During garden season this happens a lot. People walking by stop to visit and ask about the plants and this often ends up in an impromptu garden tour. When the neighbor dog sees I'm outside he makes a bee-line over to visit me for some loving and petting and, of course, dog treats. I've found that he really enjoys tomatoes. When I went to pick yesterday I noticed a large bite out of one that was just nicely ripened. Hmmm. At first I thought it was the raccoons but it was too large, just about the size of his jaw.
I set out excess produce for people going by to take and enjoy and now that I find I have a tomato eating dog next door, I place it in a dish pan for safe keeping. It's like having a little roadside stand without the income. But the benefits it provides are sweet. Often I will find a handwritten note, a thank you card or small jars of jelly they have made as a little gift.
It's these little one-on-one encounters that I enjoy the most. I decided to mow the neighbor's yard yesterday since they are on vacation and I hated to see him have to fight through it when they get back. The other neighbors were coming over to water their plants so we had a nice visit. Then Taz the Tomato Eating Dog ran over...followed by his owner and we all chatted for a while.
The ladies (and Taz) took a garden tour and home tour of the canned ham. By now it was dark and time to head in. Did I get everything done that I wanted to that day? No. Was I blessed with the unexpected joy of neighborhood fellowship? Yes. That was a good day by my standards - better than the one I had planned.
Long Live the Queen of Contentment
I think your day was fabulous!!! If I didn't know better, I'd swear that someone's dog visits my garden as soon as a batch of tomatoes gets red enough to pick. Only the ripe ones seem to disappear. Hmmmm! You have a great day, Hugs, Edna B.
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