Last remnants of summer disappearing

It's time for my annual pangs of withdrawal.

With the hard freeze predicted this week, this year's tomato crop becomes history.

Last weekend I picked the few survivors; I savored each of the slices, trying to make the flavor last.

This week found me harvesting the green tomatoes on the day prior to the predicted freeze. I carefully wrapped them in newspaper with the hope of them ripening slowly over the next few weeks.

My goal is to have homegrown tomatoes clear past Thanksgiving.

Then the darkness settles in, bringing the long winter and with it the knowledge of only being able to eat (or not) pale red, cardboard-tasting tomatoes for another six months.

What carries all of us through is that even though spring seems so far away, there will one day be the opportunity to start this process anew for another year.