|
|
Thursday, August 18, 2005Our First TomatoIt sounds more grandiose than it is, perhaps. But I'm awfully excited about it. Way too late in the season, Eric put in five tomato plants for me. You have to understand how much I love homegrown tomatoes. It was a huge part of my childhood; for years, my dad had a garden that always produced buckets of tomatoes. Even when we weren't growing our own, my dad would bring home tomato love-offerings from his patrons on the mail route (what can I say -- they adored him!). We would slice them, salt them, and eat them with a fork. Of course, my favorite way to eat a tomato is on a sandwich. White bread, a bit of salt, scads of mayo, and freshly sliced, homegrown tomato. Bliss! Our five little tomato plants made me nervous at first -- they didn't seem to be growing. Then Eric and I figured out that their tops had been chomped off by the resident deer. There's another useless trivia fact to store in my brain: Deer eat tomato plants. The plants recovered, and finally -- FINALLY -- the first, teeny-tiny, fetal tomato appeared. Green, new, full of the promise of a juicy tomato sandwich. For weeks, it was the only tomato to be spotted. August was on the horizon, and while our neighbors were busy harvesting, we were busy watching our one, prize tomato growing. I claimed it early on. "This is my tomato," I said. "I am going to pick it. Nobody else may touch it." My children know I mean business when I say things like that. Nobody touched the tomato. Then, wonder of wonders -- other wee tomatoes appeared. We weren't going to have a one-fruit harvest after all! Yesterday was The Big Day. It was time to pick My Tomato. Two of my children came with me -- it was like a ritual, really. The Watching Mommy Harvest the First Tomato ritual. The tomato was covered in the shimmering droplets of leftover rain. I admired it for a few moments, wishing beyond goodness that the battery in my digital camera hadn't died. Then, I plucked it. It felt perfect in my hand. I smelled it -- oh, how I love that "tomato vine" smell! Then, I kissed it. There you have it -- a complete picture of my obsession with homegrown tomatoes. Maybe I'm just really easy to please (Eric would disagree), or maybe I'm way too nostalgic about food. At any rate, the joy of picking that beautiful tomato was the highlight of my Wednesday morning. Guess what I'm having for lunch today? --- Jill Schafer Boehme |
About Me
I am: Mother to five stunningly individualistic children... Writer of young adult fantasy... Passionate advocate for Women At Home... Madly in love with my husband... In need of Organic Gourmet Chocolate on a regular basis. I've got a Paypal account if you'd like to contribute to the cause....
|
8of my readers are feeling chatty:
Well, bizarre nostalgic lycopersicon esculentum obsessions aside, that was beautifully written!
May you, Mr. B. & the chickens enjoy many more before summer's end! :)
OH we love Tomato's sliced with salt! the kids eat them like apples LOL
fresh, good tomatoes with authentic feta cheese and a glass of cold white wine. that's my ideal summer lunch.
So...is it a really bad sign that my two babies have flowers but no tomatoes yet?
damn good blog, check out mine http://juicyfruiter.blogspot.com, comments always welcome!
hey jill, i really liked your post! i too enjoy a nice ripe tomato with miracle whip and salt and pepper sandwich! matter of fact i had that for supper tonight! keep up the good work! im still planning to come up your way soon! maybe we could get together!
Shasta(mommy member)
You're making me wish I had started a garden! Next year...
Kathie
Now we've got "garden fever" and don't have enough sun in our backyard to accomodate it! Even the tomatoes are ripening slowly because they only get a few hours of sun each day instead of an entire day of light. We may have to move onto a farm somewhere!
Then again, um, maybe not. This gal needs her Starbucks nearby. :)
Post a Comment
<< Home