The cucumbers have played out, leaving only a few dead vines in their wake. The squash are also almost gone.

The corn is nearly picked clean and the peas are little more than a memory. Only the potatoes, tomatoes and the watermelon plants are still fighting the weeds in my overgrown garden, the one that was so neat and tidy only a month or two ago.

I have been pretty busy lately or I would have already gone through and cleaned up the garden. It bothers me every time I drive by and see the weed-filled corn and the wildly growing tomatoes all over the place. I plan on clear-cutting the corn and the cucumber and squash areas and going back in this fall with a good crop of mustard, spinach, peas, beets and turnips.

That should give me a good reason to get most of the mess cleaned out. Besides, I already ate up most of the greens that were planted earlier this year. Mustard greens seldom last very long around the house, especially once they’re cooked up with a piece or two of fat meat. I grew up on creasy, kale, mustard and turnip greens. If it weren’t for those and potatoes and beans, most of the clan would have starved out years ago.

Last week would have been a good time to work in the garden, had it not been for a mishap with my lawnmower trailer. I was pulling it along behind the truck with the mower in tow on the way to an appointment when the tire blew out. Since the mower was on the trailer, I had to drag it for a few miles to try and get to a good place to stop. With sparks flying out behind the trailer as I drug along the remnants of the tire in tow, I’m sure it was quite a sight. The wheel also was ruined.

The ‘good place’ to leave the mower turned out to be one of my friends’ houses. I unloaded the mower, disengaged the trailer and then had to rush home to change clothes and still made it to my appointment, albeit 30 minutes or so late.

The funny part was, I wasn’t using the mower or the trailer when the tire went flat, but I just hadn’t unhooked it from the truck. I had to take the truck with me because I had a few things I wanted to throw in the transfer facility (landfill) at lunchtime.

Later that day, I called my friends from Charlotte, who informed me that they would gladly pick me up two new tires. Come to find out, the wheels and tires are a single unit for the trailer I have and the whole package comes together with the bearings that fit over the axle. Since both tires were somewhat dry-rotted, I went to my friend’s house on Sunday morning and switched both of them out.

The day prior, which would have been a prime garden day, I had to go to another friend’s wedding thing in Blowing Rock. I don’t really like to go to Blowing Rock, nor do I really like driving there. I don’t really like visiting country clubs either, so I had a full dose of all of the above with little or no effort on my part.

On the bright side, I did get to stop by one of my favorite Chinese restaurants for the all-you-can-eat buffet. Being a big sushi fan, I am always very happy when I get to go anywhere that it is going to be served. I was told that sushi in Japanese means rice, not raw fish like many people think. Sushi can include cooked or raw seafood, vegetables and other ingredients. I don’t care what is in it, I like it. Just beware the green stuff — wasabi sauce, I think it’s called. One drop can set your entire head on fire. It doesn’t burn like hot peppers, it’s more like the ginger, horseradish and mustard kind of thing.

After that, it was on to the demolition derby for Saturday night, both working with the Alleghany Fair Committee and taking pictures for the newspaper. The event got off to kind of a rocky start Saturday night when the public address system blew a fuse while the best-looking car was being judged.

In case you don’t know, that’s the first thing that usually happens during a demolition derby. If you waited until later, there wouldn’t be any good-looking cars left after they spend most of the evening smashing one another.

The Sparta Police Department let the fair use the PA on one of the cars to announce the problem and finish the judging for the best looking car. There at the event was Mike Choate, who immediately came up on the stage and sent folks running to pick up a fuse to repair the board. I could smell something had gotten heated up, but I didn’t know the fuse was blown in that particular circuit. Mike immediately diagnosed the problem and sent someone after supplies. Some habits, like helping out, must be hard to break. He’s always been there when needed, just as dependable as the concrete bleachers that line the hillside. Soon the problem was fixed and the show was under way. Since food was being offered anyway, I don’t think anyone minded having the delay too badly. Since the fair is going on all this week, I figure I will have to put off the garden cleaning for at least another week or two. Maybe by that time I’ll need to get a tractor and a Bushhog. I’ll cross that bridge when I get there.

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