So here's the short of it, 
At last...

And here's the long

The Loufah Gourd has finallly bloomed.  Here it is September and I'm getting the first blooms on the loufah.   I suppose I've seen maybe 6 or 8 blooms this long weekend.  There's precious little time left before frost to actually grow a loufah!

We'll have to see how they do.  I'm determined to try again next year.  When I first began to garden here more than 20 years ago, I remember that Dad asked me what I wanted to grow - loufah was one of the first things, and I've grown it off and on since.  This is the first time it's done this vine all over the place and flower so late.  I keep thinking it was because it was so dry, but we've had dry summers before.  Maybe it was because it was so hot for so long???  Anyway it's been several years since I gardened to any great extent beyond a few tomato plants, so I'm glad to be back playing in the dirt. 

Next year, I'm going to try growing Loufah again.  We'll see how it goes.