First Harvest!

According to my 2017 Garden Super Plan, the radishes should be ready to harvest today. I popped out there tonight and pulled two of those little pretties out of the ground. They were about the size of green peas. Made me laugh. I took them in to the kids, even though it was past bedtime, and Alice put one right up to her nose and inhaled deeply, "Ooo. That smells good," she said. They begged to eat them.

I never say no when my kids ask for vegetables. Even if they've already brushed their teeth :)

So, I gave those bitty radishes a little rinse and the kids ate everything. Leaves and all. Robert ate one entirely by himself. Robert! The same guy who doesn't like to try anything new or mixed or flavorful or chunky or stringy or spicy or...you get the idea. He ate it all and liked it! This, ladies and gentleman, is pure garden magic. Sometimes garden food can bypass Robert's dinner plate issues. And since the radish sprouts were obviously young, they were still tender and sweet, and only the tiniest bit spicy. They did smell delicious. It's crazy. Not all produce is tastier from the garden, but these radishes tonight certainly were.

The radishes are the first official fruits of my own garden planting this year, but the first delicious item of the season grown on our property was definitely the honeysuckle. Earlier this week, James was dinking around in the backyard and noticed the honeysuckle had begun to bloom. His face lit up and he screamed, "Honeysuckle!" Matthew, of course, did the same thing, having NO IDEA what James was excited about, and followed him as fast as his little legs could carry him to the honeysuckle bush. James is finally old/experienced enough to know how to pick a good honeysuckle flower. He can even snip the end off just so and squeeze the nectar right onto his tongue. The best part, though, was watching Matthew stand perfectly still with his head cocked up and his eyes squinched shut and his tongue sticking waaaaaaaaaaaay out while James carefully squeezed one of those precious drops onto his tongue for him. See? James does have a thoughtful, caring, empathetic, generous streak to him. Wish I could whip my phone out faster to take a picture. Sheesh.

Those moments are fleeting, however. Only hours later, he and Matthew gleefully stomped down every single one of my hosta bushes in the backyard, shredding leaves and scattering them merrily as they went. It was terrific fun! And the consequences were just as immediate and severe. I still can't think about it without seeing red. I believe the hostas will survive, but they will be in rough shape the rest of the season. Grrrrrrrr.