Staghorn

The school bus has climbed the hill past our house for three days now, but it still feels like summer. Steve was gone for a couple of days this week, so I got a turn on the riding lawn mower, a secret pleasure. We are inundated with yellow jackets, so sitting out is a tad dangerous right now, but it's still deliciously warm, and after Las Vegas, even 90 feels pleasant.

There's a buck roaming the neighborhood with only one antler whom Steve nicknamed Staghorn. Rendy was the first to see him. He startled her, darting out of the dark as she was retrieving something from the car one night. We've seen him off and on browsing on the bushes in the neighborhood.

Before we left on our 10 day trip, I picked five or six tomatoes and worried that many would ripen and go to waste in our absence. Not to be. When I got home there were only three small semi-ripe tomatoes on the vine, and the whole plant was topped with neatly nipped off stems. The tell-tale sign was the ripe tomato lying in the dirt with the incriminating bite taken from its side.

Now to be fair to Staghorn I do recall the day I was backing out of the driveway and looked in time to see Maggie carefully plucking a ripe tomato from the garden. That was years ago, however, and this time she was safely housed in the Doggie Hotel all week. The perfect alibi. So Staghorn is top suspect in the case.

I lament the loss of my summer tomatoes. The straggly plant has managed to produce a fair crop despite the fact that it inhabits a solitary pot, watered by a timer on the spigot. It has been a lonely existence out there. Maybe she welcomes Staghorn as he nuzzles his nose into her leaves and munches on her fruit. And Staghorn, always alone instead of with the three other bucks who pal around, might just be grateful for a friend as he dines.

I'm back to buying Wapato tomatoes at Hayes. It seems a shame to pay at this time of year, but hey...I have been praying to develop more charity.

So help yourself, Staghorn. Eat all you want. But I'm drawing the line. I am NOT making you salsa.