The remains after the pruning

It happens in the fall. Our schools are still on the old-fashioned agrarian calendar, so I start teaching in September. My garden gets neglected during the week. Somehow, it survives - some days, barely survives. I had some powder mildew in the squash plants, so I trimmed the infected leaves and set them aside to dry. They won't be composted, for fear of the mildew not getting fully destroyed. But thanks to my teaching schedule and evening workload, I didn't get to the pruning until a large number of leaves and stems were infected. After I finished, this was all that was left.
Not to worry, though. That meager collection of vines has at least four of these still growing. In fact, after I put away the clippers and cleaned up the icky leaves, I harvested a zucchini to cook with supper.