Yesterday, as I was preparing this post we were waiting for two things: the Superbowl Playoffs (at least Hubby was) and another of a series of snowstorms that began the last weekend of January to clobber us again. The snow is already piled up so high on both sides of the driveway that I’m not sure there’s anyplace to put anymore! This has been a snowful winter to say the least. But, as the sleepy old groundhog assured us on Saturday, we only six more weeks of winter. Things can only get better after this. Right? 

When I was younger and more fit, I used to order in seed catalogs this time of year and daydream about the bounty of the spring and summer to come. Now, in the interest of living a more green life, we don’t get those catalogs anymore. Guess I don’t have to add that I don’t do much planting anymore either.

So instead of the seed catalogs and daydreams, I looked into my growing stash of digital photographs taken over the years and came up with these dashing doses of sunshine for you. Feast your eyes on these sweet things.

Many of you may not even know what this last one is. Look closely at that big green pod to the left of main stem. Now look at the smaller one to its right. (It’s just right for picking, the bigger one is a tad big in my opinion.) That, my city-born-and-bred friends, is an Okra plant. The fragile, pale yellow bloom is the tender beginning of another beautiful pod of okra, and the tiny little bud start just to its left has just shed its flower. No the capitalization of the word okra was done on purpose! This queen of summer vegetables deserves it. (This one’s for you and me, Claudia, of Fried Okra Productions.) Unfortunately, this is one sight I don’t see much of anymore–except through photographs.