Nature at Work.

This summer I have zucchini growing in the garden.  Initially the two (yes two) plants I've grown from seed did really well.  Then, after a very wet period, one of the plants developed a fungal disease and a treatment with an organic spray didn't prevent it's loss.

The one healthy plant continued to grow and I have harvested around eleven fruit off the plant.
Next six days of temperatures over 35oC and all the developing fruit shrivelled up.

Today, (after a short spell of cooler days) the flowers are back, and I have at least two fruit well on their way.

I have been assisting fertilization of the female flowers by collecting pollen from the male flowers, using a small paint brush, and dusting it onto the pistels of the female flowers.
The fruit is so fast growing that I swear that if I sat by the zucchini plant all day, I'd actually see the fruit grow!
I plan to make a little more room for zucchini in my vegetable patch next summer.

There are between twenty and thirty sage plants growing in two pots in my herb section of the garden.  Herbs seem to grow best, perhaps because they are growing in pots rather than in the poor soil typical of my local area.
Sage leaves, quickly browned in butter until crisp, make a tasty garnish for many dishes.
Most of my herbs are protected from our family of brush tail possums with either chicken wire or bird netting.