Lessons in Horticulture from a Three-Year-Old

Growing up on a ranch gives you an education about where food comes from. We raised beef cattle and always had a wonderful selection of steaks and roasts for family meals. I stayed at home to tend to the animals and my son while my husband went to work each day. To help the family budget, we established a small orchard and a garden.

We had planted over 20 trees and one chore was to be sure they were watered. My three year old son dutifully followed me around as I watered the trees. We talked about the distant future when a tree would provide us with peaches or apples and talked about how the cows provide us with food. As we continued to the shade trees, I continued my son's lesson in horticulture by telling him it was a hybrid popular as we watered the tiny twig and that it would grow nearly 80 feet tall.

I started to move to the next tree when I noticed he was studying the tiny tree. He looked a bit puzzled, almost as if I had left out some important information. Finally, he looked up at me, "Mom, when will it grow bread?"