The accidental tomatoes of wrath

August 15: A stem. Some bits of green skin. A blob of juice. LEFT ON MY FRONT STEPS, like a cruel taunt. I am growing the accidental tomatoes of wrath.

August 16: Tonight we ate what may well end up constituting the season's entire accidental tomato crop: one single cherry tomato, plucked when still orange and ripened on a window sill, then cut into three meager servings.

August 17: This photo is not a deep fake. It is an actual squirrel eating one of my actual unripened accidental tomatoes. I've seen things, man. I've seen things.

Seriously, though, it is working out to pick them as they just start to turn orange, and then let them ripen on a window sill. I'll probably get the equivalent of a whopping pint of tomatoes that way, by season's end.

At least the front yard looks nice.

Crazy tomato lady

This anemone (front right, when you're facing the house)  is lovely.

My crepe myrtle is also lovely, and it's a shame I find this color too red. Interestingly, the smaller one, closer to the house, scarcely bloomed this year.

Delightful delphinium, with adorable anemone in background.

The lilac has started its second bloom of the year [and update from early October: still blooming! Not nearly as prolific as spring though.]

The state of zinnias and tomatoes. I know what you are thinking: what are those shiny bits? Our neighbor heard tin foil repels squirrels. What do I have to lose, I figure?

A few monarch butterflies have visited the zinnias.

I will acknowledge that the tin foil bits make my tomatoes look like they've visited the salon for some highlights. But if it keeps them safe, it's all worth it.

And hark! What's that we see tucked in there? Woohoo!

Hawk

Woah.

Harvesting peppers and seeds

Our shishito peppers have ripened and we have made our first harvest. We have found them good charred in a frying pan over high heat, with canola oil. [Update from September: when they turn red, you can also char them and then blend them up with stock and spices and ripe tomatoes, for a spicy soup.]

And you have to love the twirly appendage on that one.

This butterfly is a silver-spotted skipper.

The sweet peas are looking very done and messy, but we have harvested some of their seed pods, when they get kind of brown and dry.

Finally the pinkish tinge on the hydrangea buds.

Sweet pea seeds

 Very promising! How long does one leave them on the vine, I wonder? At what point are they too irresistible to the squirrels?