The Arrival of a New Season Yields Memories and One Plentiful Crop

We, meaning folks living in my town, state, and region of the world, have endured a week of dreariness. Rain, winds, chilly temperatures, and cloudy days prevailed. Grayness descended and refused to move on. The bleakness underscored the passing of summer and the arrival of fall. 

One rainless, windless day, blue sky and sun peeked through the clouds for a short time and lured me outdoors. Before cold traps me inside until spring, I wanted to one more time feel earth between my gloved hands. My goal: plant shrubs. This summer a group of strong young men demolished our old, peeling, splintery wood deck, and replaced it with a patio. A strip of soil between the new patio and back fence begged for bushes that will – hopefully – produce colorful flora by spring.

As a kid I did not get down and dirty planting anything. I got down and dirty, but only when playing in the dirt. On the other hand…Dad, a frustrated farmer born and raised in the concrete jungle of Manhattan, enjoyed working in his vegetable garden. He also raised bonsai, which eventually took over the house. They were everywhere – on tables and shelves, and lined up in pots on the floor.

Dad knew not how to grow vegetables, but he learned. One year he lamented that his brussels sprout plants were high and hardy, but no sprouts emerged. A more experienced gardener walked him to his plants, parted the lush leaves, and – voila! – tight rows of sprouts appeared.

I gave up cultivating my own vegetable patch a couple of years ago. My rabbit and squirrel tenants chomped on new growth before I could pull or cut anything edible, from early spring greens through fall veggies. I gave up. The rabbits and squirrels survived, finding nourishment in neighbors’ yards. But this year I planted four cherry tomato plants found on sale at a local nursery. If they didn’t thrive I could swap them for blooming annuals my animal tenants would ignore. I figured what did I have to lose?

I hit the tomato jackpot! 

Maybe it was the weather – long, hot, sunny days and plenty of rain. Maybe my gardening philosophy of benign neglect worked wonders. Maybe the veggie gods looked kindly, or sympathetically, upon me. Whatever the reason, beautiful oval, deep red tomatoes flourished. It is October and my plants continue to produce.

A potluck dinner was the inspiration for two homemade dishes: a cherry tomato salad and a cherry tomato pie. A great way to use oodles of fresh-picked fruit. FYI: Tomatoes are a fruit. I checked online. 

What could be better closure to one season and the arrival of another than consuming home-grown, homemade fare? And an added plus: a weather forecast of blue skies and warmish weather for the next few days.