perks

This summer I've been working part-time at an arboretum. I figured it's a nice way to meet people in my new town while making a few bucks on the side. Also I'm enjoying the low-key non-profit atmosphere.

One of the perks of my job is that there is an organic garden on site that the master gardeners' tend. The past few days our botanist was tsk-ing at all the vegetables going to waste unpicked. So today I had my buddy, one of the interns, show me where the garden was* and headed out with a grocery sack.

Just look at all that yummy goodness!

Someone else picked the parsley and there was so much of it that I decided to bring some home with the vague notion of making some sort of pesto-type sauce for bread.

And these guys were my absolute favorites from today's bounty. I asked the botanist what kind of tomatoes they are and he wasn't sure but thought they were some sort of heirloom cherry tomato that one of the gardeners planted by seed.

I think they are the product of joy and love. You pop one of these babies in your mouth and it's like an explosion of joy. So good!

*Embarrassing fact about me at my job: I haven't taken a tour of the grounds yet. I kept meaning to when I first started and then got scared off when I heard about the tick infestation around these parts. And then I never got around to walking through the display gardens because it was just too darned hot. And here we are near the end of the summer and I still didn't know where the organic vegetable garden was until today. Sad, but true.