Good morning gardeners. Managed to get the slippery slope mowed yesterday morning. Then as I was stepping out the door after lunch to do the weed whacking in the garden, the sky opened up. Surprise downpour that lasted for about 2 hours. The remnants of TS Isaia are supposed to move in tomorrow, so I may just wait until after that passes through before anymore attempts at mowing and weed whacking. This morning I found some more bush beans, 2 large zucchini, an okra pod and a nice cucumber that the chipmunks decided wasn't tasty enough for their refined palates. I re-routed some of the butternut squash and pole bean vines. I remember someone here suggested putting poles atop the bean towers for the vines to cling to. Not necessary. They reach out and grab whatever is near them. I did do that last year, but it really didn't make a difference. As for companion planting, like @Acre4Me, I rely heavily on the Old Farmer's Almanac. I've grown peas in the same bed as tomatoes with no problems. Peas, like beans add nitrogen to the soil. Since tomatoes are heavy nitrogen feeders, it makes sense to plant them together. I've noticed myself @Compost King that slow cooking tones down the heat in peppers quite a bit. I made carnitas in my small crockpot yesterday and tossed in two sliced jalapenos, seeds and all and I didn't notice any heat. Zucchini soup @Sueby: I've made cucumber soup so I can't imagine why not zucchini soup. I've even made lettuce soup in years when I had so much lettuce I didn't know what to do with it. Sometimes my best friend in the kitchen is my handy dandy immersion blender. Thank you all for the lovely pictures. Especially the beach shot @TropicalBabies and the fresh produce @karenerwin. Have a great day everyone.