No Tomatoes for Cabana

All summer long, we've had a bounty crop of tomatoes in our backyard--overflowing the sides of my planter box as they got heavy and ripened. All summer long, Cabana never touched them. She showed no interest, never looked at them, never sniffed them.

BUT about two weeks ago, my little cherry tomatoes got to that overripe stage, where they burst through their own skins, exposing their juice and seeds. All of the sudden, the tomatoes became the focal point of Cabana's attention in our yard. I caught her eating one of these overripe guys--and that was the end of undisturbed tomatoes.



Since that time, I don't think Cabana's eaten many more ripe tomatoes. Instead, she likes to find hard green cherry tomatoes and hold them in her mouth. I can see her rolling it around in her mouth like a marble. When I catch her with one, she spits it out, whole and unsquished. Still, tomatoes are so acidic, and I don't think it's good for her tummy to be eating them, whatever color or degree of ripeness.

In order to keep Cabana away from the tomatoes, I haven't been letting her roam in the backyard off-leash. This was okay for a while because it was rainy and wet, and I didn't want her walking through mud and dirt anyway. But now that the weather is nice again, I'd like to give Cabana some of her freedom back.

So today, I'll pick what I can, then the rest of the tomatoes are going in the compost. I think my family has had their fill of tomatoes for the season anyway. I've fixed tomatoes and/or zucchini in some form just about every night for the past couple months! Thank goodness that all good things must come to an end.