Dara, Ellis & Beth ©D Bunjon
My daddy, never dad or father but daddy, loved to grow vegetables that along with fishing were his joys. I can’t rant and rave about his cooking skills, he could ruin a steak or burger on the grill in a New York minute but he could grow veggies. It was never one variety of tomatoes it was plum, big boy, cherry, yellow and other varieties or the cucumbers were the regular ones you know from salads, pickling cucumbers and lemon cucumbers. Corn and peppers, you name he grew it, out in our backyard in suburban Baltimore county.
Before CSA was cool
He was a one-man CSA –community supported agriculture, giving his bounty to the neighbors and he fed many a household out of his garden. Once I was out on my own and in my first apartment, daddy would overload me with his garden’s bounty. It was always more than I could eat before it went bad, even sharing with my neighbors. I remember telling him a number of times that I didn’t need anymore tomatoes or cukes but he would find a way to sneak them into my car.
A rabbit by any other name
How he loved the garden but it was the rabbits that bore the brunt of his anger. They looked at daddy’s garden as an all-you-can-eat buffet. I’m sure there were more than two rabbits but I only heard him name two: son-of-a-b*tch and g.damn b*stard, it was an ongoing feud.
The real FREE food
Daddy was a son of immigrant parents who lived through the great depression. He understood the struggle his parents had to feed seven children, nothing was wasted. One of his favorite dishes was munching on soup bones along with bread and butter, a true depression meal. He learned very early of the benefit of growing your own vegetables and fishing the Susquehanna River, what you grew and what you caught didn’t cost anything but your time.
No green thumb
I wish I can say I follow in my daddy’s footsteps. I’ve tried a garden and wasn’t especially fond of working in the soil, though every year I do plant herbs in the front flower beds. This year I’m living large and put in a tomato plant. Even though daddy has been gone for a number of years, I know when I bite into the first ripe tomato off the vine, he’ll be smiling.
Love and miss you daddy.
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Comments
Love the story...very heart felt.... I like your "pet" rabbits names :)
A lovely tribute to your daddy..hungry rabbits and/or deer are enough to anger any gardener!
He truly loved his garden..thanks for commenting.
Great story Dara.
Great story, Dara....My husband used to plant huge acre sized gardens every year between the office and the plant building we used to own in SC. Many a time his secretary had to come out and call him into the office to get a phone call...LOL. You would think he was growing food to feed the world....and we sometimes felt as if we did... The plant employees and our friends always ended up with what we couldn't eat and it was fun sharing the excess with them. I learned to can and freeze food because of our huge yearly gardens.....He too was a child of the depression
LOL at the names of the garden rabbits.
Enjoyed reading this story.
Dara - I loved reading about your daddy...... Your story also tells the loving relationship you had with him..... He must have been a very kind person........
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