The pleasures of summer

May is disappearing at an alarming clip. There's so much to do and so much to plan. Each year at this time
we need to plan both our garden and
our vacation. For the past few years
we've just planted what passes for a garden in furious night plantings two
or three days before we leave for
vacation, and the person who assumes
the care of the garden takes over.

We've been lucky to know a series
of wonderful girls in the neighbourhood who water the garden
faithfully, stake up the tall cleome,
pinch off the dried blooms, and keep the garden thriving.

When we return to Toronto after
weeks on the ocean, our now lush
garden is what soothes us back
into city life. So we are more than grateful.

This little 12" square painting is of tomatoes
grown at our local children's garden in Cedarvale park.
Towards the end of the summer the children sell their
vegetables every week in the early evening, and last
summer they grew a wonderful variety of small tomatoes.
The weekly sale was managed by an efficient seven-year-old
with assistance from both the adult teacher, parents and
very small boys and girls of two and three who ran back and
forth looking like cartoons by Earnest H. Shepard,
http://www.just-pooh.com/shepard.html
carrying one carrot, or one large leafed vegetable,
seriously entranced with the high level importance of
the job. I can still see one tiny curly headed boy running in massive
rubber boots breathless when he arrived with a brown paper bag
for the zucchini.

My joyous memories of buying vegetables from these urban
agribabies shows in the painting. I set the tomatoes in an antique
cut glass bowl, sitting on a 40s French looking cotton table cloth
-- and I like the results.

Sold to the lady with the red hair.

Have a bounteous day.