Friday, August 8, 2008

The End of Freddie

Today, I bring you happy news... or perhaps tragic, depending on how you interpret it. Remember my lone cantaloupe, Freddie? I am happy to report that he has been harvested from the garden.

I've been waiting for him to become ripe for weeks. I didn't know when to harvest him, but Luka and I were taking a stroll in the garden yesterday, and as she was trying to chase the grasshoppers. (She was on her walking leash at this time; we had just finished Luka's afternoon walk), I happened to glance over at the Freddie. To my surprise, he had detached from the vine and just sitting there for me to pick up. Of course, there were ants all over him. But I picked him up and brought him inside to splice open!

Below: The ripe cantaloupe, Freddie!

I was a little concerned at first because he was now a yellowish color. Before he was a little green, but I guess this just means that he was ripe. At first, my sister wanted me to wait a few days before splicing him open, but I couldn't wait that long. I've been waiting for Freddie to be ripe for some time now, and I figured it was a good sign that he fell off the vine.

Below: But look, the stem end is still green. I think this is a good sign.

When I spliced Freddie up, I saw the orange goodness that made his flesh and it was yummy! SO juicy and just plain delicious. There aren't any other words for it. It was SO good. The best cantaloupe that I've ever tasted. Good cantaloupes from the store are hard to come by. This was amazing.

Below: Freddie's "body"

In sad news: the Vietnamese Catholic community is a very close-knit community across the U.S. So when we heard about the bus crash in Texas, everyone was extremely sad. My mom is actually at the religious festival that the people on the bus were headed. Here is the news article about the accident. Please pray for the families of those injured.

10 comments:

Susie said...

DP-I'm sorry to hear about that bus accident. What a tragedy! I will definitely keep those families in my prayers.

Also, Freddie looked so good! My mouth was watering just looking at those pics.

Anonymous said...

For the ones of you who have problems with slugs, have you heard of using beer cans with a couple of drinks left in the can? Lay the can down flat, with the opening at ground level, and the slugs crawl in and stay there and die. You have to replace your cans every so often, as they will fill up with slugs. Maybe you can hide the can from view with a leaf or something. It really works.

tina said...

It looks so good!

Dawn said...

Dp-So cute "The giving Freddie" and tastefull looking, wishing for smell-a-vision.
So sorry about the bus crash, saw it on the news, tragic and horrid. Peace to all the people.

Skeeter said...

So sad the story on the bus accident. You have prayers coming from Georgia!

Freddie, poor Freddie is only a wonderful memory for your palette. Bad DP for eating poor old Freddie. LOL. Freddie would not have stood a chance with my jaws either! He looked wonderful and juicy!

Dave said...

Looks good! I can't wait for some fresh cantaloupe from our garden!

Carla said...

that looks store bought! Freddie is (was) one goodlooking guy! Or is it a girl since it has seeds?? How does that work?

DP Nguyen said...

Hi Susie, Freddie was so yummy. I can't believe how ripe he got!

Hi Anonymous, Thanks for the tip. Sounds like it will work, trap them. They are really nasty little things! I'll try it next to the lettuce this fall.

Hi Tina- Thanks! It was so amazing to have fresh cantaloupe from the garden.

Hi Dawn- Freddie was yummy and he did smell very good. Like the perfect, ripe cantaloupe that he is.

Hi Skeeter- Yes, bad me for getting old Freddie. Though I might write a children's picture book with Freddie the cantaloupe as the lead, so his memory will stay forever! lol. He was too good for me to pass up. Very juicy. Even Cam likes him, and cam hates store-bought cantaloupe!

Hi Dave- There is really nothing like fresh fruit from your garden. So delicious and fresh! I hope you get a good harvest this year, but watch out, your daughter might eat it all up before you get a chance. It is too yummy!

Hi Carla- Welcome to my blog! Thanks, Freddie was yummy. Nope, I don't think cantaloupe have a sex. They grow out of female flowers.. But I thought it might be fun to give it a name. I chose a guy's name because I was watching Frasier on TV, and Frasier's son's name is Freddie. LOL.

Eve said...

I too will pary for strength for the families. What a horrible accident.

I am glad your Freddie turned out to be so delicious. That looks downright yummy!

marmee said...

your freddie looks delicious! and now you have betty waiting for the day you will enjoy her. it is so wonderful to enjoy eating the harvest after your hard work.
will be praying for the people affected by the accident! glad your mom was safe.