After Chloe expressed an interest in communing with mother earth a few weeks ago, Papa took the girls to the local nursery the other day and bought lots of interesting things.

He spent a good part of the morning planting our farm. He started with a tomato vine (one green tomato so far) and three cornstalks, which are now in the ground behind the house. The girls also chose watermelon, strawberries and cucumbers, but for now they’re still in their containers, waiting to be transplanted to their permanent homes.

My husband is optimistic that our suburban dirt will yield some bountiful food. I’m a little more skeptical. But Chloe and Sophie are looking forward to success. Chloe has already used her new basil plant to garnish marinara sauce. And boy, was she excited to pluck those leaves.

Who knows? Come October, we may be able to invite the neighborhood kids to a corn maze. Wouldn’t that be fun. Or at least decorate the door for Thanksgiving. And if our farm actually yields some edible corn, I’ll be the first to buy more next year.