Sloe motion

These, I think, are sloe berries. They grow wild on the edges of the woods around the vineyard parcels. The berries are not particularly good to eat, but can be used (with plenty of sugar) to make preserves or to infuse alcohol (commonly with gin, as in sloe gin). The bushes are thorny, hence the other name for this plant: blackthorn.

Beautiful purple sloe berries.

We're getting the typical abundance of zucchini from the vegetable garden. So far, we've cooked a fair amount of it on the grill by slicing the squash lengthwise, then seasoning the slices with olive oil, salt, pepper, and other spices. I've also made a kind of tabbouleh salad with cubed zucchini, bulgur wheat, tomato, corn, mint, olive oil, and lemon juice. The garden tomatoes are growing, but won't begin to ripen for a while yet.