No Tomatoes

It's no secret. I didn't always see eye to eye with my dad. So while he was still here on the farm I lived in other places. At times cabins out in the woods, at times in small towns.

I've always had a great love for dogs. Dogs are just the coolest people you could ever have around. At the time you need it most they always do something to amuse you and make you feel good or astonish you. When your feeling blue they sense it and are just there for you, laying their heads in your lap and looking at you with those I understand eyes. At times though they can make you think your crazy.

Well before moving back here to the farm the last time, I lived in one of those small towns. The neighbors that I got to know were all pretty nice people and the ones I didn't, well they wouldn't even wave or nod when you went by and tried to say hello. (Thems the people that make me not like town and city living...)

Now I like gardening too. Fresh, self grown food always tastes the best! Plant and vine ripened make such a flavor difference that the work involved is worth it.

Well my last summer there I had my garden in the bottom end of the back yard. Near an apple tree. And my old dear departed friend was tied up near the apple tree. His name was Max. He was a coon hound I'd gotten as a pup and we grew very close over the years with our adventures into the woods after dark in search of elusive coons. We fished together, hiked and camped together. Heck we even drank beer together. But that's another story...

I had about three dozen tomato plants in that garden which all produced fantastically. Except one...

One measly plant. I'd see green tomatoes on it but never even one would ripen and they were just gone. The other tomato plants around it did great!

Then one day I was visiting with my favorite neighbor in his workshop and we were looking out his window while we were talking. Looking straight over at Max. Can't tell ya what our conversation was about but it probably had something to do with a woodworking project he was working on.

All of the sudden my neighbor, who was a retired coal miner, got the biggest smile on his face. I had moved and had no idea that he was watching old Max. He said look, and pointed out the window. I looked...

So that's where my tomatoes were going... Max had his chain stretched out to the limit. His neck stretched a little farther. His paw swinging at a tomato. He managed to catch it just right and draw it back to within his mouths reach. And there it went...

He held his head high with pride as he wandered back to the porch of his dog house with his hard earned snack between his teeth. He then laid down and enjoyed the fruit of my labor.

My old neighbor got quite a laugh when I said that I was wondering why that one plant never had a ripe tomato. Then he told me that Max would do that every day at least once.

Guess I wasn't the only one who appreciated vine ripened tomatoes...

Next year we were here and the garden was about a hundred feet away. I did think of Max though. I planted two tomato plants near enough to his house that he could still have his tomato snacks as they ripened.

That got even more strange looks and laughs from people when they'd ask about it...

Only problem was that when fall came he had to scurry out to the orchard and carry back ripe apples that had fallen... Yup, he liked them too!

Matter of fact he liked them so much he'd swipe mine from the truck when he'd ride along... I finally gave in and made sure I'd have two.

Tales of a lonely ole guy with a sense of humor...