Love Letter #3, Tomato Season

Dear Tomato Season,

It is my dream to follow you across the country. I want to load my family up in a recreational vehicle of some sort and sleep in national parks and shop for tomatoes at a farmer’s market in every state. We would make dinners and lunches outside with your fruit and the bounty that surrounds you. We would get to taste of all of those different places.

In Texas your arrival means that school is out. It means that it isn’t too hot out yet to do all of the playing outside that we could dream of. It means that lightening bugs are still around and that the bats have come back. It means that in a couple of weeks we will get our hands on the first peaches of the season. It means that BLTs are at the prime deliciousness and should be eaten outside in a shirt that isn’t too precious to handle some mess. It means lit grills and more light in the day, but not so much that the kids stay up until 9. It means swimming for fun, not for heat relief.

So, I have a life goal of chasing you around the country and seeing what that means in New Mexico and Colorado and Arkansas. What else is in season with you there? Do mosquitos and tomato season go together everywhere? I’d like to spend a full summer, kids loaded into a car and follow you. We could start in Florida in late May and follow you up through the South. We could cook some ourselves, we could visit the places that you grow, we could see how your fruit is best honored in all of the different spots. Our focus would be follow you, but can you imagine how much we would see and what all we could learn?

So, we are at the end of your time in Texas, but I can’t wait until next year and all of the goodness your arrival brings!

Love,

Martha