Volunteer (201/365)

Many things grow in the garden that were never sown there.
~Thomas Fuller,Gnomologia, 1732

TIME:  7:26 PM
PLACE: Front yard
SUBJECT: Tomato

We have yet to dismantle the planter that surrounded the Capital Pear tree we had to remove last August.
Now, we have a volunteer tomato plant growing quite nicely there.
Probably the result of a squirrel who stole tomatoes from last year’s garden.

Tomato Harvest (197/366)

"A world without tomatoes is like a string quartet without violins."

Laurie Colwin, ‘Home Cooking’

TIME:  10:11 PM
PLACE:  Kitchen
SUBJECT:  Homegrown grape tomatoes

HH picked these this morning – we had some on our salad this evening.  There’s nothing like the taste of homegrown tomatoes.

Tomatoes & Unwanted Visitor (207/365)

Nestled inside vines
I see ripe red tomatoes
Eaten by a worm.

Original Haiku by Sujomi

TIME:  9:06 AM
PLACE:  Backyard
SUBJECT:  Cherry tomatoes on vine

See all those cherry tomatoes?  I was excited to see some that had ripened when I was watering the plants this morning.  But as I was picking the ripe ones, I found that they all had holes in them from some sort of bug.  Maybe it was this fellow:



Yuck.  If those cutworms think that they are going to mutilate my tomatoes, they have another thing coming.  I’m bigger than they are, so I will prevail. I hope.

Canned Tomatoes (352/365)

“The path of civilization is paved with tin cans.”

Elbert Hubbard (American editor, publisher and writer, 1856-1915)

TIME:  9:20 AM
PLACE:  Viviano & Sons, Inc., St. Louis, MO
SUBJECT:  Marconi canned tomatoes

This morning was our annual “Italian Run” for the holidays.  We met up with Dad, Great Aunt Marie, my sister, my brother and his family and my niece’s friend and his family at Viviano & Son’s in St. Louis.  Then we bought fresh salami at Volpi’s and finally made the trek to our cousin’s bakery (Rosciglione's) in St. Charles for Italian cookies.  The best part of this tradition?  Eating lunch when we return home – fresh baked bread with Filzetti salami, some caccicavallo cheese and a sprinkling of olive oil with cookies for dessert.  Later tonight, I think I’m opening the bottle of Riesling we bought.  The kids are driving me to drink.

Tomato Tomahto (230/365)

“If life deals you lemons, make lemonade; if it deals you tomatoes, make Bloody Marys”

Unknown

TIME:  8:02 PM
PLACE:  Kitchen sink
SUBJECT:  Homegrown tomatoes

A confession – these are NOT from our garden.  The squirrels have abscombed with and have eaten the majority of the tomatoes from our plants.  I even found a half-eaten ripe one tossed aside in our yard the other day.  Pesky tree-rats!  The ones that remain on the plants are not ripe quite yet.  These tomatoes are courtesy of a friend of ours who does not have the squirrel issues that we do.  There is nothing like the taste of a fresh, ripe, home-grown tomato.  It’s one of the best parts of late summer!

Tomato Thief (199/365)

“It's difficult to think anything but pleasant thoughts while eating a homegrown tomato.”

Lewis Grizzard (American writer and humorist, known for his Southern demeanor and commentary on the American South, 1946-1994)

TIME:  5:17 PM
PLACE:  The backyard
SUBJECT:  Sciurus carolinensis

This would be why we may not have any tomatoes this year.  These pesky rodents are enjoying the fruits of our labors.  I saw one of these creatures sitting on the fence chomping away at a green tomato this morning, but alas, I did not have my camera with me at the time.  MonkeyBoy had his ball game at 1pm (they won 16-9, yea!).  After we returned home, I did not feel like cooking (no surprise there), so we ordered some pizza.  Being as I am too cheap to pay for both a delivery charge and a tip, I made the order a carry-out.  I did take my camera with me and was rewarded with this sight as I returned home with the pizza.