Gardening teaches one how to respond gracefully to disappointments.

This is an Old Time Tennessee Muskmelon— a variety that’s near extinction, save for the home grower. There are links at the link if you’re interested in knowing more about this melon, and its history on the Farm. 

It’s been dry for a spell here. I mulch, and so don’t need to water too often when it’s dry. And I sort of kind of know what I’m doing. So when I water melon that’s nearly ripe, I just water the base of the plant– to anthropomorphize, enough to quench its thirst without drowning it. But when it rains, it rains. And this is what happens when it rains off and on for two days. The fruit is the end point of a plant, if you don’t count the vegetation with flowers that no longer have time to produce fruit. 

Too much water at this stage & the danged tissue inside the hard outer shell– which isn’t getting any bigger at this stage– soaks up so much water that it busts the shell before the danged thing is truly ripe. 

This one weighs about 12 pounds, I’d guess. Mr. Big Food will cut it open tomorrow morning.

Meanwhile. There’s another that’s gotten ripe on the vine.

Despite Mr. Big Food’s attempts to barbeque up the kitchen (the beans were great), it still smells like melon.