Damn it! I think I've figured out the bugs that appeared on our squash plants about a week ago. The majority of them are striped and spotted cucumber beetles, which are apparently disastrous for the plants and offer little hope for a fruitful season. I've been squeezing them with my gloved and, yes, bare hands whenever I see them, but they like to hide inside the squash blossoms and they drop from the leaves and burrow into the dirt when they sense that I'm after them. Those bastards! The other kind are squash bugs; so far I've only seen a few of these, but I remember them in hordes from last year.

The discoloration of the squash leaves, which has now spread to other squash plants in our garden, may be squash mosaic virus, which is incurable, and it may be bacterial wilt, both which are caused and spread by the cucumber beetle. This is sad, frustrating news...and I hope it isn't the case, but it most likely is and my plants doomed.

Can I change my "gardening is fun" sign to "organic gardening is hard" and "damn those bad bugs for ruining my plants" signs?