The boys have watched some things grow slowly in their gardens: cabbage, eggplant, and carrots. And some plants ripen more slowly than the tomatoes, which are barely orange one day and red and ripe the next. Rex’s chili red peppers turn from green to red in incremental shades, looking almost gray sometimes.

So today was a day when the boys harvested some new vegetables, some that took a little longer to grow. But they were thrilled!

Morris could hardly believe it when I said, “Yes!” to his frequent question: “Can I pick my cabbage?” This was the plant he wanted to grow from the very beginning, the veggie he always claimed was his favorite in his garden. Today, he picked one of two!

Jude’s tomato plant is now producing a giant red one each day, and he loves it! He also picked and shucked his one-and-only ear of corn. He frequently exclaims that he can’t believe that plant grew from a small seed. And, today he picked his eggplant, which although it’s small, it’s ready.

Lots of proud smiles today!