First Tomato

Have you ever read the Bunny Planet series of childrens' books by Rosemary Wells? Aunt Janet introduced them to us. In it, children who are having rotten days dream about going to the Bunny Planet (and the Bunny Queen is Janet), where she shows them "the day that should have been." One of the books in the series is called "First Tomato." The child is asked by her mother to go out into the garden and pick the first ripe tomato. She says: "it smells of rain and steamy earth and hot June sun; in the whole tomato garden it's the only ripe one." Doesn't that perfectly describe the smell of a fresh garden tomato? And the excitement of finding the very first one of the season?

Well today is First Tomato Day in our house. Can you believe it? We found 4 red, ripe grape tomatoes in our little garden, and each child got to eat them fresh. Picking and eating the first fruit of the garden is an exciting day indeed.