Kangaroo Corn

"Knee-high by the Fourth of July," so the saying goes. By the 4th, our forty stalks of corn were right on track. 

Almost a month later now, and the corn towers over us with its feather duster tassels. 

We part the leaves to find the hidden ears. As I was preparing this post, I got to thinking why they are even called "ears of corn." I was not surprised to find that an ear of corn has nothing to do with the ears on our head. Apparently, the scientific word for an ear of corn is "inflorescence," meaning "a flowering." It makes sense, then, that when we grind this up, we get flour.*

Our friend told us that the raccoons would get to the corn before we did, but we beat them to it. Above is our first ear of corn from the garden...or should I say ears of corn. This corn had a baby corn attached, like a kangaroo with a baby in its pouch. 

We steamed the corn and we probably picked it a day too late but it didn't matter that it wasn't snappy––it was still some of the best corn I have ever had. 

Meanwhile, a sunflower grows amidst the stalks––a scarecrow ready to ward off thieving raccoons.

Do you garden? What do you grow? How has your garden been doing? Our lettuce and kale haven't been strong this year...the leaves have been small. Our beans and snap peas, meanwhile, have been growing generously. 

I hope you're all enjoying your summer!

*Note: The information about the etymology of "corn" comes from this blog: (http://ear-of-corn.blogspot.com/2011/07/why-is-ear-of-corn-called-ear-of-corn.html)