Oh my, how it's grown

Despite my children going to be at the equivalent of midnight once the time zones were factored in, my son was up bright and early the morning after our return.  He didn't even change out of his pajamas before he went outside to check on the garden, as he promised me he would when we returned.

And my, the things he hauled in...tomatoes, tomatoes and more tomatoes, beans, corn, and plenty of onions.  We checked out the peppers we're patiently waiting to change colour.  We enjoyed the marigolds we planted and which finally bloomed.  We wondered what would await us at our community garden plot.  Oh, he couldn't wait for his siblings to get up!

And once they were all ready to face the day, to the community garden we went.  We weren't sure what would greet us, as there had been a pretty heavy wind storm while we were away.  Fortunately, all were thrilled with what they saw.  The pumpkin vines had given way, perhaps thanks to the wind, so we could see what lurked beneath.  It took our breath away.  Pumpkins the size of boulders (and weighing about as much to, judging on the effort to haul them to the van).  Even more cucumbers, despite that my father had picked some the night before!  A handful of tomatillos that were big enough and plentiful enough to make a small batch of our favorite salsa verde (from our rebar cookbook).  More tomatoes.  More corn.  Potatoes - they're babies, but they grew despite the late planting!  We decided to bring one melon home, too, just to see how it tastes.  Here are my two happy gardeners:

We did have a little damage from that wind storm - a couple of corn plants blown over, and our tomatillos were broadsided.  Thankfully, they leaned conveniently on the pea fence!  I tried to stand them upright again, and I may have damaged a few branches, but I think they'll still have a good yield.

Tonight, we grilled all that corn.  As we prepared it, my son murmured over and over again, "This corn is beautiful."  And it deserved mention again a couple of times at supper, too.

I so love that they love the fruits of their labour.