Around the House and Garden and The Fuel Spill

The air is permeated with the nauseating smell of no. 6 fuel. Whatever that is. It really smells bad anyway. There was a 400,000 gallon fuel spill in the Mississippi river at 3:00 am yesterday. A boat hauling a barge of fuel was split in half by a tanker spilling all of the barge's contents into the river. It happened just above the bend in the river by New Orleans. Everyone below that including ourselves is conserving water, and there is no report on when the water will be drinkable again. This morning I went in my backyard and took this picture. The river is still slightly high so I couldn't approach it's banks and get a good pic. This is on the batture of the levee. The boat didn't have a properly licensed captain on board. While I was out there I flushed out two ducks and a heron. I can only wonder what the effect on the wildlife and land will be. Here are the "brown turkey" figs that I have picked and will preserve today. Part of a sustainable lifestyle is not wasting anything. I really only like fresh figs, but my family likes them preserved...so.
Today's harvest. Pattipan squash, figs, peppers, cucumbers, and finally - my first yellow squash!!! I also have some zucchini that look like they aren't going to rot. I will can the jalapenos and dry the Cheyenne peppers. We use a lot of red pepper in our cooking.

This is "moon and stars" watermelon. I have quite a few of them growing nicely.