First fruits
When we got home tonight from our trip to the beach, my husband, the kids and I all walked out to the garden to see what we’d missed over the past four days. A neighbor’s dog, who followed us into the garden, seems to have been spending a lot of time there while we were gone — his footprints were all over it. But the dog tracks didn’t bother us too much; we were too excited to see a few ripe jalapenos dangling from one of our pepper plants.
While most of us won’t be munching on the little green balls of fire (my husband Lee loves them but they’re a little too hot for preschoolers), I think we were all gratified to see the first fruits of our labors ready to make the move from soil to table.
Ok, I’ll admit that Lee and the kids have been responsible for most of the labor so far, but as the garden begins to ripen, I’ll certainly be doing my share. Within a few weeks, we should have fresh squash and radishes, with green beans, cucumbers, okra and tomatoes soon to follow. I can already feel the prickly fuzz of the squash leaves and hear the fffftt sound my knife makes as I slice through each yellow fruit, and taste the first bite of summer squash casserole, my favorite. Summer’s here and my taste buds can hardly wait.
Photo credit: Nancy Mann Jackson
