I sent Elijah down to see if he found any ready to pick
...he came back with this......a big, beautiful bowl of peaches!
It may not show in the picture but this is one of my biggest stainless steel bowls. It's huge!
They were small but oh, my goodness, the flavor! And they were freestone! We ate some, took some to Mom and she enjoyed them and then froze the rest for winter!
We then decided to go back down there and check on the rest of the peaches...the trees were still loaded but not quite ready to pick. We checked it frequently and just the other day we picked. All four of us spent about 20 minutes cleaning off both trees. LOTS and LOTS of peaches!
There was one peach with a "nose" that delighted Elijah. The picture isn't great but you get the idea!
As you can see....we brought home quite a bit.
Mom took one basket and processed them for the freezer. Peach cobbler on a snowy day this winter! Yummy! I took the other basket. Mom came over and we enjoyed chatting for a couple of hours while we peeled them for freezer jam.
I see how, in the past, women encouraged and enjoyed each other over canning bees, quilting bees, shucking bees etc. We've lost, as women, an important part of life. I wish there was a way to get that back. I'm so glad I can experience it with Mom.
I took the peaches that we peeled and made freezer jam. Although we will all enjoy it, I did this especially for Jeremy....this is one of his favorite fruits. Out of one basket, I was able to make 13 pints of freezer jam. And boy is it good! I've given some away and tucked the rest into the freezer with a "one jar a month" limitation for the boys. Otherwise. we'd be through all of the freezer jam (all varieties) by Christmas!!
Isn't it pretty?!
We have decided that we definitely need to plant more peach trees...and I think we have figured out exactly where to put them! We'll be looking to do that this fall....hopefully in a few years we can increase our harvest. It will also be interesting next year to see if the yield was due to the weather or due to the fact that they were finally pruned! We will definitely be pruning again this fall!
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oh ~ that's wonderful!! I can almost smell them! we planted 2 peach trees this spring ~ they aren't looking real peachy, tough
ReplyDeleteI don't suppose you've heard anything from Julie?? surely those babes are here by now...
Those look delicious! We also have two peach trees, but they aren't ready yet. I'm definitely looking forward to tasting fresh peaches too!
ReplyDeleteIt is sad that women have lost a vital opportunity to encourage each other, laugh together, to teach the younger women to be lovers of their husbands and children, and keepers of their homes.
ReplyDeleteWhile jelly/jam from the store may be less expensive, it never tastes as good as "Mom-made". Maybe it is prideful, but I love to look at the rewards of my labors resting on the shelves, ready to be opened for my family to enjoy. It gives me some satisfaction that something I did will last longer than a cleaned up living room or done dishes. :-)
I hope your family enjoys the fruits of your labors.
Blessings to you all...
My mouth is watering (literally).... :)
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful for all of you! :)
yummy!!! we dont have peach trees, but some neighbors of my grandmother did, they gave my parents a bunch of peaches before they moved. Mom made peach cobbler, so good! We wanted more peaches and discovered a fresh picked peach stand about 10 minutes from the house in SC... we bought a big basket and i've been some chopped up in yogurt for breakfast. i love summer for the fruit :)
ReplyDeleteWe have that sort of peach tree. I should go and check mine to see if they are ripe yet. Maybe I too will have a special blessing this year. I am thrilled for you and what a BLESSING to have your Mom to work side by side with. Enjoy that time........
ReplyDeleteThat's a nice picture - women chatting and working together.
ReplyDeleteThis is the first year that I've ever made peach jam. We bought a half-bushel at a pick-your-own farm and I made warm or "spiced" peach jam by adding ground cloves, nutmeg, allspice, and cinnamon to the peaches while they were heating up in the pot. Mmmmmmm good!
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely picture, you working side by side with your mother :o)
Oh, the peaches and the freezer jam looks so delicious! Would you mind posting your recipe for the peach freezer jam? I've never made it and would love to try. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteOh they look so good. Peaches from the store taste so bland and don't ripen well. I got spoiled by the farmer's markets in CA when visiting my son. So delicious and sweet too. Blessings.
ReplyDeleteHi Cheri:
ReplyDeleteFor the first time ever, we have the same production from a tree that at last count, seven years ago, yielded one peach. It has been amazing to eat "free" peaches and have them taste so good. The 4yo has been wandering out in the morning to pick "his" peach so I can slice it up on his cereal/yogurt for breakfast.
I have also noticed, for the first time ever, that we have two pear trees, old ones. They also are loaded down to the point of bending. I didn't get any peach preserves made, but I'm really trying for something with the pears. They are little pears, about the size of a nectarine.
I think God just sent us a bountiful harvest this year b/c of last year's freeze. Maybe He is giving us the harvest b/c this winter will be hard.......
Peaches sound so great, but I doubt if they would grow up here. We do have apricot trees started as well as apple trees. I am hoping we will get our harvest of tomatoes, as tonight the temperature is supposed to drop into the lower 40's. At least that is the forecast for town, which is 15 miles away, and we are in a higher elevation in the hills.
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