The Tomatoes Take Over!

It's official -- the tomatoes have taken over the patio!  Boy, are they big!  If you recall, here's how it all started back in March:

And here's what it looks like today:

The "Mr. Stripey" variety -- the one I'm most excited about -- currently looks like this:

I'm curious to see how much larger this variety will get, and how it will look when it gets ripe.  Should be very interesting!  The other two varieties are growing like gangbusters, so much so that I think I'm going to be sharing a lot of tomatoes with the neighbors:

I lost one pot -- the "Brandywine" type.  Before I could stake it, it fell over and broke in half.  :(  Bummer, but frankly, we've already got more tomatoes than we can eat.

It's funny to me that I get so excited about growing my own food, but I do.  There's something very satisfying about it.  Next year, we may need to plant an honest-to-goodness garden, with lots of different veggies.  Wonder if the hubs will go for it?

Scenes from a Backyard

I thought I'd share a bit about what's happening today in my backyard.  First, I acquired a new gnome and new mushrooms today at Target. (Hurry -- drop the mouse, and run now to Target to get yourself some!  They were almost all gone at my Target.)  I stuck them in the pot with my orange tree.  I think they add a bit of whimsy to the patio!

These other fellows (from Target last year) are still hanging out in their spot under the magnolia tree.  Poor guys need a bath!

In addition to imaginary creatures and faux nature, we actually have some real nature going on as well!  The first tiny tomatoes are appearing:

and for several weeks we've been watching this bird's nest built by a couple of doves under the eaves of our covered patio.  We realized this week that the eggs had hatched -- and the baby birds are big!  Here's momma bird and one of the baby birds in the nest:

And here's the other baby bird, who was sitting on the brick wall when I got home from the store:

I was so startled to see him!  I kept saying to him, "Baby bird, get back in the nest!  What are you doing?" as if he could understand me.  Sure hope this little guy finds his way back home!  Ah, nature.