And You Thought The Tomatoes Were Long Finished

Boiled down:
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I've been canning almost the last of this year's tomatoes.  The plants would still be in the ground and still loaded with tomatoes;  however last week I pulled them all out and trashed a lot of green fruit. (Yes, I know: leave green tomatoes in a cool, dry place on clean cardboard and they will ripen--but there were just too many!  I ran out of cardboard and cool, dry place.)  

Dwindling:
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The garden had a rat invasion (not illustrated:  you're welcome), so the tomatoes had to go.  Eliminate the food source immediately.  End of story.  The rat traps are set, but not yet productive. 

I was getting temporarily weary of tomatoes anyway. We ate them with delight and abandon for seven weeks, and now we need a break.   I have plenty canned waiting to brighten fall and winter with summer's light and heat. 

Other things, not only tomato enthusiasm, are dwindling now.  The pink Amaryllis of August are now seed pods on yellowing stems.  

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And as I do every year about this time, I notice that up on the west slope, Manfreda 'Spot', bought so long ago, is still alive and still Not Thriving.  It needs more water than it gets, even though it doesn't need much.  I need to move it.  Then I forget all about it, and the next year the same thing happens again.  I'd be arrested if I treated a dog like that, and rightly so. 


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The nights are cooler, making the day's briefer warmth more alluring.  The light is more gold; in late afternoon, things seem to possess their own inner sun.


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Some lives end with summer's end, other lives peacefully and quietly linger.
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Comments

  1. Yes thanks for no rat pictures lol and thanks for the Hoover picture!

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  2. So many tomatoes ! Bravo !
    The green tomatoes are excellent for pickling .
    Have you ever tried making such pickle ?

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  3. Glad you can see the *subtle* changes in your region's (3) seasons! They are there, one just has to be out in a real garden like yours.

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  4. I can empathize with your Tomato glut, It is slowly getting to me. Though this is my first year trying to can and it has been a tough road personally.

    We have had great luck with this rat trap called the rat zapper (we picked it up at a local OSH but you can also find it on amazon)

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  5. @jackie, glad you like seeing dear boy. That's his favorite spot these days.

    @DANI, I've never tried making pickle--that's an interesting idea, thanks!

    @Desert, we do have all 4 seasons, it just takes being outside enough to sense them. It's often more the feeling of the air and sun than visual.

    @Brindavan, thanks! I went and got a "rat zapper", wish me luck! Canning just takes practice. The first time was very difficult, now I can do it in my sleep, (and often am close to it).

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