Garden Update - An Unwelcome Visitor

Every day my youngest and I start off by checking the garden.  I with my coffee in my hand and she in her pajamas :)

We check the tomatoes first and make sure that they are all standing up...remember, I forgot to pull those suckers off, so now each tomato plant (all 20 of them) looks like an octopus...arms and legs jutting out from every corner :)  Some of the tomatoes growing on these noodly arms are the size of large oranges or small grapefruit, so you can imagine the weight.  I do not want my beloved tomatoes to touch the ground, so I've had to work hard helping them back up each day...

Because of all the extra nurturing I've been providing my sweet tomatoes, I am that much more paranoid about some pesky critter (my neighbor's dog Henry) checking out my garden early in the mornings before we get outside...my best guess is that Henry takes a morning nap in the shade of my tomato jungle!  I'm making plans to surprise him one morning and chase him with a stick when he least expects it.

All of the tomato plants I repotted in order to save the ones in the bed have lived except for one.  I like to think this tomato died so that the rest could live :)  The tomato plants in the pots have to be watered more than the ones in the bed.  I think it has something to do with potting soil and being in pots, etc...so my youngest and I usually give them their last drink around dusk.  One day we found these two gang members:

Do you see them???

Do you see the two interlopers???

Do you think these pesky worms have any idea how hard I have worked in my garden?

Do you think these awful  brown speckled fellas have any idea how much I went through to save the very tomato plants they have chosen to squat on??

Do you think they even care??

This worm in particular tried to act all nonchalant like he was just rolling around whistling...not really up to anything...maybe even a new tomato plant inspector :/

Does he think I'm stupid????

At least Henry takes off running when he hears me coming!

This dude was soo arrogant!

At this point my youngest actually said, "Awww Mommy, he's kinda cute!"

WHAT??

Now, let me clear something up here.

I NEVER thought this worm was cute.

N.

E.

V.

E.

R.

As far as I'm concerned, worms are small snakes and you know how I feel about snakes.

But, it's hard to kill something when your 6 year old is standing there talking about how cute it is...

But then, Mr. Cocky Worm just couldn't get enough...

He thought he was in the clear...

He thought he was such a ladies' man...

And, then we caught him!!

Red Handed!

With his hand in the cookie jar, so to speak!

Can you believe this devil?????

Eating my tomato leaf as he smirks smiles for the camera!

Please take a good look at him because this was the last picture taken of him in his short life.

The moral of this story is...

Hell hath no fury like a woman and her 6 year old scorned!

and most importantly

Don't mess with my tomatoes...or you'll get smooshed!