I confess that there are times when I am called upon to assist friends in tasks that really don’t require a poet. Such is life. Still one girds one’s loins and gets on with the task in hand. Such was the case when Lancet Foredecks asked if I would assist him with his scheme to harvest a crop of Great Cucurbitas. When I come to think of it, most people will know this fruit by its common name, Coocoo’s Bittas. I have heard several theories as to who exactly Coocoo was, and none of them convince. Mind you I do rather like the story that he was a clown who pined away from chronic indigestion.

Now Bittas are an interesting crop. People have doubtless come across Pepo’s Cucurbita, (orange bittas in common parlance) in season they are a common sight in the markets of our city. Their main advantage is…

Yes, it’s a real thing.

A young city dweller with a high-pressure job needed a break and a change of scenery, so he decided to go for a hike in the mountains. He followed a path by a sparkling mountain stream, and was soon whistling happily as he felt the stress of the city melting away.

After a while, he chanced across an isolated log cabin near the banks of the stream. A bearded old man sat in front of the cabin, smoking a pipe. He greeted the young man and invited him to stop and rest for a spell.

The two were soon engrossed in conversation, the old man regaling the young man with stories of his life in the mountains. As the sun sank lower in the sky, the old man invited his guest to stay to supper, and the young man accepted.

The mountain man served up a simple but satisfying supper…