Tomato Plants from Hell

Yes, I have tomato plants that, if they had souls, would have already sold them to the devil. There's no other explanation. These things WILL NOT stop producing or even stop growing for that matter!

Let me back up....

In May, I needed to try my hand at vegetables. This year was to be a trial run, so I decided on tomatoes that I would grow in a pot on the back porch. We ended up getting 3 little plants of cherry tomatoes and 3 little plants of bell peppers.

When Dad and Mom came a week later, Dad said that there was no way the tomato plants would do well all together in that pot, that I needed to replant 2 of them. We decided they could go in the flower garden in back (as added greenery) and he, being the wonderful father he is, moved them.

Fast forward to July. The sticks that Shannon and I had initially used to tie the plants weren't big enough, so we drove a couple of bamboo poles into the ground. Even with a lot of twine, we still had to cut off some of the growingly monsterous tomato plant branches off. By the end of July, the plants (in the garden, not the pitiful one in the pot) were a good 4 feet high and even wider for those branches that had escaped the twine. The tomatoes started coming. At first, we'd pick 4 or 5 a day, then a dozen, until mid-August when we were picking upwards of 4 cups of cherry tomatoes a day - remember, from TWO plants. At the end of August, we went away for 8 days and the tomato plants went unpicked (our neighbours all had had their share). When we came back, it was a sea of red. Many tomatoes had ripened and fallen and many, many more were begging to be picked. I don't know if I have still caught up.

It is now the middle of September. The nights are quite cool. We aren't picking tomatoes as we once were. It is not that there isn't any. These plants won't stop producing!!! In fact, I noticed today that they are covered in flowers, meaning more tomatoes are on their way!

Dad, you are doing a whole garden for me next spring.

Kodie and the Canoe

A lot has been going on lately. I meant to post on here about my first race (3K - came 119 out of 294 and 5th out of 17 in my age group), but time got away on me. Not going to post about it now either. I'd rather blog about this weekend!

Friday night, we drove down to Bass Pro Shop to get our canoe. Yay! We spent both Saturday and Sunday on various lakes (Boone and Wataga to be exact) - and of course, couldn't leave Kodie out! As you can see, we got him his own little life jacket. He has been in a lake before, but wasn't overly thrilled with it, and since you can't be too careful when you are in a manually powered small boat surrounded by idiots in high powered speed boats .... We weren't sure how he'd like it, but he has loved it. He jumped in the water yesterday, thinking that he could catch a heron that had just taken to flight. The look on his face was priceless when he hit the water. Today we put him in for a couple of quick swims to cool him off. The first time he didn't seem to mind too much, but the second he tried to get back in the boat right away. He did appear to enjoy himself while we were paddling around though! All the excitement and fresh air has done him in, however. He's currently in a coma under my desk.

Oldie But Goodie

I was just thinking of this email the other day and here it was in my inbox this morning. Kodie sighs all the time - I hope it isn't all in frustration!

This is one of the neatest stories I've ever heard. You will know precisely what this little girl is talking about at the end.

Danielle keeps repeating it and over again. We've been back to this animal shelter at least five times. It has been weeks now since we started this," mother told the volunteer.

"What is it she keeps asking for?" the volunteer asked.

"Puppy size!" replied the mother.

"Well, we have plenty of puppies, if that's what she's looking for."

"I know...we have seen most of them," the mom said in frustration...

Just then Danielle came walking into the office "Well, did you find one?" asked her mom.

"No, not this time," Danielle said with sadness in her voice. "Can we come back on the weekend?"

The two women looked at each other, shook their heads and laughed.

"You never know when we will get more dogs. Unfortunately, there's always a supply," the volunteer said.

Danielle took her mother by the hand and headed to the door. "Don't worry, I'll find one this weekend," she said.

Over the next few days both mom and dad had long conversations with her. They both felt she was being too particular. "It's this weekend or we're not looking any more," Dad finally said in frustration.

"We don't want to hear anything more about puppy size either," Mom added.

Sure enough, they were the first ones in the shelter on Saturday morning. By now Danielle knew her way around, so she ran right for the section that housed the smaller dogs.

Tired of the routine, mom sat in the small waiting room at the end of the first row of cages. There was an observation window so you could see the animals during times when visitors weren't permitted.

Danielle walked slowly from cage to cage, kneeling periodically to take a closer look. One by one the dogs were brought out and she held each one.

One by one she said, "Sorry, you're not the one."

It was the last cage on this last day in search of the perfect pup. The volunteer opened the cage door and the child carefully picked up the dog and held it closely. This time she took a little longer.

"Mom, that's it! I found the right puppy! He's the one! I know it!" she screamed with joy. "It's the puppy size!"

"But it's the same size as all the other puppies you held over the last few weeks," Mom said.

"No not size ---- the sighs. When I held him in my arms, he sighed," she said. "Don't you remember? When I asked you one day what love is, you told me love depends on the sighs of your heart. The more you love, the bigger the sigh!"

The two women looked at each other for a moment. Mom didn't know whether to laugh or cry. As she stooped down to hug the child, she did a little of both.

"Mom, every time you hold me, I sigh. When you and Daddy come home from work and hug each other, you both sigh. I knew I would find the right puppy if it sighed when I held it in my arms," she said. Then holding the puppy up close to her face she said, "Mom, he loves me. I heard the sighs of his heart!"

Close your eyes for a moment and think about the love that makes you sigh. I not only find it in the arms of my loved ones, but in the caress of a sunset, the kiss of the moonlight and the gentle brush of cool air on a hot day.

They are the sighs of God. Take the time to stop and listen; you will be surprised at what you hear. "Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away."