Role Reversals, Funky Formulas, Summer Salutations, and Piles of Peas

This morning Gregg stewed up some of his awesome veggie laden pasta sauce

while I repaired the Radio Flyer.

When the repair was done and the wagon righted, I noticed these lovely maple leaf shadows:

The wagon usually sits on the patio and holds an assortment of outside toys -- the Yobaby practice boards, the hula hoops, bug tormenting, I mean collecting, jars and magnifying glass, garden tools, fairy accessories, sidewalk chalk...

As I was collecting the items to put them back in the wagon, I noticed this jar full of... um... formula?  Alex is forever concocting magical mixtures.  This one appears to be combination of the husks of malted barley Gregg milled for his beer brew and ashes from the BBCook.  Oh, and water.  

I realized as I went to dump the jar that the ingredients would actually be GOOD compost material so I took it inside and dumped the goo in the compost bowl.   I realize that some readers may think taking pictures of the compost bowl is, um, bizarre?  but I'm proud of my compost!

This is probably NOT what you envisioned when I said "piles of peas":

These are my POLE peas, that did not climb up the poles.  Instead they laid themselves down in a big lazy pile behind the pumpkin pandemonium.  I keep thinking of the neat rows and pretty tipis and trellises I see on the "other" garden blogs, as I survey this madness:

In this photo, if you look closely, you'll see pumpkins, peas, and a volunteer tomato.  All tangled and twisted together. 

That's the blackberry, back there.

Here is the butternut squash, with intruding ivy and groping grapes.

But, the proof is in the proverbial pudding, right?

Oh, I forgot the summer salutations!  Here they are:

And Daddy preparing for more brewing: