harvest

It is time to plant tomatoes. Dear God, we praise this fruit and give thanks for its life and evolution. We salute the tomato, cheery, fragrant morsel, beloved provider, survivor and thriver and giver of life. Giving and giving and giving. Plump with summer's joy. The scent of its stem is summer's joy, its promise and rapture. Its branches breathe perfumes of promise and rapture. Giving and giving and giving.

Dear God, give strength to the wings and knees of pollinating bees, give protection from hailstorms, gales and frosts, give warm days and quenching rains. Refresh and adorn our gardens and our tables. Refresh us with tomatoes.

Rejoice and rejoice! Celebrate the scarlet soul of winter sauces. Behold the delicious flavour! Behold the oiled vermilion moons that ride and dive in olive-bobbing seas of vinegared lettuce. Let us rejoice! Let this rejoicing be our thanks for tomatoes.
AMEN. (Michael Leunig)

Ok, so clearly we haven't been pumping our fruit and vegetables full of steroids or artificial fertilizers, but these are the first of our crop. Mostly it's been fun sharing the gardening with Chelsea.

While we're at it, here are some carrots from a few weeks ago:

Chelsea was so excited when we picked them she skipped around the backyard for a few minutes yelling, "They growed! They growed! They growed!" at the top of her voice.

We're also growing strawberries, and have had some success there.