where they have been going every day for weeks now.  We have fallen into a Sabbath Day tradition of having a nice Sunday brunch out on the deck, weather permitting, and it has permitted us to do so for many weeks now.  Usually I make an omelet as I did this morning, filled with red and green peppers, chives snipped from the herb planter on the deck, and cheese, and biscuits from Dusty's (Rhodes Superette), and sometimes even ready-cook bacon and home-style potatoes.  This is a departure from my own unvarying bowl of granola with fruit and nuts and fresh blueberries.  It is nice to take the time to set the table under the umbrella, carry everything out on a tray, and enjoy this brunch in our own quiet, peaceful neighborhood, surrounded by birdsong and profusely blooming rhododendron.

After brunch, I went out to check the garden, and discovered that there will be more yellow squash coming in soon, and green beans as well - a sure sign that July is progressing as it normally does despite all of the other changes in our lives that we cannot change.

I don't think I have ever seen our zucchini plants spread out so exuberantly before, and I check them in anticipation nearly every day, but still they have not produced any of those unique vegetables which are so prolific that they are legendary.  It is said in this part of the world that you have to roll your windows up when you park at church to avoid friends putting them in your car.

On this Sunday morning, I think of Martin Luther and his famously optimistic quote, which I know in my heart applies to zucchini as well as apples.