"You mean summer is finally here?" said my husband, David. I was showing him the weather forecast on the computer. No rain for days, it promised. Hot and dry.

It's a sure sign of summer when our up-the-hill neighbor begins cutting the hay in our fields. Early in the week we listened to the rather soothing rhythm of the tractor and baler. The dogs, dreaming in the shade of the porch, barked with the stops and starts of the tractor.

Summer also has arrived in my garden. The plants that shivered in the chill and drowned in the deluge have begun to flourish. Finally when I look under the leaves or pick up a vine I am rewarded with cucumbers, neon-yellow summer squash and dark green zucchini.

I'll need to start pulling onions soon. The bottom leaves of the garlic are mostly brown and the soil has dried. Time to dig up the bulbs and set them to cure in a breezy spot.

But squash has been on my mind.

Summer squash, of which zucchini is a type, is planted in hills. That means you poke four or five seeds about 1-inch deep in a close circle. Hills should be 3 or 4 feet apart.

After sowing it's time to bug your husband to cover them with row cover. This helps protect them from cucumber beetles and squash bugs, which carry and spread bacterial wilt.

Once the plants blossom or when they get too big for the covers, they need to be unveiled so the bees can work their magic. The plants grow big and rapidly. Before long, there will be squash.

I love summer squash. I pick them small when they're crisp and sweet. Yellow squash are my favorite, wonderful quickly grilled or slow-stewed with onions and tomatoes. The first squash are the best.

The squash blossoms I pretty much ignore, unless I toss them into a saute. To be prepared properly, they should be stuffed with a small piece of delicious cheese, battered and carefully fried. A restaurant can do this very well, but I find it too fiddly to bother. I also do not make zucchini bread or stuff the large ones into anything but the compost.

Looking for a new way to prepare summer squash, I turned to a much-thumbed cookbook, "A Fresh Taste of Italy," written by my friend Michele Scicolone. As usual, the recipe -- on Page F-8 -- is as perfect as a poem.

Michele is a passionate gardener. On her New York City terrace she grows many things, including figs, peaches, blueberries and cherry tomatoes. She sent me some seeds for my garden this year. I'm proud to say that the tomatoes, Sicilian fennel and pepperoncini (hot peppers) are thriving out here in the country.

I'm also proud that my friend, Kit Paulsen, a wonderful Washington County artist, has illustrated this story with her lovely watercolor. You can see more of her work at paulsenstudios.com.

SUMMER SQUASH WITH ONION AND PARSLEY

PG TESTED

Michele Scicolone makes this with zucchini. But I don't think she'll mind the adaptation. -- Miriam Rubin

• 1 pound yellow summer squash (2 to 3 medium)
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 small onion, very finely chopped (I used sweet onion from the garden)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 3 tablespoons chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley

Trim ends of squash. Cut squash into 1/8-inch-thick slices.

In medium skillet over medium-low heat, melt butter. Add onion; cook, stirring often, until softened, 3 to 5 minutes.

Add summer squash; toss to coat with butter and onion. Cover and cook 5 minutes, or until just tender and starting to become translucent. Add salt, pepper and parsley. Toss well and serve.

Makes 3 or 4 servings.

-- Adapted from "A Fresh Taste of Italy" by Michele Scicolone (Broadway Books, 1997)