Did you hear about the woman in Montana who was attacked by a bear at her own back door? She had let her three dogs out in the evening and heard a commotion in the yard. She didn't realize that a bear was at the edge of her yard eating apples from her tree but two of her three dogs caught on and made a run for it. The third dog was old and slow and he headed for the house and so did the bear. She realized the bear was attacking her dog so she screamed. Then the bear shifted his attention to her. She was half outside the door when the bear caught her. She landed a good kick to the bear's nose but he swiped at her leg, tearing her blue jeans and scratching her leg. Luckily, she was able to back into her kitchen.
Now, here is the part of the story that makes her my Hero. She reached around on her kitchen counter for a weapon and found a large zucchini which she threw at the advancing bear. (At this point in the story daughter Sarah shouts 'en gourd!'which isn't horticulturaly correct but funny anyway) The vegetable hit the bear squarely on the head and he retreated back out into the night. Now, you may wonder why I find that heroic. If you had ever planted even one zucchini plant you'd know that any new use for the fruit is reason for rejoicing, especially those great big ones.
This story has a happy ending. The dog is going to be okay, the woman has only minor injuries and a zucchini has been found to be useful as a weapon. If I had my way this would be one of those tales passed from father to son or mother to daughter, down through time.
The half bushel of vegetables in my picture has a couple of zucchini that could qualify as weapons. Stand back, I am armed.
