Two surprises

This afternoon I had two gardening surprises.
I went outside with two containers, a small one for raspberries and a large one for spinach. First I went to the raspberry patch(es), expecting to be disappointed. Friday I feared that there would not be many this week. But I picked a full cup!
This means I can offer some to my babysitter when she visits from CA on Tuesday. It's great to have lasting friendships, and mine with Hope Hoff Russell has been a jewel. I've visited her every time we go to the bay area (a favorite place for national math conferences) but this is the first time in a VERY long time she has been in NJ.
Elated, I went to the more mundane activity of picking Malabar spinach. Oops... Much of it was covered with spots. What, I thought, mischievous bug had gotten into it? Oops again. In protected places there were still some edible leaves. Apparently yesterday's chilly rain and winds had defeated the Malabar but the raspberries rose cheerfully to the challenge. I harvested enough spinach for one meal for two, but I doubt I'll be harvesting any more in 2009. Thank goodness, there is lots in the freezer.

Pat