Yes, I know it's been awhile, y'all, but here we are in the second week of September, so I'm just going to jump right into it like I haven't been absent from this blog for nearly six months.
To get the sad stuff out of the way first, Jack and I had to say goodbye to our favorite beagle and full-time sweetheart, JosieJo, earlier this month. She was diagnosed with liver failure a year ago after falling deathly and suddenly ill, so we knew our time with her was limited and treated every day like a gift. By our vet's estimation, she was maybe as old as fourteen, and we're confident that we gave her the best home and life possible in the ten years she was part of our family.
She loved trips to the farm to roll in the grass, hunt for moles, get loved-on by Mom and Dad, watch cows, and patrol the garden, and she got to do those things in her last days. She was a great co-pilot for errands, insanely jealous of cute puppies, indifferent toward cats, and a wonderful friend and companion.
She became suddenly sick again two Fridays ago, and an x-ray at our vet's office late that afternoon revealed a large tumor on her liver and a smaller tumor in one of her lungs. Nothing could be done but love, respect, and say goodbye to her.
This is the first time since 1993 that I've been dog'less and nearly that long for Jack, so the house feels a little empty. We're going to wait until we make some little home and grounds improvements to make our situation as safe and secure as possible before bringing another dog or puppy into the family.
Other aspects of life are chugging along quite nicely.
Like our garden, which has given us enough tomatoes to feed an army and almost that much okra.
Big tomatoes? Yes. Big tomatoes like this monster!
Yes, that's a pound and a half!! And it was delicious. I've got photos of it all sliced-up and need to pull those off the camera to share, because it was a thing of beauty. I probably use the word "perfect" too much for the real world, but this tomato was absolutely perfect.
I know that, because I'm now something I've always wanted to be: someone who loves to eat tomatoes.
No kidding.
Back in the winter when I planted tomato seeds, I told Jack and everybody else who'd listen that 2022 would be the year I overcame a lifetime being a tomato pariah. I've been shamed and picked-at since I was a little kid for not liking raw tomatoes, but those days are over, at least as far as the home-grown kind of tomatoes are concerned.
Here's a picture of the first BLT I ever ate that had "T" on it -
It was one of the most delicious things I've ever tasted in my life. The tomato makes it, and I now understand why people have always given me side-eye when I talk about eating BLTs without the T. I won't make that mistake again.
The cherry and grape tomatoes we grew were magic, and there's no other way to describe them. Bea even won a blue ribbon at the Williamson County Fair with tomatoes she raised from a plant I gave her. I'm still beaming with pride so hard it's ridiculous
Our tomatoes are still producing like gangbusters, but we know the end is coming. Our first row of tomatoes, planted the day before Mother's Day, is almost finished. A few of the grape/cherry tomatoes are still hanging in there and will likely give us a few handfuls a day until our first frost, which is expected to happen around October 15th. The second row of tomatoes is productive, but they're showing signs of being tired. The peppers and most of the okra are doing the same. Daylight is shorter - Autumn Equinox is the day after tomorrow, and after that, we start the roll into winter.
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Lots and lots of okra.
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