Mom and Her Cutie Cukes

My mother loves cucumbers. But not the kind you get in the grocery store. The ones in the store have a wax coating on them and to her that just ruins the flavor of them. She likes cucumbers fresh out of the garden. Even though she has discontinued her vegetable garden she decided that this year she would plant two or three cucumber plants so she could enjoy fresh cucumbers.

This spring Mom purchased some cucumber seeds and planted them. The plants didn't come to much and it was clear she wasn't going to get any cucumbers from them. So she planted some more. After waiting a few more weeks it became clear that she was not going to be successful getting cucumbers to grow from seed. So she gave up in frustration.

My brother-in-law Bill saw that she really wanted fresh cucumbers so he purchased her about three cucumber starter plants and planted them behind her house. The starter plants grew up and eventually got some blossoms where cucumbers could grow.

Mom is having trouble with her bad leg right now and she can't leave the house because she can't navigate the steps out of her home. She only leaves when we take her to doctor appointments and we can give her assistance with the steps. She has had to rely on family members to help with things outside her home like watering plants.

Yesterday we were watering a few plants for Mom and she asked us to check her cucumber plants to see if any were ready to be picked. To my delight there were four cucumbers ready to be eaten and two or three more which should be ready by next week. Mom couldn't believe how big they had grown. I got her to pose for her picture with the cucumbers.

For those of you who are following my Mom's recovery she's hanging in there. She had a bit of a backslide on Sunday (reinjured the leg) but is feeling a little better today and we are hopeful her recovery will progress uninterrupted. A physical therapist will be working with her twice a week.