Watermelon Feast

When we began to see little watermelons on the vine in our garden this summer, Steve insisted that he’d know when they were ready by the old thumping trick he used to use back in Louisiana. Well, turns out the thumping only works when you have other ripe or nearly ripe watermelons to compare to. If you have no idea if any of them are ripe, you’re in trouble…
So, I did what we so often do in this new century. I googled it. Turns out, there are other methods, such as noting when the rind toughens and resists denting with a fingernail, when the tendrils near the stem shrivel, when it turns yellow white on the bottom, or when it ceases growing. Still, all these things seemed a bit subjective. We kept waiting for some major sign to hit us in the head, I guess.
Finally, with our first freeze upon us, we picked one for a test. Turned out, it was just right. Sweet and delicious. Mischief is fond of cantaloupe, so I thought he might like watermelons. He was wary at first.
But very soon, he decided this new treat was pretty good.

Before long, he was getting into it big time.

Boss tried a piece and spit it out, but he hung around just in case something better appeared.
Daisy was riveted, as she is to anything people or horses eat. I gave her a taste, of course.