We went to get a lawnmower from our daughter yesterday. The kill cable on our mower is rusty and I can no longer start it. 

They've got 13 acres way out in the country and until recently had horses and goats to keep their one field in check. The house is heavily shaded and the little bit of grass they should have is scratched up by chickens. 

They have a heck of a time keeping the chickens out of their garden spot. Strawberries are especially vulnerable to their foraging. 

They have more purple basil than they'll probably use this year no matter how much pesto they make. 

Part of the reason we went over the was that they had more cucumbers than they could use. These were what our daughter called dragon's eggs. They were somewhat larger than a goose egg and very bumpy. 

We also got some squash while we were there. They were white scallops and some other variety that had volunteered out where the horses and goats used to be.

A neighbor had given them some of this old, heritage stock squash three years earlier. We tossed it over the fence to the animals because most of it was too old and tough. After they ate the squash, the horses and goats strewed those seeds here and there and everywhere. 

Country life is full of little surprises like that.