Tomatoes are hard to grow here in the Pacific Northwest. Oh, there are many gardeners who, when you say that out loud, love to dispute it by boasting of their tomatoes that "grew so well, I just don't know what everyone is talking about!" They are never, however, talking about large yields from several plants -- they're usually talking about the one or two potted tomatoes they have on their deck or patio under very controlled conditions. Yay for them, I say, in growing enough tomatoes to add to their seasonal salads. As for me, I'm talking about enough tomatoes to make a batch of salsa or sauce for canning. And that you just don't get here.
Knowing this, I still try, still fail, and still get exasperated with myself for wasting my time when I know better. Even so, I thought, foolishly, that this year I was going to get enough for a small batch of chili sauce because I had a lot of healthy green tomatoes coming along in my tomato box. And then the elk came along. They rarely bother anything this close to the house.
But this year they did. Here is a hoof-print right up in the tomato box where they picked off almost every green tomato.
This used to be a cayenne pepper plant with many little cayenne peppers on it. Apparently, the elk were making a little salsa of their own.
While they were at it, they came up on the deck and nibbled down the new lettuce.
Then the roses.
And the crocosmia. Which they have had access to for years but have never touched.
This is why we can't have nice things.
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