On the feast day of Mary, the Mother of God, as I resume the Diary of the Worm, it seems only right to write about my observations from the last week of how small is beautiful and often more plentiful.

Worms are small and wiggling but can be used to catch big fish. Unfortunately my grandsons and I only caught small fish last week with our worms.

Three times last week I picked a large bowl of cherry tomatoes in the front garden and yet there is more to be picked. My wife made a delicious cold salsa today, and what I made for breakfast, lunch and dinner included tomatoes. Does anyone have recipes for these small but plentiful tomatoes?

I planted cherry tomatoes, heirloom and regular sized tomatoes around the five trellises in the front yard garden. I did plant lots of plants around each one but figured some of each would grow. However, the cherry tomatoes have taken over the trellises and a few heirlooms plants are growing. Where the regular sized ones are I do not know. It seems like small dominates in the tomato world.

My young grandchildren are a real blessing and the smallest one has the best imagination of all three.

Right before I went up north, Dawn of the DMZ Garden called to say the fire department had removed the spigot from the fire hydrant that was being used to water the garden. The city is talking about blocking water from community gardens unless the water is metered and paid for but not until 2011 or beyond. Right before I left I sent a short email to a leader in the urban garden movement who had asked my opinion of the city move. I told him that the water had been shut off from the DMZ garden. He wrote back angry at the city who had promised not to make a move till next year. Dawn called me last week up north to tell me that the water spigot had been replaced, water turned on and she had a city permit for the year 2010 to use the water. Even small emails can produce bountiful results in the garden.

I have been trying for years to train myself to see the beauty of the present moment, no matter how dark or foggy it may be. I am a slow learner but when I see others worrying about the future but missing the beauty of the present I am quick to notice. I can see the small speck in others but am often blind to my own major faults.

On the one clear night at the cottage up north I missed seeing the display of falling starts. My neighbors told me the many falling stars, small in the sky, were quite a sight to behold.

Many say small is beautiful. I know now that a small grandchild, cherry tomato, falling star, amount of water from a hydrant, or a worm is beautiful.

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