I was a little worried that my late plantings of tomotoes would yield nothing. And now, as the season comes to a close, there are scores of green lumps hanging from the vines. I can hear them taunting, as, daily, I check to see if any of them are showing a blush. For the past several days, I have glimpsed one or two flashed of deep red buried in the thick foliage, and dive in only to find a tomato half eaten by some critter, and one tomato that is almost, almost perfectly ripe. As I throw the ruined tomato over the fence for the chickens, I stand there in debate with myself. Should I leave the good one on the vine one more day in order to let the tomato mature to it fullest and best flavor? Or will some unknown in the night ruin it somehow...

And usually, I harvest, slicing my one tomato for a toasted sandwich, slathered with mayonaise. And as the almost perfectly delicious juice trickles down my chin as I eat, I decide I made the right decision.