Three is a Beautiful Number...

Three more games... Three more games... Three more games... Three is the only number that I can think of today -- as my thoughts are occupied by the magic that is currently taking place at AT&T Park in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Three more games...

St. Clare Catholic Church, Roseville CA

It wasn't all that long ago -- you understand -- October 26th, 2002 to be exact -- when the wonderful wife that is Venus said those magic words "I do" and started this magic journey of ours. "Watch Bill & Venus get married," we exclaimed. "Then watch the Giants take care of the Angels in Game 6 of the World Series during the reception and bring home a first-ever baseball championship to San Francisco."

Unfortunately -- as the rumor goes -- someone popped open a bottle of champagne a tad too early that night. The Giants would not win Game 6. They would eventually blow a 3-2 series lead by choking away Game 7 on the first night of our honeymoon cruise. There would be no joy in San Francisco. No championship. No party. Just missed opportunities.

As Frank Sinatra once crooned: "That's Life."

Hello Kitty Beehive

Speaking of life -- there is something rather strange taking place in the Backyard of Bird at the moment. You can see it in the photograph to your immediate left. Yes -- that is the "Hello Kitty" beehive. And you'll notice that the bees are quite active today. That's a good thing. They're active every single day of the week. I've been gifted with a strong hive -- but that's another story for another day.

No -- what I'm referring too is that "volunteer" tomato plant to the right of the hive. It's doing something that I have never seen a plant do before. It is literally changing colors before my very eyes. It's not dying. It's just turning a bright shade of yellow. I'm not sure how. I'm not sure why. It just is.

Mystery Tomato Plant Turning Yellow

I have never witnessed a tomato plant do such a thing before. Normally? Tomato plants start out green and remain green through the course of a growing season. They will yellow somewhat as the weather turns colder and the season comes to a close -- but that's the mark of death. I'm used to that.

No -- this is different. I have a healthy tomato plant that is turning a bright shade of yellow and I really can't understand why. It is also covered with a heavy crop of lacewings (I think that is what they are called) who gracefully move from leaf to leaf. There are scads of them -- as well as scads of tomato flowers -- but no tomatoes have formed on this plant yet (as far as I can tell).

I don't want to get too close to that "Hello Kitty" beehive you understand. It's late fall. Pollen sources are drying up. This is when honeybees tend to get defensive. They can -- and will -- reach out and "touch" you in ways you really don't like. So -- mind your manners young man.

There are some tomato plants -- some rare strains -- that do change colors during the course of a season. The father of the modern tomato -- Alexander Livingston -- wrote about one such plant in his 1893 book "Livingston and the Tomato." The name of this particular variety escapes me at the moment -- but the strain is very old -- and it's not counted as one of the "favorites" among heirloom growers.

I have never grown such a plant. I've heard of it in various publications. But I've never actually seen one in person.

Perhaps a smarter gardening mind than mine can figure this one out? I'm open to suggestions. I must tell you -- this plant is breathtakingly beautiful. It is a shimmering dark green. Based upon the number of flowers it is producing -- it appears to be some sort of cherry variety. But a tomato plant that turns a bright shade and healthy shade of yellow? That's a new one for me.

This is one of the many reasons -- I suppose -- why I like to grow heirloom tomatoes. Number one in my book -- of course -- is a love for all things tomato. I can't get enough of them. But it's also the surprises that tend to pop out of the ground every season.

Large Orange Cherry Tomato Plant

One of those surprises that continues to do very well into the fall season is a surprise cherry variety that I call Large Orange Cherry. It appears to be some sort of cross between a Sun Gold Cherry (which I grew several years ago but have not planted since) and another larger variety. This thing popped up outside of a raised bed last year and produced a few large -- orange colored -- cherry tomatoes.

I did not seed nor save it. I was surprised to see it spring to life again -- on the other side of a large backyard. It has flourished in this place -- it's new home -- and this year I will make an attempt to seed and save a variety that refuses to die.

That's Life.

Love Grows Where My Ro -- err -- Venus Goes

It was on this date -- seven years ago -- that I made the best decision of my life.

Yes sir. That's right.

I've been in cold beer ever since that fateful decision to purchase ye olde kegerator...

Wait? Was that seven years ago or five? I can't remember. Must be the effects of ye olde kegerator and draft Pabst Blue Ribbon.

Who am I kidding?

Actually -- it was on this date that a wonderful life journey started. It was on this date in history, October 26th, 2002, when I finally brainwashed the woman pictured to your right to the point where she could say the words "I do."

For her? It was a struggle. For me? Are you kidding? That's like the California Lottery asking if I wanted my $10 million award in "tens or twenties." That answer was pretty easy. It was on this date that I struck GOLD. And, if you're a fan of the San Francisco Giants, this also happens to be the same date that the Giants blew Game 6 of the 2002 World Series against the hated Angels.

That's the reason why watching the Angels lose to the Yankees last night wasn't half bad.

I digress. Back to the subject of this posting. Today, it's all about Venus. Because -- without the lovely bride that is Venus -- there would be no blog titled "Sacramento Vegetable Gardening." Well -- I suppose there could be -- but I wouldn't be writing it. There would be no garden in the backyard. No heirloom tomatoes. No sunshine. No happiness.

Venus and I haven't changed much since we were married seven years ago. Well -- check that. She still looks as gorgeous as ever and I have the photo snapped over the weekend to prove it. As for me -- well -- those rugged Mel Gibsonesque looks are starting to fade a bit. What happened to all my hair? Did I lose it in my waistline?

Questions, questions!

I'd like to tell you that Venus and I spent a glorious weekend in the Back 40 -- tearing out what was left of the summer garden and planting the rest of our fall treats. But -- you see -- we did that last weekend. And since it was our "special weekend," and using the same brainwashing techniques I successfully employed seven years ago, we both decided to hop on the train out of Sacramento on Friday for the romantic destination of: Berkeley.

Say again? Bezerkley? Yes -- that place. The University of California AT Berkeley to be more exact. Venus and I took in the Cal football game against Washington State this past weekend. It wasn't going to be televised. I knew that the Bears were probably going to win this one. The Cougars are -- well -- slightly better than God awful this season. So -- why not take the wife back to her old stomping grounds where she earned her degree?

Fortunately, Mother Nature came through with gorgeous Saturday afternoon weather. I mean -- folks -- for us Sacramento Valley types? The weather was perfect! Shirt sleeves and shorts. For Berkeley regulars? A little too hot for them -- but just fine for us.

And the Bears put on a show. By that -- I mean the game was pretty much over by the first quarter. Three or four first quarter touchdowns will do that to a game. The Cougars did at least try to make it interesting -- but the game was snoozeville pretty much after halftime.

No matter. The wife was home. She was back in her element. No visit to the Cal campus is complete without a stop at Top Dog -- the home of the (SURPRISE) Top Dog. You can't forget to at least walk a section or two of Telegraph Avenue -- and a stop at the Bear's Lair Pub is also an absolute must.

After two or three or seven (I kind of lost count) at the Bear's Lair -- the wife and I found ourself stumbling back in the direction of Shadduck Avenue -- toward that lovely downtown Berkeley BART station -- and the train back to Richmond. From there -- we would catch the Cal Train -- and the all-important BAR CAR -- back to Sacramento.

As for the Back 40? The fall garden? The Birds? The Bees? They can wait. The perfect marriage to the perfect woman comes only once in a man's lifetime. Better enjoy that life while you can. Because time does indeed fly when you're having fun. Which is why my marriage to this lady seems like yesterday.