Standing in the middle of the tomato patch, I bend and pull weeds. Steadily I work my way through the plants, my head amongst the green leafy fronds. A stray tomato bumps me on the nose and carefully, I bend it around the stake to hold it up, away from the dirt.
I’m running low on stakes and the bigger plants need more than one. It’s amazing, how proud I am of the plants that are merely doing what plants do. I gave them water, earth and sunshine and now I act surprised that they grew. Really, that’s what they were going to do with or without my watching them.
I move through to the one single bean plant that grew and as I weed, I find beans on it, large enough to harvest. I clap delightedly and picking them, show my partner. He’s not as excited as I am.
They’re beans.
But they’re my beans. I grew them.
So?
Hmmph.
Now, I eat the beans instead of clapping about them.
I move back to the tomatoes, pulling the last of the weeds I missed before and tenderly stroking the small green fruit. Lifting my head, I find myself face to face with a spider. We look at each other, before I bend back to what I was doing.
I pull the last of the weeds and leave the spider there, living amongst the tomatoes, hopefully protecting them from the bugs that would otherwise eat them.
When I get inside, I realise, my hands smell like tomatoes. It’s a good smell.
I think if I grew my own veggies I’d be just as proud! Also… eek to the spidey!
You loved to help me in the garden when you were a little girl but then you grew out of wanting to be anywhere near the garden at all. I am so thrilled and proud that you have your own garden and that you have green thumbs like your Mother. You are quite right to be proud, your tomatoes are wonderful and there is nothing like eating your own beans. xox
Also great shot of the spider. She is a little cutie.
There’s nothing edible growing in my garden anymore. It’s not even “my” garden now. I got so sick and tired of hearing “when the beans/tomatoes/carrots/whatever are finished I can rip them out and let the lawn grow back/put something else there”. Even my potted fruit trees aren’t producing because “he” does the watering and won’t give them enough. Sad, but fighting for water/yard space isn’t worth the psychotic episodes that will follow. I’ve been giving away “my” potplants, just waiting for someone to decide whether or not they want the fruit trees. There’ll be nothing left but his succulents and a couple of hanging baskets. Ho hum, good thing I like to read.
Bugger, forgot to say how lovely your tomatoes are looking and how wonderful is the taste of freshly picked beans. What variety of tomatoes are you growing?
It’s only one of my favorite smells in the universe!!!!!!
I LOVE gardening! Your beautiful orb weaver (that’s what we call those spiders up here in my side of the world) IS a magnificent watch dog for flying pests. Funny that we have those exact same spideys up here, no?
If I could pick, I’d have hundreds of those spiders in my garden. As it is, we still have the pests that make things unbearable. *shrug*
This next summer will be better. No more school to interrupt my joy!!
I love these lines, “It’s amazing, how proud I am of the plants that are merely doing what plants do. I gave them water, earth and sunshine and now I act surprised that they grew.”
I remember the first time I grew tomatoes – there is no better taste than homegrown, is there? 🙂
Great pictures too…. they really give a whole picture.
I love your writing. I can smell tomatoes now.
You should be proud, you are feeding your family in the most profound sense of the word.
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