i thought they were eggplants, but...

for the past couple of weeks i've been in portland, oregon visiting friends. thanks to the friends i was visiting, i have seen a glimpse of how city life can actually include many of the aspects i love about the rural life. for one, they have transformed their backyard into a real garden of eden. the back corner of the yard is guarded by the shade of an old apple tree, and they are workng on building a garden shed beneath it. they have a compost system that is much more organized than my big holey garbage can of worms. it's two open box-like compartments built out of plywood. much easier to turn, shovel or get a rake in! the actual garden consists of several raised beds. in those they had growing tomatos, peppers, herbs, flowers, eggplant, squash, beans, beets, garlic, potatos, lettuce and much more

back home on judy branch...
i think my garden waited for me to go away for a few days so that it could burst into action. both intentionally planted veggies and weeds grew about four times the size they were when i left them. my pole beans are now officially three feet taller than me and still growing. same goes for the corn. the pumpkin patch is looking just beautiful, as is the squash. and the real kicker? what i thought was eggplant all this time.... are tomatos!!! i'm not quite sure how to feel about this. i had been a bit depressed that my tomatos weren't coming up, but incredibly happy that my eggplants were doing so well. i had hoped to come home to find the first emergence of purple fruit. i did come home to find fruit emerging. they are, green, round and dimpled.

beyond the garden, i am trying to spend quality time with the critters to make up for my absence. ophie is still gone, but i haven't been able to let go of my hope she'll return.